Note: Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and author Elle Cosimano for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

This is the second book in author Elle Cosimano’s series about romance author Finlay Donovan who inadvertently gets herself hired as an assassin. In the course of events, she finds herself entangled with the Russian mob, all the while trying to finish her next book. In the first book, just as Finlay and her live-in nanny, Vero, believe they have extricated themselves from the situation, they discover an ad on a forum offering $100,000 to assassinate Finlay’s ex-husband.

Now, Finlay might not be too fond of her ex, but he is the father of her children. Steven isn’t the most upstanding guy around, which leaves open a number of possibilities as to who would want him dead. Finlay must also think about who has the cash to pay that as well. The list of suspects is long. At the same time, Finlay is dealing with a younger boyfriend who disappears with his buddies to the beach, as well as the cop her sister set her up with, both of whom end up playing key roles in the mystery.

Steven doesn’t believe someone’s out to kill him, despite several near-misses. This leaves him at odds with Finlay, whom he accuses of creating the situation so she can stop him from seeing their children. Finlay deals with cybercrime as she tries to wipe her identity from the forum where she found the post in question. The police are catching on that the website is a front for the Russian mob, and Finlay must convince the man she put in jail in the previous book to have it taken down.

The adventure in Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead is a lot of fun. It’s a mystery in the style of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series with Finlay and Vero finding themselves immersed in improbable events. Suspension of disbelief is required for this book. If you can manage that, though, it’s a fun read. With all that’s going on in the book, the most trouble I had was believing a college student could take off for a week to the beach in December. Doesn’t the author know that the semester usually ends in December? The last thing they would do is take a spring-break-like trip.

The crazy antics of Finlay and Vero are fun, if a bit predictable. I had an idea what Vero’s big secret was in the very beginning. It’s pretty obvious what she is trying to hide from Finlay. This will, of course, lead to more adventures later on. The books are a continuation of events, with some situations resolving by the end of Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead while others are left open for consequences down the line. I like Finlay and Vero, even if there are a few things that fall into their laps a little conveniently. Don’t we all know a hacker who can feed us information at any time? Don’t we all know a cop who is willing to look the other way when we break the law?

Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead is a great light read that entertains and makes me laugh in several spots. I do think you need to have read the first book to grasp all of the events here, and likely that will be true for the entire series. This is more of an ongoing saga than a stand-alone story. It is a fun series that is worth getting into so far.

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