Reviews with content warning for Murder - Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice

If you liked the first two Finlay Donovan books, you’ll like this one. It’s the same sort hijinks with Finlay, Vero, and the usual cast of characters in a different setting: Atlantic City.

It was nice to see a little bit of growth in some of the characters. Overall, it was a fun, quick read.

<spoiler/> I thought we were going to have a resolution and the series would end as a trilogy but there’s a loose thread at the very end of the book so I’m assuming there will be another. <spoiler/>

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_thelitlibrarian's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful informative mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.50 stars
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TW: Infidelity, Murder
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I always love the Finlay Donovan series, this is the fourth instalment of the series and I would highly suggest you read all of them before picking this one up! The series doesn't read as a standalone and references back to all of the first installments with plot and characters. How do Finlay and Vero end up in Atlantic City with Finlay's ex, their kids, and her mother? All it takes is a ransom note and a do-as-they-go plan to rescue Javi.

This was by far the funniest Finlay situation to be in, and to top it all off, her sister, the hot cop (also love interest), and some of the unit's finest arrive when it seems there is a Russian mob threat that can be taken down. The antics in this one were high and it was interesting seeing how Finlay and Vero managed to get away with their shenanigans this time around. Part of me wishes we had a bit of a recap at the beginning of the book since it does bring back characters from some of the earlier books, and I had a hard time remembering how they played a part in the books!

I enjoyed the fact that a lot of the plot points seemed to have been wrapped up at the end of this book, all of their hard work paid off and they seemed to have gotten away with it (mostly). The book does set us up with an interesting plot including Mrs. Haggerty (who we didn't get to see much in this), it really gets me excited to see what's next for Finlay and Vero.
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I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books, and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Publication date: March 5th, 2024

Content Warnings

theinstabookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an e-ARC of FINLAY DONOVAN ROLLS THE DICE in exchange for my review. This novel will be available on March 5th.

Finlay Jumps the Gun was my favourite in the series at the time when I read it at the beginning of the year, so I was so excited when the author revealed she was extending the series to include four more books. I was even more excited when I was granted an e-ARC of this book. I feel like I have whiplash, however, because this was my least favourite book in the series to date. This was mostly plot and not a whole lot of action. Steven was insufferable. And while I loved Finlay's mom and how she stuck up for Finlay and Vero, I felt like this book was nothing more than a "filler" that set up the next book in the series. The ending was clever, though, and I am looking forward to the next book, but my expectations will be a bit lower next time.

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