Book Review
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano
Mystery | Humor
Reader’s Thoughts:
Finlay and Vero are back and up to their regular shenanigans in this fourth installment of the Finlay Donovan series, Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice!
This book picks up in the immediate aftermath of the third book (Note: I highly recommend reading this series in order.) Under the pretense of a “girls’ weekend away,” Finlay and Vero head to Atlantic City to negotiate with a dangerous loan shark, save Vero’s childhood crush Javi, and hunt down a stolen car. Except, they’re not alone. Finlay’s mother, ex-husband Steven, and their two rambunctious kids are along for the trip too. Cue the chaos.
Like all the previous Finlay novels, Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice is pure entertainment. It’s non-stop action comedy, full of slapstick humor and witty banter between the characters. And, as always, it’s a delight to try and figure out how Finlay and Vero will wriggle themselves out of whatever new preposterous situation they find themselves in (usually, it involves a dead body or two.)
Book four resolves a lot of what occurred in the previous books, meaning that there’s a lot of plot crammed into these three hundred pages. Too much, maybe. To the point where I have no idea if all the loose ends were tied up or not. There are so many layers and details, secrets, continued cover-ups, and recurring characters from the first three books that it was difficult to keep track of everything.
Now, to be fair, that’s kind of the fun of this series. It’s over-the-top ridiculous, and we as readers are just along for a wild, Finlay-filled ride. Don’t think about it too hard, just enjoy!
Still, I am glad that most of the previous plot points seemed to have been wrapped up to make way for some fresh content. I think we’re at a point in the series where it needs that. We even got a little hint at what might be coming next, as Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice concluded nicely with a segue into a potential new mystery for book five.
While this wasn’t my favorite book in the series, it had all the typical qualities I’m looking for in a Finlay novel — fun, light, and as amusing as always. So bring on the drama, the bodies, and all the insanely ridiculous situations for book five. This long-time Finlay fan isn’t going anywhere.
Recommended for:
Fans of the Finlay Donovan series and quirky, humorous reads
This post contains affiliate links; as an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Advance copy of the book provided courtesy of the publisher, Minotaur Books. All opinions expressed are my own.
About the book:
(From the publisher) Finlay Donovan and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero are in sore need of a girls’ weekend away. They plan a trip to Atlantic City, but odds are―seeing as it’s actually a cover story to negotiate a deal with a dangerous loan shark, save Vero’s childhood crush Javi, and hunt down a stolen car―it won’t be all fun and games. When Finlay’s ex-husband Steven and her mother insist on tagging along too, Finlay and Vero suddenly have a few too many meddlesome passengers along for the ride.
Within hours of arriving in their seedy casino hotel, it becomes clear their rescue mission is going to be a bust. Javi’s kidnapper, Marco, refuses to negotiate, demanding payment in full in exchange for Javi’s life. But that’s not all―he insists on knowing the whereabouts of his missing nephew, Ike, who mysteriously disappeared. Unable to confess what really happened to Ike, Finlay and Vero are forced to come up with a new plan: sleuth out the location of Javi and the Aston Martin, then steal them both back.
But when they sneak into the loan shark’s suite to search for clues, they find more than they bargained for―Marco’s already dead. They don’t have a clue who murdered him, only that they themselves have a very convincing motive. Then four members of the police department unexpectedly show up in town, also looking for Ike―and after Finlay’s night with hot cop Nick at the police academy, he’s a little too eager to keep her close to his side.
If Finlay can juggle a jealous ex-husband, two precocious kids, her mother’s marital issues, a decomposing loan shark, and find Vero’s missing boyfriend, she might get out of Atlantic City in one piece. But will she fold under the pressure and come clean about the things she’s done, or be forced to double down?