Week 52 Review: Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice

From Goodreads:

Finlay Donovan and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero are in sore need of a girls' weekend away. They plan a trip to Atlantic City, but odds are―seeing as it's actually a cover story to negotiate a deal with a dangerous loan shark, save Vero's childhood crush Javi, and hunt down a stolen car―it won't be all fun and games. When Finlay's ex-husband Steven and her mother insist on tagging along too, Finlay and Vero suddenly have a few too many meddlesome passengers along for the ride.

Within hours of arriving in their seedy casino hotel, it becomes clear their rescue mission is going to be a bust. Javi's kidnapper, Marco, refuses to negotiate, demanding payment in full in exchange for Javi's life. But that's not all―he insists on knowing the whereabouts of his missing nephew, Ike, who mysteriously disappeared. Unable to confess what really happened to Ike, Finlay and Vero are forced to come up with a new plan: sleuth out the location of Javi and the Aston Martin, then steal them both back.

But when they sneak into the loan shark's suite to search for clues, they find more than they bargained for―Marco's already dead. They don't have a clue who murdered him, only that they themselves have a very convincing motive. Then four members of the police department unexpectedly show up in town, also looking for Ike―and after Finlay's night with hot cop Nick at the police academy, he's a little too eager to keep her close to his side.

If Finlay can juggle a jealous ex-husband, two precocious kids, her mother's marital issues, a decomposing loan shark, and find Vero's missing boyfriend, she might get out of Atlantic City in one piece. But will she fold under the pressure and come clean about the things she's done, or be forced to double down?

My Review:
I had such a blast reading this book! Watching the wild antics that Finlay and Vero get into, and out of, and watching how they do so, has always been fun, and in this book, the stakes are raised, given that Javi got kidnapped, and they don't have the payment. 

Of course what also makes this series a lot of fun, is that it's not just the current situation and mystery that they have to deal with, there's also their personal lives. In which case is having to go on a road trip with her ex-husband and her mom, and her kids, and juggling them while also dealing with finding Javi and figuring out who killed Marco. 

Reading as her and Vero juggled their secrets while also being in unfamiliar ground in Atlantic City, was just a lot of fun, plus their brand of chaos that somehow always ends up getting out of these situations (sometimes after being the reason why they're getting into them) is always a lot of fun. There was a lot of moving pieces in this one and I really enjoyed watching as things played out! 

This book wraps up a lot of the existing plot threads, like Feliks, the car, and dealing with the fact of who the contract killer was, and what it meant for everyone. I loved how Finlay played her hand, and used all these different parts against one another to come out on top! 

Loved reading this book, and I'm pumped for the next book, with that ending, I have to know what's going to happen next! 

Author: Elle Cosimano
Series: Finlay Donovan #4
Read: December 23rd, 2023
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Expected Publication: March 5th 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars