Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

“It’s a widely known fact that most moms are ready to kill someone by eight thirty A.M. on any given morning.”

The opening lines of the book cheekily point to several things that occur in the story. They are in reference to the mess Finn’s children have made while she tries to get hold of her absconding nanny, as Finn is running late for a meeting. However, they foreshadow how Finn will be mistaken as a contract killer as well as point to the theme of The Struggles of Single Motherhood.

“My husband . . . He’s . . . not a nice man. Was he ‘forgets our anniversary’ not nice, I wondered? Or was he ‘sleeping around’ not nice? […] killing a man for cheating on his wife would be wrong. Wouldn’t it?”

Finn reflects on Patricia’s description of her husband. The intrigue stems from Finn’s own experience with a “not nice” husband, as she understands Patricia’s need for vengeance. However, that Finn doesn’t dismiss the offer outright, and in fact questions whether a cheating husband deserves to die, displays her moral equivocation.

“Three hundred acres. I couldn’t even finish three hundred pages. Couldn’t keep one little girl’s hair cut as neatly as Steven kept up all these fields.”

As Finn drives off the sod farm, she contemplates the 300-acre property and feels inadequate in her own achievements. Finn’s reflection is both a sign of how under-appreciated she was in her marriage to Steven, as well as a hint to how overworked she is as a single mother. The sod farm is also symbolic of Steven’s financial status, and resultant power over Finn.