Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano

Loved this! A brilliantly written novel. The mystery had so many layers; every time I thought we’d finally figured it out, a plot twist would peel back another layer. Involving the Russian mob might be rather trite, but it really took things up a notch.

I love that Finlay’s an Everywoman, though I’ve always thought it was lazy for authors to make their characters authors. But Cosimano really put that cliche to work, so I’d say she earned it. Vero I didn’t like as much as I wanted to; I’m not really sure why. Something just rubbed me wrong about her. Maybe her willingness to pursue a career as an assassin.

I thought it was really interesting that Cosimano inverted expectations when it came to the love interest; Nick was a little too sure of success, maybe a little too full of himself, and while he was kind and charming, I also got the feeling he wasn’t listening to Finn. Julien listened, but he also didn’t feel like someone who’d want to take on kids; he has a lot of hard learning and debt ahead of him, and a bartender’s schedule doesn’t line up well with kids’s. Julien felt like the impossible love Finlay will only get a taste of and forever remember fondly while in a much more practical match with Nick. I’m curious to see where the romance goes.

Again, I’m impressed! The plot twists and turns and just doesn’t stop surprising me. Red herrings are everywhere, but clever ones. Things get messier and messier until I think there’s no way Finn gets out of it without being arrested, but she still finds a way to slip through the cracks unnoticed–or not so unnoticed, it seems….

What’s really impressive is that Cosimano managed to make Steven sympathetic. He’s self-interested, misogynistic, arrogant dumbass scum, but he has feelings too. I still don’t like him, but I don’t hate him anymore. I pity him and his bad choices.

I’m not a huge Vero fan, probably because she jumped in to help bury a body instead of calling the police like a sane person, but the direction Cosimano decided to take her character feels off to me. A math whiz wannabe high-flying accountant suddenly has a gambling problem? I thought she could recognize good odds and was too smart to get caught in a trap like gambling. But the recklessness tracks; only someone who’s reckless would agree to help bury a body. And Vero needed depth, so here we are. I’m interested to find out more, especially about what’s going on between her and Javi.

I loathe love triangles, and I’m not happy there’s one here, but I have to admit, I’m not upset with how Finn’s handling it. Her heart lies with Julien, but Nick calls to her as well. She knows things probably won’t work out with Julien, but she also resents being pushed toward the obvious choice. Very sympathetic, very relatable.

The only thing I don’t like about Finn’s character is the “oh woe is me, I wish all these hot guys would stop falling in love with me, it makes life so difficult….” Boo fricken hoo. Otherwise she’s a wonderful protagonist.

Can’t wait to start book 3!

Another great installment! I did get a little lost on who was who, particularly regarding the cops and class members, and I’m starting to lose track of who knows which of Finlay and Vero’s secrets. The Stew therapist character came out of nowhere for me; maybe I just wasn’t paying close enough attention, but I had no idea what he was doing there. I’m at the point where I just have to roll with it and try to keep up. Fast-paced is a great thing, at least to my taste, but beware of information overwhelm. I do not envy Cosimano and her editor the work of keeping it all straight. I feel like I need a quick series-to-date review–This character is involved in this way and knows X and Y but not Z.

There was more Javi—yay! Though I feel kinda bad for Ramon, being in the dark about everything going on around him.

The love triangle got some clarification—goodbye Julian, with regrets; Nick’s the future.

I kinda thought Finn’s kids were brats in book 1, but with each successive book they’re growing on me. Still not 100% sold on Vero, but she’s definitely a charismatic, sympathetic sidekick.

I liked this short story more than I thought I would. I’m not a huge Vero fan, but I admit, she can hold her own as a lead. It was fun to explore her character and fill in some of the blanks in her background. I am so on board for her and Javi’s HEA.

Loved it again! Never a dull moment. Set in Atlantic City but Cosimano figured out plausible reasons for all the characters to be present. Everyone’s paired up,and while I like Nick, I feel bad for the guy. At the end he laments that he’s been betrayed by two partners, the people he was supposed to trust most, and all I could think that he has a new partnership with Finn that’s only going to get deeper and more burdened, and she’s betraying him from the get-go. If he finds out her secrets in a bad way, the guy will never trust again. Poor dude. I wish Finn would come clean with him but I also don’t see that ending well for her. Stupid lies. Stupid Steven for making her desperate.

Bring on book 5!

Loved this one, too, but some of it didn’t add up for me, and I find myself uneasy about how the love triangle is progressing.

I loved that Mrs. Haggerty’s character has been fleshed out, Steven’s comeuppance continues, and Zach’s finally potty trained. Delia hasn’t gotten her puppy yet, though. 😉 Cam’s both endearing and annoying (I can’t believe what he did to that car). Didn’t see much of Finn’s parents or Georgia and Sam, but their relationships seem to be okay. Joey seems solidly in the good guy camp now.

As to the love triangle—on the Nick and Finn front, I love their relationship, but I also hate it. I love that they’re good people and so into each other. But I hate that Finn and her shady misdeeds compromise his integrity. I don’t find it romantic that he’s been willfully ignorant just so he’s not forced to arrest her–and now, he can’t even claim ignorance. I find it selfish and deceitful on his part, shitting on what he’s supposed to stand for, and while I admire that she came clean to him, I hate that she dragged him into her mess. I knew from the beginning that their relationship was impossible; unless Finn’s crimes come to light and are dismissed, they’ll always sit like a boulder between her and Nick. They’ll just breed guilt and resentment between them.

Then regarding Julian—I kinda felt bad for him this go-round; it feels a little cruel for Finn to still be asking him for help and involving him at this point. She doesn’t mean to be cruel, and he comes to her aid without hesitation, it just feels like she needs to sever that connection for everyone’s sakes. All he does is make everything awkward. He’s a nice guy and I don’t mind him as a character, it’s just unfair of Finn to keep having him cross paths with Nick. This is why I hate love triangles—they’re unfair and someone’s going to get hurt when they probably don’t deserve it.

But yeah, I’ve decided Finn doesn’t deserve Nick or Julian. She needs someone uninvolved with the law. Or at least, uninvolved with the right side of the law. She needs to be with a guy who’s honest and loyal to her but free to be a little shady himself. Like her relationship with Vero—willing to help bury a body and keep the secret without it going against everything he stands for.

Some loose ends—Vero and Javi’s argument didn’t get resolved; that was disappointing. I think there’s still more to learn about Steven, too, if I’m not mistaken; Finn noticed that weird entry about him delivering mulch to someone at his own house and it wasn’t followed up on. I wanted to know how it worked out with those stupid podcasters, too; I wanted to see them with egg on their faces.

Also, it wasn’t clear to me if the book club was actually a book club or just a front for murder. Do the women really read and discuss books between murders, or do they just gather under the pretense of book discussion and actually discuss life without their abusive partners or something? And some follow-up on the dead husband at the end would have been nice. Like do the wives report their husbands missing, or just suddenly announce the men died and were cremated? Do they lie about calling 911? Do they have a funeral and everything? I feel like explaining the deaths of their husbands to other people would be harder than carrying out the murder itself. Just letting them go missing and stay missing would be easier, wouldn’t it? You’d have to wait a few years for closure, but the only lie you’d have to tell is “I don’t know what happened to him.” Then again, if he’s just dead and it doesn’t seem suspicious, fewer questions will be asked.

I feel like Cosimano put less effort into the details of this plot and certainly the resolution. I don’t love the series any less, though—can’t wait for book 6!