After the events of Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave, Vero has been extradited to Maryland where she is on house arrest at her childhood home and being accused of stealing money from her former sorority’s treasury funds. Finlay and Javi are worried about Vero, so they decide to leave the kids with Detective Nick and head to Maryland for a visit. When they arrive, they discover that threatening messages have been arriving on Vero’s doorstep and that Vero is desperate to prove her innocence…but due to her fancy new ankle bracelet, she needs Finlay’s help to investigate. The partners-in-crime work on tracking down Vero’s ex-boyfriend, who could account for her whereabouts on the night that the money went missing, while trying to figure out who really took the money from Vero’s room in the sorority house.
Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line is the sixth book in the Finlay Donovan series and picks up right where book five leaves off, so this series definitely needs to be read in order. Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line includes themes and topics like family and found family, parenting, secrets and lies, appearance versus reality, right versus wrong, race, economic class, gambling, money, threats, the legal system, and sorority life. The Finlay Donovan series to fans of cosy and comical mysteries like The Maid by Nita Prose, The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club by Gloria Chao, Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto, and Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack.
I love how all of the Finlay Donovan books feature a gripping yet cosy mystery as well as romantic moments and laugh-out-loud shenanigans. Furthermore, the Finlay Donovan books are always engaging, fast-paced, and seemingly quick reads. The false accusations and warrant against Vero have been discussed in previous books, so I’m glad that this case was finally addressed, even though it maybe wasn’t as thrilling as some of Finlay and Vero’s other adventures. Without giving anything away, Finlay and Vero seem to be facing some major life changes at the end of Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line, so excited to see what new mischief this iconic duo gets up to in book seven!
On the downside, we didn’t get to see a lot of swoony Detective Nick or Finlay’s hilariously cute kids in this book since they stay in Virginia while Finlay and Vero are in Maryland, but hopefully we will get to see them more in book seven. I also thought that, in comparison to other books in the Finlay Donovan series, the plot in this book was a little more predictable and tamer, but still enjoyable.
The Finlay Donovan series remains my all-time favourite mystery series, and I can’t wait to see what Vero and Finlay get up to in the next installment. I highly recommend this series to fans of cosy yet suspenseful mysteries with hints of romance and hilarity (again, if you are new to this series, you should start with book one, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It).
Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of March 17th 2026.
Will you be picking up Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis
From New York Times bestseller Elle Cosimano comes Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line―the highly anticipated next installment in the beloved Finlay Donovan series.
Life hasn’t been easy for Finlay Donovan lately, but it just got a whole lot harder. Her nanny and partner-in-crime, Vero, has been extradited from Virginia to Maryland, where she’s facing criminal charges for a theft she swears she didn’t commit. A prisoner to an ankle bracelet as she awaits her trial, Vero is forced to live with her overbearing mother and nosy aunt. Threatening messages keep arriving on her mother’s door, demanding Vero “turn over the money . . . or else.” And if she doesn’t figure out who really stole her former sorority’s treasury funds, her next home might be a prison cell.
But proving her innocence might be an impossible feat. Vero was the treasurer of her sorority when the money went missing―one of the only people who had access to the cash. And her alibi is a date who ghosted her. With her court date quickly approaching, and her mysterious stalker on her tail, Vero needs to clear her name fast.
Finlay decides a trip to Maryland is in order. After all, Vero stood by her through her darkest moments, and Finlay will be damned if she lets her best friend and children’s nanny be convicted for something she didn’t do. She sets off on a mission to suss out the real thief and bring Vero home.
