Reviews with content warning for Blood - Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead

As fun as the first one. Already excited to read the next. Hope this becomes a very long series. Only thing that bothered me was the marker. Addictions never really go away. Anyone who’s ever gone through a twelve step program can tell you that. Also, can’t decide if I’m rooting for the cop, the lawyer, or neither, but that’s why I have to read the third one tomorrow ;-)

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abicaro17's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Another great book! Finn is at it again in another addition of novelist/contract killer mom Finnley. I didn't rank this as high as the first book because it seemed a tad less messy and chaotic than the first. The appeal of the first to me was that Finn was a recently divorced mom of two struggling to make ends meet and write her book while fending off her cheating ex. The mystery of the hit and the mod seemed more organic and chaotic in thought. This book seemed to have the thoughts in boxes and every trail was followed like a practiced detective who had a lot of experience. Even with Finn and Vero basically solving several murders and getting a mod boss arrested, they're still just civilians who dabbled in contact hits. It was a tad disappointing but it's still a great read!

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ciwanski's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Honestly didn’t love this one as much as the first book in the series, but as I read on it became charming enough to still enjoy it :) I’ve gone ahead and placed a hold on the 3rd book as well so Elle Cosimano must be doing something right

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brandie_abbie19's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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pernillelsk's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

After thoroughly enjoying "Finlay Donovan is Killing It", I was so excited to pick this up in preparation for the Literally Dead Book Club discussion.
"Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead" picks up immediately after the conclusion of the first book. Finlay is struggling to continue writing her book and is still trying to navigate how to coparent with her ex-husband. Someone has ordered a hit for Steven, Finlay's ex-husband, so on top of worrying about his parenting, Finlay is worried to leave her children alone with him. At least she has her partner in crime, Vero, but Finlay quickly suspects that Vero may be hiding something from her...
Although I did not enjoy this quite as much as the first one, I am still enthralled by Finlay as a character. The plot of this series is going off the handle a little bit, which is highly entertaining, but makes it feel less realistic. The situations Finlay and Vero find themselves in are wild, and I do not think the average person would be able to get out of them quite so well. Although this is fine for a novel, what I love about Finlay is how relatable she feels, so for me as a reader, I want the story to feel more realistic.
I love how close Finlay and Vero are. Their friendship is something to aspire for and they are the epitome of "ride or die". Having the support of another woman does make it more probable to me that Finlay is navigating this situation more sanely.
The love triangle between Finlay, the law student, and the detective was something lighthearted and fun to read about. I think it again makes it more realistic that Finlay might know what she is doing because she has the advice of two different people with criminal knowledge. I am excited to see her relationships develop more in book three!
I love that Finlay remains a powerful, strong woman who is taking on her situation head on. I also really love that her novel she is writing is loosely based on her current predicament. Having to write out what is going on I think is helping her process her crimes and uncover the bad guys.
I am still enjoying this series and I am so excited to see what antics Finlay gets up to next!

Content Warnings

lucual20's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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