Single mom and romance-suspense novelist Finlay Donovan is back, accompanied by her nanny and assistant, Vero, in another adventure that picks up where Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead left off. Finlay discovers that Vero owes a hefty amount of money to a loan shark in New Jersey, who sends a hit man to take care of the situation. At the same time, Finlay is directed by Russian mobster Feliks Zhirov to discover the identity of EasyClean, a poster on a message board run by Feliks. Feliks tells Finlay he'll take care of the hit man from New Jersey if she can provide the identity of EasyClean. Suspecting that EasyClean may be a cop, Finlay and Vero attend a civilian police training camp to dig up clues while a romance strikes up again between Finlay and Nick Anthony, the cop running the camp. VERDICT The plot moves fast, with lots of action and moments where readers will wonder how a situation will end. This book is the third in a series and relies a lot on the events of previous books. Readers who love fast-paced, action-packed mysteries should pick this up.--Lisa Wieczorek

Fasten your seat belts. Suspense novelist Finlay Donovan, who wants all the world to know she's not a killer for hire, is headed for a third round of murder most madcap. Finn is already under a certain amount of pressure. Feliks Zhirov, the Russian mobster arrested because of what she told the police, demands that she identify EasyClean, the online contract killer he's been mistaken for, before Zhirov's trial begins in two weeks. And he isn't kidding, Finn realizes when she sees evidence that one of Zhirov's people is stalking her nanny, Veronica Ruiz, and her two kids. Vero has problems of her own, since she's borrowed $200,000 from Marco, a loan shark with teeth, to pay off her other creditors, and the only way she has to raise that kind of money is to liquidate a slightly bullet-ridden Aston Martin she and Finn acquired less than legally in Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead (2022). How could things possibly get worse? For starters, Finn and Vero could respond to the pressure Marco's enforcer Ike Grindley puts on them by, um, dumping a pile of cars on top of him, eliminating the threat from him personally but accelerating it from every other direction. The rumor that EasyClean is a member of the Fairfax County Police Department leads Finn and Vero to accept an invitation to the citizens' police academy, where they hope to get a closer look at the most likely suspects in the case while exposing themselves to the gaze of the academy's coordinator, Finn's maybe-sweetie Det. Nicholas Anthony. Chaos ensues, and the cliffhanger ending eliminates any point to peeking at the last few pages for enlightenment. More purely manic than the heroine's first two adventures, which at least held out the hope of resolution. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Cosimano's zany third Finlay Donovan caper (after 2022's Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead) finds Finlay--budding romantic suspense novelist, harried divorced mother of two young children, and reluctant criminal--trying valiantly to keep her new year's resolutions: no more junk food, no more men, and no more bodies in her minivan. This won't be easy, as she's being pressured by Russian mob boss Feliks Zhirov to locate and possibly dispose of a mysterious contract killer known as EasyClean, who's been cultivating hit jobs through one of Zhirov's websites, "a popular women's forum that had doubled as a front for the Russian mob." Finlay believes that EasyClean may be a local Virginia police officer, so she jumps at the chance to participate in a citizens' police academy course organized by the Fairfax County PD. It doesn't hurt that the coordinator of the event is charming Det. Nicholas Anthony. While trying to ferret out a killer, she must contend with a pushy ex-husband and a literary agent who demands a sexier ending for her new novel. Finlay's strong narrative voice carries the reader through the colossal silliness. This is good, fast fun. Agent: Stephanie Rostan, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary. (Jan.)