Finlay delivers another entertaining blockbuster thriller. This story takes hold from the first page, it is loaded with action, interesting characters each with their own unique personality, and unexpected twists. What Have We Done is a somewhat cliché storyline but Finlay captivates through his talented writing style.

Highly recommend adding What Have We Done to your 2023 reading list.

ARC was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. Expected Pub Date: March 7 2023

I would like to thank @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC of What Have We Done by Alex Findlay. This is my second book by the author and I enjoyed it as much as the first. It’s fast paced and keeps you on your toes the entire time. I did enjoy the chapters by Jenna more than the other characters.

The book is told in multiple points of view as well as the past and present day. When Jenna and her friends haven’t seen each other since they were kids and they committed a crime together. They are brought back together because there is a killer after them. One of their friends has already died. Who will be next?

This was my first book by this author. I had to get to the bottom of the mystery and couldn’t put it down. It’s a must read.

A group of teenagers are united when they are residents of a group home called Savior House. Twenty-five years ago, the home was shut down when the headmaster and several girls went missing.

Now one of their friends has been murdered and someone is trying to kill the others. Jenna, Donnie & Nico will return to their past to try to find out who wants them dead. Will they find the killer before anyone else dies? 

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay
@AlexFinlayAuthor
Pub date: March 7, 2023

“In the dark the gentle boy utters the words none of them will ever forget: ‘What have we done”?

This is a pure action-packed thrill-ride from start to finish!

Told in multiple POV and dual timelines, the reader gets to know a group of kids from Savior House, a foster home they barely survived. After an incident that bound them together and drove them apart, the kids, now adults have led somewhat successful lives. When attempts on their lives start happening, the reader gets an inside view on the complex nature of just what happened all those years ago and just how far those reaches go.

I am a fan of Alex Finlay and this book cemented my love for his pure talent writing unique storylines. Interspersing a heartbreaking coming of age story and family drama with that of elite killers is brilliant and I loved the pure direness that some situations brought. Just when you think things are all over, Finlay swoops in with a twist and MIND BLOWN!

Full of secrets, dark and brutal, and a tightly woven plot, this is a page turner that had me invested from the start.

My thanks to @Minotaur_Books for this gifted DRC!

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay
Alex Finlay has a huge following, and after reading this book I get it, and am now a fan as well. Definitely won’t be my last book by this author. This book is twisty and action-packed. The short chapters make it so easy to read. I was truly entertained and did not want to put this book down. I definitely recommend.
Many thanks to Alex Finlay, NetGalley, and St Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a captivating thriller! I love when a mystery/thriller allows us to get more than one perspective. I find that I'm able to get a clearer picture of the story and also allows for more twists. I felt this story had great progression and I flew through it just wanting to get to the end!

The newest from Alex Finlay is a keeper. An action packed story of four children who met at Savior House, a group home.
What did they do to cause such a action packed, Jason Bourne vibes and wild ride today?
You’ll have to read and find out!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

25 years ago bad things happened at Savior House, a group home for kids. 5 kids were involved. Jenna, Donnie, Art, Ben and Nico.
Present day Ben is killed and a hit is put out on the rest of the group. Someone has hired psychotic twins Casey and Haley to do the job.
This was an awesome read, totally twisted.
Can’t wait to read more by this great author.
Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martins Press and Alex Finlay for this ARC!

This is the first book I've read by Alex Finlay. I know Alex has a loyal following, and I understand it! This book is twisty and action-packed, with three different points of view, unanswered questions from the get-go, and short chapters that make it sooooooo easy to just "one more chapter" for hours. The prologue happens 25 years before the main action of the book, but it's clear that the teenagers in the prologue have been through some serious sh*t together, and the book is about them coming back together as adults to deal with the fallout.

This is a personal thing for me, but when I can't connect to any of the characters (or find them unlikeable), I can't love the book. This is true for me for What Have We Done. The character development was lacking, most likely to make room for all the action in the plot. I rate this a 3.5, rounded up.

