Why are there cheese fries in the picture with the third installment of Elle Cosiman’s Finlay Donovan series, you ask? Well, there’s one kinda throwaway line in Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun [Buy Bookshop Amazon] that mentions cheese fries and it became all I could think about. So, I drove 15 minutes to get some and continue reading.

If you have not read the first two books in this series, Finlay Donovan is Killing It [Buy Bookshop Amazon] or Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead, [Buy Bookshop Amazon] then you should go do that before continuing on with this review. The way this series is written, there’s really no way to talk about book three without spoiling books one or two. You have been warned.

Ok, with that disclaimer out of the way, let’s talk plot.

Book three picks up shortly after the events of book two. It’s a new year and Finlay is swearing off desserts and men so she can get focused on finishing her book. That includes Nick, the hot cop, who she’s been avoiding since he got hurt in the whole mess of book two.

The series bad guy, Felix, forces Finlay to continue searching for the hitman who is also trying to blackmail him, EasyClean. She suspects it is someone inside the police department, so the logical thing is to go to a sleepaway citizen’s police acadamy to investigate, and mayyyybe spend some time with the hot cop to inspire some romance for her book. Bonus: it allows Finlay and her nanny/accountant Vero to hide out from a loan shark after Vero.

Making matters more complicated, Finlay’s ex-husband is back from a few weeks away, lying low in the wake of the attempted hits on his life. She leaves the kids with him, but of course, they don’t stay there. Honestly, after this book, I am really ready for those hits to be successful. He’s trash and can’t be trusted. I said what I said. But alas, he’s still around and going to be problematic in book four, unfortunately for all of us.

Overall, Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun is still classic chaotic and hilarious Finlay. That first chapter had me giggling hard, and the shenanigans that happen throughout this book are ridiculous and wild and entertaining. The mystery aspect had me guessing wrong up until the end, which I support. I’m not a fan of figuring it out too early, so that’s a plus for me. However, if you’re looking for any big resolutions in this series, think again. There’s at least one more book on the way, so a lot of the drama will stick around for a while.

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