Author and single mom Finlay Donovan has been in messes before―after all, she's a pro at removing bloodstains for various unexpected reasons―but none quite like this. When Finlay and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero accidentally destroyed a luxury car that they had "borrowed" in the process of saving the life of Finlay's ex-husband, the Russian mob did her a favor and bought the car for her. And now Finlay owes them.
Mob boss Feliks is still running the show from behind bars, and he has a task for Finlay: find and identify a contract killer before the cops do. The problem is, the killer might be an officer themself.
Luckily, hot cop Nick has just been tasked with starting up a citizen's police academy, and combined pressure from Finlay's looming book deadline and Feliks is enough to convince Finlay and Vero to get involved. Through firearm training and forensic classes (and some hands-on research with a tempting detective), Finlay and Vero use their time in police academy to sleuth out the real contract killer to free themselves from the mob's clutches―all the while dodging spies, confronting Vero's past, and juggling the daily trials of parenthood.
From USA Today bestseller and Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun—the highly anticipated, hilarious, and heart-pounding next installment in the beloved Finlay Donovan series…
It was high time I get myself caught up on Elle Cosimano's Finlay Donovan series with Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun! This is by far the most "contemporary" series I read. It's essentially cozy mystery, but there's no paranormal element, no sinister thriller vibes. It's cute and fluffy and has a single mom author heroine trying to stay alive, stay above her deadline, and unwittingly solve crimes!
I got addicted to Cosimano's YA books which started out with a nice thriller vibe with a flare of paranormal and decided to take a stab at her adult novels (no pun intended) when the first book sounded so humorous wherein an author is pitching her "killer for hire" book at a Bread Co.--I don't know what this Panera is you people talk about. Lol. And thus, Finlay's life has changed ever since and here I am three books in (with two more to go!) and not one paranormal thing has happened. Who am I?
Anyway, in this one Finlay is once again thrust into a mystery against her will as her past actions continue to haunt her and refuse to let go. The Russian mobster, Feliks Zhirov is calling in on Finlay's debt to him, from behind bars. Yes, he is currently in prison awaiting trial, but wants Finlay to find the one called EasyClean from the murder forum Finlay uncovered last time around when someone had put in a hit on her ex-husband, Steven. Not only does Finlay have no clue who this EasyClean is, but she has no way of being able to find him. The only tidbit that she received is that he may be a diry cop, which still doesn't narrow it down by that much.
But Feliks has given her a deadline, as if the one her agent has given her wasn't enough, and now she has only a matter of days of finding out the identity of EasyClean and killing him, but she's hoping to skip that last part and just deliver the identity information instead. It's not long before Finlay and Vero find themselves signing up for a citizen's police academy experience. Using the guise of needing police procedurals for her novel, Finlay and Vero hope that they can find out who among the police officers there might be EasyClean or if they can lead them to said subject.
This was such a fun and engaging novel! I positively love Finlay! She is such a down to earth character and is so relatable! I love that she's an author and has her writing struggles and how her agent wants her to write a hot, sexy scene between Finlay's characters. Then we have the very present romantic tension rippling between her and Nick! I nearly forgotten Nick since it's been awhile since I read the first two books! And oh my, how could I forget him after this?! The tension between these two was so thick I was dying for something to just happen between the two! Much like Finlay's agent was wanting for Finlay's book! Lol.
The mystery element was still pretty good! I don't know if I just had a lucky guess or all my mystery reading and Scooby Doo watching paid off as I nailed this bad guy as soon as he stepped onto the page! Lol. I love being right so early on like that! Although it would be awhile before we get that final whodunit reveal! In this one we also get a bit more about Vero's problems. I know they came up before and possibly this just rehashed some things we already knew, but it was a nice refresher for myself either way! I vaguely recall knowing that we'll get more of Vero's problems in the next book which I have ready to go!
If you like mysteries, but don't like the overly complicated plot twists and characters, then this might be the mystery series for you! It's a light and quirky kind of mystery series with a reluctant detective but who somehow manages to get the crime solved, but it doesn't seem to resolve her own problems! This is definitely a series to read in order too, though I had quite a gap between books 2 and 3, there are plot lines that continue to follow one another despite a new present mystery. Best to start at the beginning with this one and we're gearing up to book 5, so you have plenty of time to catch up! This is the perfect cozy mystery series for those wanting to play book detective and not have to overthink things too much!
Overall Rating 5/5 stars