I think that this novel would be an incredible movie or limited series.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I didn’t love Every Last Fear, but Night Shift was really good. Based on those two, Finlay showed enough promise to make me download the ARC of his latest without even getting into the plot description. I mean, those are mostly similar anyway, aren’t they?
There are only so many scenarios that popular thrillers take on and this is a standard one: a group of friends did something terrible in the past and 25 years later it comes back to haunt them. But…what have they done?
Well, from the prologue, it looks like they murdered someone.
And now, someone is trying to kill them.
Though most of them have drifted out of each other’s lives, now that must ban together once more to figure out what’s going on. To survive.
So, if the basic premise isn’t all that original, it’s all about execution. And Finlay executes this one just right, weaving all the separate narratives cleverly both as separate strands and as a cohesive sum total, creating ever-so-slightly clichéd but compelling characters, staying with the dynamic pace throughout. The entire novel kind of reads like one long exciting chase scene, in a good way. Plus, there are some very good plot twists in the end. Done just right, meaning not telegraphed early one or tricked out into implausibility.
Overall, lots of fun. A genuinely exciting thriller. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

Good book! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, quite a few crazy killers, and a bit of a who done it! The storyline was very interesting and a little crazy! It had me glued to my Kindle! I will definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This is the first book I have read by Alex Finlay and it did not disappoint. Twenty five years ago five best friends in foster care did something bad. When the group home is closed, they all go separate ways. Now their past choice come back to haunt them and they are reunited for a single reason, someone is trying to kill them. This book is written in the POV of 3 characters. The short chapters and plot development kept me wanting more with each page turn, I didn’t want to put the book down!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy.

Can there be a 'hit-man with a heart of gold' trope? Like, it's not hyper serious, but is fun without being silly, exciting without being stressful. I don't know if that's a thing, but if it's going to come into being Alex Finlay gets my nomination to lead the movement.

Bravo to Alex Finlay who has done it again! This book is suspenseful, it’s thrilling, it’s mysterious and it’s written in short chapter form, which I feel works best with thrillers. It starts off a little slow and gathers speed the rest of the way. In true Finlay form, this book will entertain you and keep you turning pages until you fall asleep with the book in your hand.

This is my 4-star review. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this fantastic book.

This book grabs you from the first page and gets even better from there. "what have we done?" I could not wait to find out!!

Told in 3 POV (Jenna, Donnie and Nico), it's a story of how things you think you've left behind can come back to haunt you. I loved how fast-paced this book was, sometimes when there are multiple POV it seems like it takes forever for the story to progress but this one was fantastic.

If this book was a movie I would definitely watch it!

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book, I almost wish I could read it again for the first time!!

Wow! This is the second novel I've read from Alex Finlay and he is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

What Have We Done is a fast paced mystery/thriller told from three POVs: Jenna (a stay-at-home mom with a past), Donnie (A has-been rock star with a habit), and Nico (A reality TV producer with a debt). These three characters spent time together as children in an abusive group home and now their paths cross 25 years later in a chilling way.

This book kept me absolutely hooked the entire time. The prologue instantly grabs the readers attention and leaves you wanting to devour the entire novel the get the full story of what major event happened all those years ago and then putting the pieces together of how the present day will play out.

I would highly recommend all lovers of mystery/thrillers to give this book a shot and to check out Alex Finlay's other novels as well!

Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Alex Finlay for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was lucky enough to read this book in advance of it's release!

This was a solid 3.5 stars for me. The book starts with a bang and there is tons of action throughout. It is a fast-paced thriller for sure. Each chapter ended with enough of a cliffhanger to keep me hooked and invested, I seriously could not put it down!

Yes! So much yes! I read this book in one day because I literally could not put it down. I LOVED how this book turned around conventional stereotypes of characters and made the men the most flawed with addiction problems and the female the badass. I felt like I was watching an action movie the entire time, and I was on the edge of my seat.

This book was so good! It kept me reading all day to get to the end. Big thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy.

The story begins with five teenagers making a life altering decision. The story then jumps forward 25 years as that decision catches up with them. I loved the main female character, Jenna. She was a such a well developed character. Jenna’s story, revealing her intelligence, competence, and humanity was the storyline I enjoyed the most. It is RARE that the strongest character in a book filled with men turns out to be a woman.

The story moves forward with chapters told through the narrative of each of the now-adult teenagers still alive when the story begins. The past is revealed through memories within the current story. I so appreciated this storytelling as opposed to the all too common present-past chapter jumping that’s so popular right now. Adults looking back on the past is a different lens than having the past narrated by the kids.

I was kept guessing until the end. The final chapters revealed that the secrets went much deeper than the secret started 25 years ago. This book would be a GREAT beach read! Any lover of books by Ruth Ware, Liane Moriarty, BA Paris, Jennifer Hillier and the like will love this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Alex Finlay. It was perfectly written with a very suspenseful storyline. The plot was interesting and I also liked the characters. I was able to read this book in two nights. It’s definitely a binge worthy book. This is a must read book! Alex is an auto read/buy author for me. I have zero complaints about this book and would highly recommend it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.