Alex Finlay delivers a twisty, high-stakes thriller that mixes a dark, emotional past with explosive, cinematic action in the present. Think found family trauma meets Jason Bourne, and you’re in the right ballpark.

We follow three adults—Jenna, Donnie, and Nico—who share a haunted past from their time in a group home. When someone starts picking them off, one by one, they’re forced to confront what they did as kids…and how it’s come back to haunt them. The alternating POVs work so well here, especially Jenna’s chapters—former assassin and mom? Yes, please.

This was a fast paced thriller full of action. I loved the mis of past secrets and present danger. The multiple POV's kept things interesting and the suspense didn't let up.

A crime from 20 years ago puts the protagonists of this story in the sights of a contract killer.

What Have We Done is a highly anticipated mystery/thriller by Alex Finlay. This follows Jenna, Nico, and Donnie, three seemingly random adults who al. experience a lift threatening event on the same day. Today, Jenna is an ex-assassin and step-mom of two, Donnie is a famous rock star on the outs of his band with a drug addiction, and Nico famous show producer with a known gambling problem. It is revealed that these three all lived in the same orphanage, Savior House, when they were children for a short period of time. The three have to eventually come together to figure out who is trying to kill them and why, revealing dark secrets and crazy twists to uncover the truth.

This story ended up being a slight disappointment for me. I didn't connect with the main characters on any level, granted look at their history and career paths. I wasn't looking for a very realistic plot but this takes the cake for down-right impossible. All the kinds from this orphanage either end up dead or famous??? Not only that, but they didn't mess up anything, it all went perfect for them, finding out why they were being targeted, who put the contract out, etc. Too many things were happening at once. Too many characters with details that were involved which made it all too confusing.

On to the positive items. I thought it was very clever to have identical twin contract killers with a passion for murder and mayhem. I also enjoyed the plot line of the girls going missing from Savior House. I wish the focus was more on that instead of pulling us in all these different directions.

While I didn't love this, I do think others might find it entertaining!

This story combines past and present in a coming-of-age story combined with a reckoning. Trauma brought them together and ultimately led them apart...only to bring them back together once again. They fought to survive as children, but now they fight for their lives.

This was such a riveting, fast-paced thriller that took me deep into each of the character's lives before adding snippets of their past, together and apart, as I tried to piece together what exactly happened to lead them to this point in time.

Others have so aptly summarized the story in their own reviews, so I will just say that I enjoyed this story a lot and felt that the author did a really good job of weaving the multiple perspectives and timelines together to come to a dramatic and satisfying conclusion.

Thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my advanced reader copy.

Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mystery: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay is a high-octane thriller that blends dark secrets, found family, and heart-pounding suspense. The story follows a group of childhood friends, once bound by a tragic event at a group home, who are thrust back together as adults when someone starts hunting them down—forcing them to confront their shared past and the dangerous truths they buried.

Finlay’s sharp pacing and short, punchy chapters make this an addictive, quick read, with action sequences and twists that keep the tension high. The mix of character-driven backstories with a relentless, present-day manhunt adds depth and stakes, though some moments lean more into action-thriller territory than pure mystery.

4 stars — a gripping, adrenaline-fueled ride packed with twists, secrets, and heart. Perfect for fans of fast-paced thrillers that balance emotional depth with edge-of-your-seat suspense.

This is probably my least favorite Alex Finlay book that I have read thus far. I will continue to check out his new releases, but this one was a disappointment for me.

In this book we follow three people who have a lot of secrets from their childhood at a group home. These secrets have put their lives in danger. In this we follow the characters as someone is attempting to kill them. We get a decent back and forth between present time and the past. Overall, I feel as though this book was not as fledged out as I would have liked and it felt very rushed. The ending was very disappointing for me because it just felt like an "oh okay" moment vs an OMG moment!

