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If you’re looking for a hilarious ‘you couldn’t write this’ comedy of errors crime novel, then allow me to introduce you to Finlay Donovan.
She’s a single mum who definitely isn’t ‘killing it’ – in fact, she’s a bit of a hot mess. Newly divorced, mum of two under four, a loathsome property agent engaged to her ex, a stack of unpaid bills on her doorstep and stretching her already spent publishing deadline for her latest novel – which is entirely unwritten.
However, a misunderstanding over an ear-wigged conversation leads to Finlay Donovan being mistaken for a hitwoman for hire, which leads to a seemingly never ending series of unfortunate events in which Finn is in over her head.
The blurb for Finlay Donovan is Killing It reads: “It is a widely known fact that most mums are ready to kill someone by eight-thirty AM on any given Monday.
“Finlay Donovan, single mum and floundering crime writer, is having a hard time. Her ex-husband went behind her back to fire the nanny, and this morning she sent her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an unfortunate incident with scissors.
“Making it to lunch with her literary agent is a minor victory but, as she’s discussing the plot of her latest crime novel, the conversation is misinterpreted by a woman sitting nearby as that of a hit-woman offering her services to dispose of a ‘problem’ husband.
“And when the woman slips Finlay a name and a promise of a large sum of cash, Finlay finds herself plotting something much bigger than her novel.
“And, after all, they do always say: write what you know. . .”
Read more: How to Kill Your Family – Bella Mackie – book review
Finlay finds herself embroiled in a real-life murder investigation, with a literal partner in crime in her former nanny, Vero. Despite the wild ride of stake outs, mafia mobs and murders, Finlay Donovan is still very much a character you can root for.
Finlay Donovan is Killing It is the first of it’s series, and a brilliant combination of chick lit and crime, with suspenseful chapters and unsuspecting antagonists. The murder mystery is equal parts thrilling and laugh out loud funny, with Finn playing the role of a contract killer while wearing yoga pants and a sweatshirt.
I love how lighthearted this book was, while still remaining entirely engaging with likeable characters in Finn and Vero, as well as a romance storyline woven in – but which boy will get the girl? It’s a mystery in itself.
The novel leaves itself well open for book two, Finlay Donovan Knocks Em Dead, which was released on February 1. For fans of How To Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie, and Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club.
