Title: Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave
Author: Elle Cosimano
Length: 320 pages
Genre: romance, mystery (quasi-cozy)
Is this book part of a series? Yes, this is book five of the Finlay Donovan series.
I discovered this book via… Netgalley working with St Martin’s Press/ Minotaur books
Publish Date: March 4th, 2025
Summary (Courtesy of Goodreads)
Finlay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet . . . but at least there’s not a body in her backyard.
Finlay Donovan and her nanny/partner-in-crime, Vero, have not always gotten along with Finlay’s elderly neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty, the community busybody and president of the neighborhood watch. But when a dead body is discovered in her backyard, Mrs. Haggerty needs their help. At first a suspect, Mrs. Haggerty is cleared by the police, but her house remains an active crime scene. She has nowhere to go . . . except Finlay’s house, right across the street.
Finlay and Vero have no interest in getting involved in another murder case—or sacrificing either of their bedrooms. After all, they’ve dealt with enough murders over the last four months to last a lifetime and they both would much rather share their beds with someone else.
My Thoughts:
I love diving back into this series, because I know it will be hilarious and chaotic in the best way possible. Finlay is a character that is actually really special to me. She starts as the stressed mom in book one, strapped for cash and making really bad decisions, to kind of a badass author that is strapped for cash and making less-bad decisions. Growth! (No, seriously, through the books you can see a lot of character growth). The characters are fabulous- I love Vero and was thrilled that we saw more aspects of Cam. Nick is an amazing love interest. As a series, I find this one to be cohesive, fun fast reads that you want to go back to again and again because you will miss their little community they created. The only reason I don’t consider this a cozy mystery in full, is because there is slightly more sexual content than one normally finds in them. (It’s the same reason I don’t consider the Stephanie Plum series to be cozy either.)
We see more of the side characters in this book, and a lot of Scooby-Doo-esk sleuthing. I love that this book isn’t about Finlay being in danger, but trying to get her ex husband out of it. She’s showing more strength, allowing herself to trust Nick just a little more… I loved seeing this story line take shape. The neighbor was brilliant- the neighborhood busybody, cutting and aloof… and an absolute badass. Be it potty training, putting despicable principles in their place, or heading the craziest book club ever, she can do it all. I liked how I watched her character unfold- she wasn’t a new character, just one we hadn’t been allowed to see multiple dimensions of. That she and the teen troublemaker hit it off is hilarious. Life is still very chaotic in the Donovan household, and Vero’s maybe married status doesn’t help that, but it is warm and fun. My only complaint- we left at a cliffhanger, so there will be a sixth book but I have to wait for it. For me, this is a five star book. I am obsessed with this series.
As far as adult content goes, there is mild sexual content ( making out, allusions to more), violence, language and substance use. I would say it’s geared towards adults but would not have had an issue handing this one to my niece when she was a teen.
The book comes out tomorrow! Are you ready?
Happy Reading,
Gwen