When we first meet the main characters, they are teens living in a home for teens that has the reputation for abuse. As a group, the question "What have we done?" is not a good thing. The story jumps forward where the MCs are together again because they have all received death threats. If you've not read Alex Finlay's back titles, you are in for an excellent read. The story is told in multiple POVs, the three survivors and the would be killer. This builds the story in layers as we see the picture in layers, each in their own voice tells a different side of the story. Tension filled action moves quickly to bring justice.....but to whom? 5 easy stars.

Told from multiple points of view, Twenty Five years ago several teenagers commit crimes and years later one is murdered. There are four of them left and a killer is out to get them. Who is out to get them? Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

Amazing as always. Love the author. Love the writing. Love the story. Super fun and addictive. Another adventure taken.

WOW, this was a wild ride! WHAT HAVE WE DONE one kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I love thrillers, especially those with multiple POVs. The different perspectives add another layer to the story, were given a glimpse into the unique traumas and struggles each character carries from their past. I think Finlay does a great job conveying the lasting impact of childhood trauma, and this story offers more than some run-of-the-mill thrillers. The writing is quick and engaging, and the shorter chapters left me constantly wanting more. I would absolutely recommend this to any and all thriller lovers!

Without going into full detail, the group of friends are now involved in a deadly cat and mouse game that will wreck havoc on these people and their friends and family. sadly very unbelievable and a bit ridiculous. The reviews saying over the top are correct, HOWEVER, I had so much fun when I actually was able to follow what was going on. Pick this popcorn thriller up when you want something fast and fun, and you are ok with suspending reality.

A perfectly passable thriller -- easy to follow, interesting plotline, requires a bit of suspension of belief (how are all of these people so extraordinary?) but not a bad way to spend some reading time. It feels like a classic crime novel, the kind of thing I would've snagged from my dad's nightstand.

"What Have We Done", a dark and twisty thriller that dives into the complex web of trauma and betrayal that binds three former friends from a troubled past. This novel's themes of identity and the power of past experiences to shape our present, but with a much darker and more sinister tone make this a book you can't put down. With its fast-paced plot and mysterious atmosphere "What Have We Done" will keep you on the edge of your seat as you follow the story of former friends forced to confront their shared past and a deadly secret that threatens to destroy their lives.

Ahhh, not Alex Finlay's best.

A well-crafted thriller, but lacks the emotional depth that I've come to associate with his work. Nico x Annie really got to me though, as with Benny x Donnie. I also enjoyed knowing each character and the dynamics among the group, but my emotional investment just wasn't as strong this time.

Plenty of action, twists and turns, plus I didn't see the whodunit coming. But while entertaining and propulsive, I just wasn't blown away.

By the way, the character crossover??!?!?! Love it.

A well-written and engaging page-turner, just not my favourite from an auto-read author. But I eagerly await his next!

What Have We Done is a question with an answer that is known by at least three people, Jenna, Donnie, and Nico, forever bound together because of shared adolescent trauma. Twenty five years ago, they lived at Savior House in rural Chestertown, Pennsylvania. Albeit a comforting name but Savior House, “a group home for parentless teens,” was a hell-hole.

Twenty-five years ago



At the top of a knoll through a break in the trees, five teenagers stand at the edge of a shallow grave. A light rain falls, thunder rumbles in the night sky.



One of the boys raises the gun. It was his idea, after all; he should go first. He aims into the hole, but the gun wobbles in the half-light.



“Do it,” another boy says.



But the kid with the gun stands there, arm extended, the rain beading his face, matting his hair.



At last, the only girl in the group reaches for the weapon—the .22 they bought for twenty-two bucks. She swallows, looks at the rest of them. “We agreed,” she says. “We all have to.” Her eyes return to the pit, and the gun clenched in her hand makes a noise like a firecracker, a faint pop.

They fall in line, shooting into the pit, and passing the gun along to the next person. The last person to shoot, “the only gentle soul at Savior House group home,” has “tears streaming pale vertical lines down his dirty face.” After he takes his shot, they all drop to their knees and manually push the sodden dirt into the pit.

