just a sample
Finlay Donovan is back, and she’s worried. Her assistant and nanny, Vero, has been arrested and is awaiting her trial in Maryland. She was accused of stealing funds from her college sorority, and when it happened, Vero had felt alone and overwhelmed, so she ran instead of standing up for herself. Now she’s been caught and is on house arrest in her mother’s house. Finlay, a writer with two kids, has been struggling without Vero’s help, and now Vero has gone quiet. No texts, no calls, no emails. Finlay and Vero’s boyfriend Javi, who also hasn’t heard from Vero in a while, are worried about her.
Finlay wants to go to Maryland to check on Vero and on her trial, but her parents have the flu and her ex-husband is out of town, so there would be no one to look after the kids. Until Nick offers. Nick is her boyfriend, a handsome police detective that she met back when she had to deal with a major misunderstanding involving a dead body and the Russian mob. Nick encourages her to go check in with Finlay while he stays and watches the kids. Finlay is dubious, but she finally agrees, her concern about Vero that strong.
Javi insists on going to Maryland too, so Finlay and Javi head to Vero’s mother’s house the next day. They find that Vero is just fine, but her mother and attorney had taken away her electronics so she wouldn’t get into any trouble as the trial gets closer. But she doesn’t have much faith in her lawyer. Finlay decides to step in and investigate, to see if she can figure out what happened to the money that went missing.
Back when she was in school. Vero had been the treasurer of her sorority. Most everyone else in the house had come from wealthier neighborhoods than she did, but she was smart and charming, so the other sisters liked her. But they were quick to turn on her when she was accused of stealing, especially since the money had been in her room when it disappeared. The girls had been running some underground poker nights, and there had been some students who lost big, one even losing his entire tuition for the semester. And that money couldn’t go in the usual accounts, because how could they explain that?
Vero and Finlay find her friends from college, and sees that many of the people who had also been involved with the underground poker games are doing really well. They all graduated and are working good jobs or in graduate school. But they all seem to have secrets, making the suspect if not suspects in the theft. Meanwhile, Finlay’s social media is blowing up with rumors about Vero and a poll about her relationship with Nick. Her son keeps hiding Nick’s keys, and she’s got writing deadlines to think about. They need to figure out what happened to that money quickly, before Vero is put in jail, her kids destroy the house, and her neighbors all put shirtless photos of Nick online.
The first 13 chapters of Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line are spectacular, per usual. These are characters who leap off the page, and long ago, they leapt into my heart. I was happy to get the start of the story, and I can’t wait for the ending. I would be really upset about only getting the first 13 chapters, but I had an extra Audible credit rattling around, so I pre-ordered and can finish the book later this week.
Egalleys for the first 13 chapters were provided by St. Martin’s Press and an early copy of the audio book (also just the first 13 chapters) were provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.
