Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano
Finlay Donovan mystery series #3. Mob comedy. Can be read as a stand-alone but better as part of the series in reading order.
Finlay has worked with the mob in the past but clearly hope it was over. However, Feliks, even though in prison, still has a task for Finlay. She needs to find a killer who just might be an officer of the law.
Finlay and Vero attend training at the police academy as cover to try to find the real contract killer. But Finlay’s family just can’t seem to do without her so children and ex husband end up at the academy as well. Off the cuff seems to be the best plan these days.

Zany antics right under the eye of everyone it seems. Finlay juggles the mob and children pretty well, but that ex husband is work! There is a romance now too between Finlay and Nick that makes her editor happy at last.
So far it’s still laugh out loud funny in parts, but it’s also getting a bit darker with bodies and killings and mob actions. I’ll stick with the series for now but can see it getting old in another book or two. ( )

Finlay Donovan is an author and a single mom who, despite the best intentions, just can't seem to stay on the right side of the law. Along with her nanny/accountant/more than willing partner-in-crime Vero, the two of them have a habit of stumbling upon or inadvertently creating dead bodies. Not wanting to draw attention to their hard-to-explain activities, they have to find a way to solve the crime without any fingers pointing back at them.

In Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, Finlay has just escaped her last jam with the help of a Russian mobster. Now she owes him a favor. He needs her to track down a contract killer who just might be a cop. Fortunately, Finlay's hot cop boyfriend, Nick, has started a citizen's police academy. Despite her reluctance to head into the lion's den, the academy provides her and Vero the perfect opportunity to figure out who the real killer is. All while maneuvering around two small children, an ex-husband, a romantically interested cop, and the mob.

In Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice, Finlay and Vero don't even have time to clean up from their previous adventure when they head off to Atlantic City under the guise of a girl's trip. In fact, they need to rescue Vero's friend Javi, try to get Vero out of her massive loan shark debt, and try to get Finlay out from under the thumb of the mob. Before they can even grab the kids and get on the road, ex-husband Steven forces his way onto the trip, followed shortly by Finlay's mom.

Once in Atlantic City, the girls sneak away to find Javi and instead find two dead bodies (including Vero's loan shark) and a dog named Kevin Bacon. Unable to call the police without facing some questions they had no good answers for, Finlay and Vero must once again hide some bodies. Returning to their own hotel, they find that Nick has come to town, along with three other members of the police force, one of whom is Finlay's sister. Nick doesn't want to let Finlay out of his arms, let alone his sight.

Trying to juggle her kids, a jealous ex-husband, a cop boyfriend, her mother's marital issues, saving Vero's childhood crush Javi, and figuring out who murdered the loan shark, Finlay might as well be in a circus as a casino. It will take a good roll of the dice to come out of this mess!

These characters are so much fun. Finlay and Vero make a great team. They are part Cagney and Lacey, part Lucy and Ethel. They manage to be clever and reckless at the same time, which adds to the excitement as they always seem on the verge of being discovered. The mystery in each novel is engrossing and challenging. There are plenty of exciting action sequences in each book and a few steamy romantic scenes to boot. The supporting characters mostly add spice and emotional stakes to the story. The one exception is Steven. He played a critical role in some of the earlier books, but now he has grown tiresome and disagreeable. Less Steven in favor of characters like Mrs. Haggerty, Finlay's neighbor and fellow citizen's police academy alum, would be a lot more fun. Finding out more of Vero's and Javi's history in Dice also opens up some interesting opportunities for them in the future.

Elle Cosimano's Finlay Donovan books are a blast. I love the structure, with each book a complete adventure while also laying the foundation for the next story. They are funny, sweet, occasionally steamy, and always exciting.

Angela Dawe narrates the audiobooks and she is perfectly cast. Her pacing, inflection and distinctive character voices draw you into the story and convey the book's emotion and humor at every step. I love her voice for Vero which captures her fierceness and raw emotion perfectly. Dawe takes great material and elevates it. This is such an enjoyable series and I look forward to many more adventures with Finlay and Vero.

I was provided a copy of these books by the publisher. ( )

Never ever, I repeat, never ever, drink hot coffee while reading a Finlay Donovan installment - because there is a strong chance that you will be laughing so hard you will snort that coffee all over yourself and anything or anybody that is in close range.

“Javi blinked at us, red-faced and livid. One of Vero’s sweaty socks was stuck to his face and my hair dryer dangled between his butt cheeks.”

And it only gets funnier from there. How the team of Finlay Donovan and Vero, her Nanny/Accountant manage to get themselves in and out of so many hilarious predicaments is patently unbelievable. I don’t care about the naysayers - it is pure enjoyment from page one even when Finlay is being shot at and Vero is playing a con that she can’t win and Javi is being blind sided and decked yet again. What goes down in cop school with the dynamic duo is pure gold.

I have “Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice” on my shelf and as soon as I finish The Curse of Petro Houdini I am all over the next Finlay Donovan installment. Many, many thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy of Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun. ( )

3.5 stars
Another fun installment in the Finlay Donovan universe! ( )

Rounding up from 3.5. Just didn’t hit the same way this time around ( )