Finlay Donovan is Killing It & Bloody Marys

Finlay Donovan is Killing It
By: Elle Cosimano

"Finlay Donovan is killing it...except, she’s really not. A stressed-out single mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: The new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written; her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her; and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.

When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet. She soon discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation."

This was a fun and fast-paced mystery.  It reminds me just a bit of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich in that both main characters are comically inept and placed in positions where they are completely out of their depths.

Let's start off with a drink that unfortunately was not consumed by any of the characters, but played an important role when Finlay spilled it all over a women's skirt.

"'Bloody Mary?' I asked

He raised a brow at my beverage choice but didn't argue. I watched the bathroom door while he poured tomato and vodka over ice and dropped a plume of celery in the glass."

I knew right away that I wanted to make a fancy Bloody Mary.  You know the one with so many garnishes it could practically be a meal?! I chose this Bloody Mary recipe from Food.com not just because of the garnish, but because it contains horseradish, Worchestershire, and a whole host of other flavorings that I love.

Next, I bring you a snack that was mentioned a few times in this book and is a staple in many households.

"Wiping Goldfish cracker crumbs on my jeans, I crept to the door and peered around the curtain just as the boy on the other side stood on his tiptoes and reached for the bell a third time."

I don't want to get too detailed here with the recipe, but...

1. Buy Goldfish

2. Pour in bowl. (optional)

Voila! 

Ok, Ok, jokes aside if you're really looking for a recipe I found a Homemade Goldfish recipe from Half-Baked Harvest.  It really doesn't look difficult, but if you want the traditional goldfish shape, then you'll have to buy the goldfish cutter.  I went the easy route with the store-bought Goldfish, but if you try making your own let me know how it goes!

Finlay Donovan is Killing It: ★★★★☆

I liked it, but I didn't love it.

I know this is a new genre for the author so I'm willing to cut her some slack.  Some of the negative reviews claim that the plot was just too unbelievable, but I didn't pick up this book thinking, "this could totally happen to me."  It might have been far-fetched, but it was fun.

My main problem lies with Finlay and her relationship with her children.  She claims to be doing everything she can for her kids, but what I read stated: Finlay uses duct tape to fix her daughter's hair, Finlay woke up to her kids poking her because she slept until dinner time, Finlay needs a full-time nanny so she can work from home even though she hasn't touched her computer in months and she doesn't cook or clean... I can get behind the idea of not being perfect and wanting her to be relatable, but she mostly came off as negligent and it made it hard to root for her to keep custody.

Despite my dislike of the relationship between Finlay and her children, there was some good stuff here.  Her friendship with her nanny, Vero, and the beginning of some new love interests (that's right: interests as in plural)!  Plus, we're left with a cliffhanger that definitely has me wanting to pick up the next one in this series, Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead.