Welcome to From the Front porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business, and life in the South.

It's a widely known fact that most moms are ready to kill someone by 8.30 a.m. on any given morning.

On the particular morning of Tuesday, October 8, I was ready by 7.45.

If you've never had to wrestle a two-year-old slathered and maple syrup into a diaper while your four-year-old decides to give herself a haircut in time for preschool,

all while trying to track down the whereabouts of your missing nanny as you stop off coffee grounds from an overflowing pot,

because in your sleep-deprived fog you forgot to put in the filter. Let me spell it out for you. I was ready to kill someone. I didn't really care who.

L. Casamano, Finley Donovan, is killing it.

I'm Annie Jones, owner of the Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomas, Georgia,

and today I'm joined by my frequent co-hosts and friends, Juliana Helms, and Courtney Kinsey, for an episode of Casting Call.

Every few months, Juliana, Courtney, and I brainstorm our dream cast for a recent book we loved,

and Juliana then allows readers to vote for their favorites on her Instagram at Juliana Reads.

This week, we're casting Finley Donovan, is killing it. Hi, Juliana.

Hi.

And hi, Courtney.

Hello.

I'm so excited to talk about this one.

I think Courtney and I read it a while ago. Juliana, you finished it in time for our episode.

Can you give us an overview of the synopsis of Finley Donovan?

Yeah, absolutely.

When stressed out, single mom of two and struggling novelist Finley Donovan is overheard recounting the plot of her latest suspense novel to her literary agent,

she has mistaken for a contract killer and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband.

The only problem is, Finley is very much not a trained killer, but she very much needs the money,

...