After returning from Atlantic City, Finlay and her nanny/partner in crime Vero are shocked to find out that a dead body has been uncovered in their elderly neighbour Mrs. Haggerty’s backyard after a flood. Even though Mrs. Haggerty is quickly absolved, she is unable to return home until the flood damage is repaired and she decides that the best place to stay is Finlay’s house across the street, much to Finlay and Vero’s dismay. Things get dire when the police start looking at Steven, Finlay’s ex-husband and the father of her kids, for the crime. Can Finlay and Vero help Finlay’s boyfriend Detective Nick Anthony find the real murderer without implicating themselves in the process?
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave is a light-hearted and comedic mystery thriller with romantic elements, making it perfect for fans of shows like Only Murders in the Building and fans of books by Holly Jackson, Lucy Score, Ally Carter, or Christina Lauren. Throughout the book, it deals with themes and topics like marriage and infidelity, abuse, trust (or lack there of), secrets and lies, fact versus fiction, wrong versus right, family, parenthood, crime and punishment, appearance versus reality, and female friendships.
This is the fifth installment in the Finlay Donovan series and even though each book deals with a new case, plotlines definitely connect and continue on throughout the series, so readers will need to have read previous books the series before picking up this newest installment.
I love the Finlay Donovan books—I picked up one of the books at a little free library this past summer on a whim and ended up devouring the series! Mysteries and thrillers usually aren’t usually my thing, but the Finlay Donovan books are so cosy, entertaining, gripping, and laugh-out-loud funny, and book five is definitely no exception. Also, as someone who is new to mysteries and thrillers, I appreciate that the Finlay Donovan books are always light-hearted and fun, along with being suspenseful and have intriguing twists, but never scary.
Mrs. Haggerty wasn’t really my favourite character in the first four books, so I wasn’t sure how to feel about her playing a bigger role in Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave, but it was great to see a different side to Mrs. Haggerty; one that has some unexpected similarities to Finlay. There are also some super cute and comical moments between Mrs. Haggerty and Finlay’s children (one of which is suspended from preschool and the other who is struggling with potty-training) and Cameron (the young computer hacker who helps with Finlay’s tech needs in exchange for homecooked meals).
If I had to list a downside, I have to say that the romance was a little lacking in comparison to the other Finlay Donovan books. I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see a lot of Vero and Javi’s “newlywed” relationship. Also, since Finlay is still hiding her criminal involvement from Nick and is preoccupied with Mrs. Haggerty for a good portion of this book, we didn’t get to see a lot of Finlay and Nick’s romance either. That said, the romance that we did get was still swoony and remain hopeful that we will get to see more of Vero and Javi’s and Finlay and Nick’s budding relationships in book six.
Overall, I’m loving the Finlay Donovan series and would highly recommend it to readers looking for lots of laughs, swoony love interests, “ride or die” female friendships, and page-turning mysteries. I also think that book one, Finlay Donovan is Killing It, would be a great starting point for readers looking to try out the mystery genre. I can’t wait to see what Finlay and Vero get up to in book six!
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of March 4th 2025.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
From New York Times bestseller and Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave—the hugely anticipated next installment in the fan-favorite Finlay Donovan series.
Finlay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet . . . but at least there’s not a body in her backyard.
Finlay Donovan and her nanny/partner-in-crime, Vero, have not always gotten along with Finlay’s elderly neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty, the community busybody and president of the neighborhood watch. But when a dead body is discovered in her backyard, Mrs. Haggerty needs their help. At first a suspect, Mrs. Haggerty is cleared by the police, but her house remains an active crime scene. She has nowhere to go . . . except Finlay’s house, right across the street.
Finlay and Vero have no interest in getting involved in another murder case—or sacrificing either of their bedrooms. After all, they’ve dealt with enough murders over the last four months to last a lifetime and they both would much rather share their beds with someone else.
