Other Possible Prompts: 4. Title starting with the letter “F”, 9. A book that sparks joy, 22. An unlikely detective, 43. Author who’s published in more than one genre, 45. A book with illustrated people on the cover, 52. Published in 2022

This series is just too good! I wish I had picked it up earlier, because it is just such a joy to read. I love a good mystery, but these hilarious and light-hearted books make my day.

Finlay Donovan is back! After receiving a tip that her own ex-husband Steven has a bounty on his head, Finlay and Vero closely monitor the online chatroom of organized crime, as well as Steven himself. The only trouble is that they can’t tell anyone why they know Steven has a bounty on his head…because it’s in the very same chatroom they were hired to kill several other men from the Russian mob.

Sound interesting yet? These stories are so wild.

Now, Finlay juggles her writing career, mom life, a love triangle, and of course, protecting her ex-husband from a hitman, as she tracks the progress of a killer-for-hire named EasyClean.

I read Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead in a single day. I couldn’t put it down. The story never pulls punches and you’ll probably find you never want to leave the wildly insane plot! I love all the characters, and I love this hilarious next installment. I’m 100% invested in the Russian mob, and a divorced mom and her college-age accountant’s ties to it.

Vero remains my absolute favorite character. I love her standoffishness yet her softness with the kiddos. She’s a great supporting character, but she’s still kind of suspicious. I remember loving her in the first novel but being like “why is a college student helping her bury a body right now” and yeah, that feeling does not dissipate. I really hope the next book holds even more of Vero’s backstory, because she’s awesome. Additionally, I still ship Finlay and Vero.

Finlay Donovan would make an excellent streaming show. Each book would make an awesome season, and since there’s so much action, I think it’d be hard not to binge the whole series in a day. I wanted to see if the incredible internet had already made a dream cast, and yes, Xochitl Gomez should definitely play Vero. I don’t have any ideas for Finlay, though… thoughts?

This book gets five stars from me because I literally cannot think of a way to make it better. The characters are awesome, the plot really adds to the overall story, it stays true to the first book, and it just makes me laugh out loud. The twist ending to this one was something I could only guess in the last fifty pages or so, and it’s such a good one. Makes you laugh at the same time that you’re gasping with surprise. This is a series I will keep on following for many more installments, for sure.

Naturally, I recommend! I hope you all have an awesome week.