Title: Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave
Author: Elle Cosimano
Series: Finlay Donovan
TW: Domestic Abuse, Cheating
About this Book: 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.
When the focus of the investigation widens to include Finlay’s ex-husband, Steven, though, Finlay and Vero are left with little choice but to get closer to Mrs. Haggerty and uncover her secrets . . . before the police start digging up theirs. But who will solve the mystery first?
My Thoughts:
Elle Cosimano has done it again. I will remain a Finlay fan until long after the series is over because there is something so identifiable with a character who is this much of a mess in the best way. She is clever, and creative and doing her best and dang is her best good enough for sure.
The character I ended up appreciating and loving the most in this book, though, was Mrs. Haggerty, which, for anyone who has read the previous books, will understand, is a surprise. She doesn’t have the most delightful personality, but she is a total badass when it comes to kids and crime (not crimes involving kids, I promise).
This time the dead body is not one that Finlay or Vero end up coming in direct contact with which is refreshing for a change, but it doesn’t mean they won’t get dragged into it, of course, by Steven. Ugh, Steven.
Cam is in this book quite a bit and honestly I love it so much. He’s a breath of fresh air, trying to sneak beer from Finlay’s fridge, teaching Mrs. Haggerty about video games and always willing to be paid in cash and food.
The mystery here was a surprise to me, not because of the body found in Mrs. Haggerty’s yard but because until the end of the book I wasn’t 100% certain who did it. I love that, because it means the book, despite being an easier read than the previous four in terms of keeping track of threads, was not predictable.
It is worth noting that this book does end on a cliffhanger.
Also, Nick remains the best.
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