Book Review: Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano

 

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano is the 4th book in the Finlay Donovan series. It picks up where book 3, Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, leaves off.

Finlay and Vero must get to Atlantic City for a number of urgent reasons including saving Vero's crush Javi and locating a stolen car. So they concoct a story saying they need a Girl's weekend and are taking the kids with them. Finlay's ex-husband digs in his heels and says the kids are not leaving the state without him. And Finlay's mom is determined to accompany them for her own reasons.

Because it's Finlay and Vero, it hasn't been 24 hours and already trouble is finding them. Marco wants payment in full of what Vero owes him before he will free Javi. And he wants to know where his nephew Ike is. The women can't own up to that. So, they are at an impasse.

Finlay and Vero decide to break into Marco's suite to look for clues as to where Javi and the stolen car might be. Someone has beaten them to it, though, and left behind a dead Marco. They have no idea who did it. It adds to their workload. Find who killed Marco, they are probably looking for the car as well.

Then Nick, Charlie, Georgia, and Samantha show up at their hotel (all cops.) Nick is very eager to keep Finlay close to him to keep her safe. Rumor has it that the Russian mob boss who owns the car is on his way back to the states flying into Newark.

Finlay has to juggle people and responsibilities to continue to pursue the questions that brought them to Atlantic City. If things don't go off as planned, will she have to confess to the things that lead up to this mess?

This is not a standalone book. You must read them in order to appreciate the mess that Finlay and Vero are in.

Finlay and Vero are fun characters to read about. So often it seems they are going out of the frying pan and into the fire. This is a good escape from reality. The ladies are funny in an almost Lucy and Ethel way. Thing after thing happens to them escalating the danger and action. Basically, the premise for the plot is wild and bears little resemblance to reality which makes it a good read if you want something different. 

The action moves the plot forward at a good rate. There are very few times when Finlay and Vero aren't actively doing something. But, even then you are learning more about them and the other characters.

I gave it 5 stars out of 5. The series would make for good beach reading. But, it also makes for fun reading if you need a break from reality. If you enjoy humorous mysteries with lots of action, this could be a good book and series for you.

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano was released March 5th, 2024 from Minotaur Books.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion.