A little while ago I read ‘Finlay Donovan is Killing It’ by Elle Cosimano and I absolutely fell in love with Finlay and Cosimano’s sharp writing. In it, Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel over lunch with her agent and she’s mistaken for a contract killer and hired to kill someone. Finlay isn’t a murderer and has no intentions of actually killing anyone. But somehow, the man ends up dead, in Finlay’s garage. The plot is a laugh riot and it just consumes you. I was disappointed when I didn’t get the second part of the series, ‘Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead’ at bookstores around town as soon as I finished the first book. When I saw a slightly bruised copy of the book at a bookstore in Civil Mall in Kathmandu, I didn’t hesitate a second before buying it even though I like my copies to be pristine when I get them. I was so excited. ‘Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead’ takes off where the first book ended. I would recommend you read the first book before picking it up otherwise you won’t be able to keep up with the storyline and it might get a bit confusing. In the second book of the series, Finlay has to figure out who wants her ex-husband dead to try and save him. But he’s not ready to believe her and actually thinks that she is the one behind all the ‘accidents’ he keeps getting into, and that complicates things even more. Also, Finlay is on a deadline. Her editor wants a certain number of words in an impossibly short time. Again, she finds her fiction work bordering on the truth. Finlay can only hope it doesn’t eventually get her sent to jail.

But Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead lacks the charm and the wit of the first book. The sense of urgency that was there in the first one is missing in this one. It also lacks a clearly defined plot. There is a lot happening but it takes the story nowhere. There are random little incidents that don’t tie up. Instead, it feels like vignettes of Finlay’s life. That wouldn’t have been a problem had Finlay been as interesting as she was in the first book. But here she seems like a pawn in a game controlled by someone else rather than her smart self.

Call me crazy, I’m still going to read the third book in the series ‘Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun’. I loved the first book in the series and I’m hoping Finlay gets her mojo back. Two and a half stars Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead Elle Cosimano Published: 2022 Publisher: Headline Review Pages: 357, Paperback