Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line

A Novel

By: Elle Cosimano

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

From New York Times bestseller Elle Cosimano comes Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line—the highly anticipated next installment in the beloved Finlay Donovan series.

"[Narrator Angela] Dawe proves herself to be a virtuoso vocal shape-shifter, moving seamlessly from one character to another and drawing listeners in. A roller coaster of an audiobook." — Kirkus (Earphones Award Winner)

"...Narrator Angela Dawe has created distinctive voices for each character, and it's a true joy to hear them again." — Library Journal

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books

Another fun installment

An enjoyable story that ties up some loose ends and opens up a few interesting new possibilities for the next book in the series. There are a few moments in the story that require you to suspend disbelief and just accept something implausible for the sake of moving the story along (e.g., Vero getting enough of her leg submerged in what is apparently the world's deepest toilet for a long enough time to disable a water-resistant ankle monitor and cover herself in water). The resolution to the central conflict is also a bit...anticlimactic. I don't really understand why the main characters aren't more pissed off by it. I went back to re-read the story a second time and this definitely bothered me more on the second run. Overall, the story is fun and keeps you guessing and wondering to the end. The flaws in the plot keep things moving and allow them to be revolved cleanly, so they're forgivable.

I really enjoy the narrator and her voice acting is great. However, I think there are some issues with the sound recording/production on this one. Her pronunciation of some consonants is legitimately painful to my ears. The "s", "c", and "t" sounds (particularly "sh", "ch", and "th") are so sharp and loud that I found myself constantly turning down the volume to dampen them. I'm not sure if she needs a microphone filter or if this is something that can be fixed in post-production, but it has a big impact on my enjoyment of the book. I really hope they pay more attention to this for the next recording.

Cam and Arnold Schwarzenegger steal the show

Angela Dawe Is one of my all-time favorite narrators as She has so many accents in her repertoire. I have over 140 of her reads. Do not miss Julie Garwood’s sweet talk or the McGregor series by Nora Roberts if you are a fan of this series. Reviewer Shelley, Always recommend starting at book 1 And with this series, if you start with this book, you will end up going back and buying all the other ones. It’s a nice fun, entertaining clean series. The Author is on a nice roll Coming out with a book once a year. Make no mistake. This is light material but it’s fun especially going into tax season.
Where are my comments of help?

Love Finlay

I love the Finley Donovan series. Light, fun romps with interesting characters. Campy not at all serious and great narration! I strongly recommend you start with first book in series for best entertainment.

She's done it again!!!

I did not want this to END!! By far my favorite series! I relate so much to Fin! Such a great book!

Can’t Ever Listen Again

I LOVE this series and have enjoyed every book that has come before this one. I’ve always read the books, but decided to listen to this one. I regretted my decision almost immediately. The reader was awful. She clearly has an accent of some sort and it came out at the end of every damn sentence. Most of the male characters sounded alike, as did a lot of the female characters. Nicks character was read almost as a whisper and for a family that is Hispanic, or of some Spanish decent, Vero and her family didn’t have a hint of an accent. I will go back to reading any future books. I would have stopped listening, but I not only paid for this book, but I couldn’t get the actual book from the library.