I received this book for free (hey, thanks!) in exchange for an honest review. I promise that this does NOT affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. For real.
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano Series: Finlay Donovan #5
Genres: Adult, Mystery/Thriller
Published by St. Martin's Publishing Group on March 4, 2025
Also by this author: Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead, Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun , Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice
Format: Review Audio (304 pages) • Source: Publisher
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From New York Times bestseller and Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave—the hugely anticipated next installment in the fan-favorite Finlay Donovan series.
Finlay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet . . . but at least there's not a body in her backyard.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?
I’ve loved this series, even when it goes off the rails a little bit. These are cozy mysteries with a slight edge compared to others I’ve read. I think this book specifically is more on the cozy side than the others and a bit more grounded than a couple of the previous ones. I was happy to encounter a new mystery instead of a continuation of the other plot that had run its course. The first four books each had individual mysteries that get resolved in each book, but there was a larger mystery and thread throughout all of those. It got a little tiring.
All of that to say – this book follows a new mystery based in Finlay’s neighborhood. It was set up at the end of book 4 when a body is found in Mrs. Haggarty’s yard. Finlay and Vero spend this installment trying to figure out who murdered this dude and buried them in the yard, since her ex-husband is the one implicated in the crime. Finlay believes, as much as Steven sucks, that he isn’t responsible for it.
I will say that I love how this book brought the series back to its roots, as I touched on before. There’s a new storyline to follow that kind of reads like a standalone story. The humor and heart of these books get met every time and keep me reading. I know that a lot of people are sick of the antics or thought the books veered too far in one direction, but I just love Cosimano’s writing and characters so much. I can’t imagine quitting this series even if every book ends up weird or predictable.
Unfortunately this one didn’t get a higher rating because it was so incredibly predictable. The moment a certain plot element with Mrs. Haggerty was introduced, it became clear to me what was going on. I was expecting a few more twists with other characters that were introduced – no spoilers – but they ended up being red herrings that went nowhere?
This series could go on to be a hundred books and I’d probably still read it. The ending set up an interesting premise for the next book that wasn’t super shocking (like the end of book 4 was) but definitely intriguing. I’m assuming there will be another mystery included since the ending wasn’t really setting THAT up, but something else lol.
I had an audiobook review copy of this so I also wanted to note that I refuse to read this series in any other format. I think the audio narrator, Angela Dawe, does an incredible job – she has a lot of voices in her arsenal for the characters. I love audiobooks but sometimes I’m not in the mood to pick the book back up and choose a podcast instead. Over the couple of days I was listening to this one, I never wanted to listen to a podcast instead of the book! And that’s saying something.
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