Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

November 1, 2020
A suburban Virginia divorc�e struggles with that classic dilemma: What should she do when she's offered a fat paycheck to kill a complete stranger? Struggling romantic suspense novelist Finlay Donovan doesn't think much of her ex-husband, Steven, who's been nickel-and-diming her ever since she dumped him over his affair with Theresa Hall, the realtor who's since become his fiancee. So she's not entirely surprised when Patricia Mickler, overhearing her chatting with her agent in the local Panera about her latest work in progress, indicates that her own husband is even worse. He's a blackmailer and serial rapist who's beaten his wife repeatedly. What stuns Finn is the way Patricia communicates her hatred for her husband: She offers Finn $50,000 to kill him. Of course Finn has no intention of going through with this harebrained scheme, but a series of unlikely miscues ends with Harris Mickler dead in her garage with every indication that she's murdered him. The only bright spots are that Veronica, the accounting-student nanny Steven just laid off without warning Finn in advance, comes upon the scene ready and eager to help and that Steven owns a sod farm where the conspirators can bury the body without telling him. Everything seems to have worked out improbably well until Finn, who really does need the money, is offered an even bigger purse for killing someone else considerably more savvy and dangerous. YA specialist Cosimano cuts dexterously between Finn's adventures as a hit woman, her deeply iffy romance with Fairfax County Detective Nicholas Anthony, and the domestic crises that keep on piling up as if nothing had ever happened to disturb them. Suspenseful, funny, and even a tad mysterious. More, please.

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November 30, 2020
This amusing series launch from YA author Cosimano (Seasons of the Storm), her adult debut, has a pleasingly absurd premise. Wronged wife Patricia Mickler overhears Finlay Donovan, a down-and-out romantic suspense novelist, talking about her next book with her agent in a suburban Virginia sandwich shop. Mistaking Finlay for a killer for hire, Patricia offers the author $50,000 to kill her no-good husband, Harris. The money is just what Finlay needs to deal with her ex, who’s trying to renegotiate their custody agreement. Of course, Finlay has no intention of actually killing Harris, but fate intervenes—and when she witnesses Harris attempting to drug a woman in a bar, Finlay is launched into a screwball mystery involving Russian gangsters, more angry wives, and a disturbingly attractive police detective. Finlay’s antics require a suspension of disbelief that some readers may find difficult to sustain, and others may be troubled by seeing issues such as date rape and revenge porn handled with such a light hand. But those willing to enter into the spirit of Finlay’s world should enjoy this romp from a skilled comic writer. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary.

January 1, 2021

Finlay Donovan is a divorced mother of two preschoolers and author of romantic suspense novels who is perennially strapped for cash. She's meeting her agent at the local Panera when she notices a woman staring at her, taking in the knife and duct tape in her bag on the floor, remnants of the morning's adventures with her kids cutting their own hair and getting into mischief. Later, Finn finds a note from the woman, offering her $50,000 to kill her husband because "I want him gone." It doesn't take long for Finn to learn why Patricia Mickler wants her husband dead. Finn finds Harris Mickler in a bar, he attempts to slip a roofie in her drink, and she sees incriminating photos on his cell phone. Things get even more complicated when Harris's dead body turns up in Finn's garage and she receives another note asking her to off a scuzzy character. VERDICT Readers can pick up YA author Cosimano's (Seasons of the Storm) fun adult debut and put it down again without losing the story. Adults and high school readers will enjoy this breezy romp.--Beth Bland, Milwaukee

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February 1, 2021
Finlay Donovan hasn't been having the greatest time. Her husband left her for their real-estate agent (and is now trying to get full custody of their two kids); she keeps missing her book deadlines; and she barely makes enough money to keep the lights on. When she meets up with her agent to discuss that murder mystery she hasn't written, a woman overhears their conversation about the book's gruesome plot and, misunderstanding what exactly Finlay does for a living, offers her $50,000 to take out her abusive husband. Finlay may know how to get away with murder from researching her books, but she's certainly not desperate enough to actually commit one. But surely nothing will go wrong if she just scopes the guy out? An Edgar nominee for best YA novel (Nearly Gone, 2014), Cosimano makes her adult debut with this off-the-wall series starter, which is part comedy of errors, part genuine thriller. Deftly balancing genre conventions with sly, tongue-in-cheek comments on motherhood and femininity, Cosimano crafts a deliciously twisted tale that will earn her a slew of adult fans.

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