Today’s featured author is Elle Cosimano—of Finlay Donovan fame! If you keep up with my reviews, you may know I absolutely love this series about a single mom who (in the first book) gets mistaken for a hitwoman. Hilarious, edge-of-your-seat suspense ensues.
In today’s interview, Elle and I chat about her latest adventure, Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, which features the series’ beloved characters and trademark humor.
Sleuths, connect with Elle on Instagram, Facebook, and her website. Grab a copy of Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun here, plus preorder book four here, and the recently-announced (!) Veronica Ruiz short story here.
Hi Elle, thanks so much for joining! Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun is the third—and most recent—book in your Finlay Donovan series, which stars a single mom and struggling novelist who, after being mistaken for a hitwoman, becomes entrenched in illicit activity. What inspired you to create a series centered around a flawed and relatable heroine like Finlay? What makes a mother an interesting character for a sleuth/accidental hitwoman?
The inspiration for the story came to me while I was brainstorming the plot of one of my own books during a working lunch with my critique partners, when it became apparent that the woman at the table beside us had been eavesdropping. She’d looked deeply uncomfortable as she’d left the restaurant, likely thinking we had been planning a real murder, and we’d all laughed as we’d considered some of the assumptions she must have been making about us. That lunch meeting was the seed of inspiration for the story, and it felt right to me that the character came from that same authentic place.
As a mother of two and a novelist struggling with my own career, this seemed the perfect foundation from which to create her. These two elements of Finlay’s voice very closely mirror my own, and I think that’s part of what makes these books work so well—how often do we get to read about such deeply real, relatable heroines taking center-stage in larger-than-life plots?
The Finlay Donovan series is a fan-favorite for its blend of mystery, humor, and romance. How do you strike a balance between the serious and lighthearted elements in your storytelling? Has this balance evolved or changed over the course of the series?
Comedy can be a natural balance to the more serious elements of life. It’s how many people cope with stress, using humor to break tension. Suspense is built upon steady increases in tension, so I’ve always felt these two elements naturally work in harmony. For me, the trick isn’t balancing what side of the line my feet fall on as I’m writing, it’s about maintaining a certain pacing, keeping my feet moving forward, same as I would when writing a tense thriller.
In writing this series, I’ve learned that I bring the same toolbox to each comedic scene as I would to any dark, suspenseful one. The key is in the pacing. It’s about shaving away anything inessential to move the story forward while drawing it tightly, so we feel that snap when a comedic moment hits and that tension finally breaks. It’s about keeping the reader moving briskly through the story, so that when I do slow down to let them linger in a more serious moment, they’re ready—maybe even eager—to let that moment breathe.
One of my favorite characters in the series is Vero, Finlay’s nanny-turned-partner in crime. How did you approach crafting their partnership and the evolution of their friendship? What do you love about this pair?
I had no idea Vero was going to be such a central character in this story until I wrote her into the first scene, the moment we first meet her on the page. I had only intended to introduce her as a passing character, an obstacle my heroine would need to overcome, someone to catch her in the act of committing a crime—or at least, appearing to—but then I began writing the dialog, and these two women were electric together! Their voices clicked in this really beautiful, compelling way, and suddenly, I realized where this story was heading, that it was going to be the story of a budding friendship. I love that they are two completely different personalities, two women at different stages of their lives with completely different backstories, both deeply flawed and yet somehow more perfect together. I love that at its heart, this is a story about the power and importance of unconditional friendship.
You also write young adult novels in both fantasy and thriller genres. How does writing young adult compare to adult mysteries? Are there challenges unique to either age range, and/or aspects of either that you prefer?
I think there’s a common misconception that the process of writing adult novels and young adult novels is vastly different. For me, the process of writing these stories is exactly the same. The only thing that changes is the lens of the lived experience of the narrator. I’m still asking the same questions of my protagonist, whether they are a young adult or the mother of a young adult—who are you at the beginning of the story? Who will you be by the end of it? And how will you get there? That said, one thing I’ve always loved about writing young adult stories is the lack of genre boundaries—all YA books are typically shelved together in a single TEEN section, making genre categorization less important, giving authors more freedom to move between those lines as we bend and experiment with them. Now, as we’re beginning to see publishers embrace more genre-bending adult books too, I get to enjoy that same freedom with my grownup stories.
Lastly, what are you currently working on? When can we expect more Finlay adventures, and/or do you have anything else in the works?
The fourth book in the Finlay Donovan series, Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice, will release in the US on March 5, 2023, with an additional three installments scheduled beyond that! I’ll also be sharing some very exciting Finlay Donovan book news this summer, so keep an eye on my social media pages—we’ll be making an announcement very soon!
Thanks so much to Elle for the interview. Sleuths, I hope you enjoyed it! If you aren’t already subscribed, please be sure to sign up for the Cluesletter and get author features like this alongside other mystery goodies, delivered to your inbox every other Tuesday.