[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Negalley and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Finlay Donovan is watching her life slip away from her. Her next book is overdue, and she hasn’t written a word of it. She can’t afford to pay back her advance – she can’t even pay her electric bill. Her ex is threatening to pursue full custody of their kids. And he laid off the nanny she was counting on for some child-free writing time.
During a meeting with her agent, Finlay notices a woman sitting nearby, watching her. But the woman misunderstands Finlay’s conversation about her romantic suspense novels and thinks Finlay is a killer for hire. And the woman is willing to pay big money to have her husband killed.
Finlay’s curiosity is too much to ignore, so she goes to check out the husband. Just to see what kind of guy he is.
Before she really knows what is going on, the guy is dead, his wife has gone missing, and Finlay has the name of someone else to kill. This whole, weird situation is just the creative jump start she needed to write her new book. But she’s not sure which risk is worse – the risk of being arrested and having her kids taken away or the risk of being discovered by the big, dangerous men tied to the dead body she now has in her garage.
Review
The premise of this is brilliant, and so is the execution! I haven’t had this much fun with a mystery in awhile – and I have read some excellent mysteries in the last month. But the mysteries I read and enjoy tend to follow a pattern. And this throws the pattern right out the window. And I loved it!
I loved Finlay and the nanny, Vero. What a team they make! I loved watching Finlay get a handle on her life again, especially thanks to Vero joining their family again. And their partnership regarding the dead body was fantastic.
There are laugh-out-loud moments in this as well as a few twists that made me gasp out loud. And the epilogue is a stunning set up for the next book. I was already excited about reading another Finlay Donovan adventure, but that epilogue made book 2 a must-read for me.
Mystery and suspense fans should be sure to check out this clever, funny, captivating story. I loved it! (Language, off-page sex, sexual references, TW: references to sexual assault)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*
*♥♥♥♥♥ = Outstanding!