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

Alex Finlay skillfully circles around that question, parsimoniously sharing clues. Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were not traumatized just because they were orphans, they were also abused, exploited, and neglected at the group home. They banded together for comfort, friendship, and, to the best of their abilities, mutual protection. Following the disappearance of several residents (mostly young teenage girls) the house was shuttered for good and the three went their separate ways. That was then. Now, decades later, these once abused teenagers are targeted for murder.

Jenna is asked forced to perform an assassination in broad daylight in downtown Washington D.C. It’s clear that this is not her first rodeo but she’s retired from the game. She’s married to Simon, a widower with two daughters, five-year-old Lulu and seventeen-year-old Willow. Jenna’s biggest problem is the tension between her and her teenage step-daughter. After the shooting, Jenna races home and pulls the defcon trigger, saying the words “Alas Babylon.” Per their disaster plan, Simon races off to grab Lulu and Jenna rushes to the Sidwell Friends School to pick up Willow. While Willow and Jenna make their way to Jenna’s hidden cabin hideaway, someone tries to kill Jenna. Drawing upon her deep knowledge of deflection and obfuscation, Jenna gets away safely, unites Willow with her dad and sister, and takes off. Her family is safe but it’s a temporary solution: Jenna must find out who is targeting her and why.

Donnie, aka Donnie Danger, is a musician with the band Tracer’s Bullet. He’s the band’s founder but inexorably Tom Kipling, another player, has taken over the band’s leadership and, through some nasty sleight of hand, ownership of the band’s music. It hasn’t helped that over the years Donnie has sunk deeper and deeper into a morass of drugs and alcohol. The band is playing on a Legends of Rock Cruise. When Donnie shows up late to their performance, Tom fires him. Resigned and despondent, Donnie goes out on deck to look out over the ocean. A young woman comes on to him, flashing her ample cleavage, before suddenly pulling a gun on him. Jump, she tells him. “Five…four…” Certain death but what choice does Donnie have?

Nico stars in a popular television show featuring coal miners. It’s a surprise hit but Nico, who has a desperate gambling problem, is regarded as a liability by the show’s producers. He’s not exactly sure how he ended up in the belly of the beast but somehow he comes to consciousness deep in the bowels of the coal mine. He knows he’s going to die but where there’s life there’s hope.

He’s never been so happy to see rats. Scurrying, dirty, disgusting varmints that will unquestionably tear his flesh down to the bone if he dies. But for now, they’re a welcome sight: They’re alive. There’s still oxygen.

The circumstances are mysterious, but it’s no coincidence that Jenna, Donnie, and Nico have been targeted to die. Fortunately, their assassins can’t close the deal: all three survive and eventually find their way to each other. They know the attempts to kill them will continue and they’re desperate to figure out why it’s happening. Does it have anything to do with the murder of their Savior House friend Benny? He was the best of them—kind, a seeker of justice, and intelligent beyond his years. A graduate of Harvard law, at the time of his death, Judge Ben Wood was a leading candidate to be an appellate court judge. Is his death the catalyst that triggered the killing attempts? Who was the fifth teenager at the pit those many years ago? To answer those questions would unfairly unravel a complicated, surprising plot.

“What Have We Done is both an edge-of-your seat thriller and a gut-wrenching coming-of-age story.” Beginning with his nail-biting debut Every Last Fear, Alex Finlay continues to enthrall readers. He’s an author to be reckoned with; it’s impossible to stop reading his latest thriller.

4 Stars (I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review)

This by far has been my favourite release from Alex Finlay and had a lot of twists (one I was suspicious of and was correct on). I like how the story starts out with seemingly no connections between the main characters and then slowly we get more backstory. I really don't want to say anything else, since I tend to briefly scan thriller blurbs on the back because I find it more fun to read.
Currently reading the ARC of the next release and its interesting so far but it has a lot to live up to.

The group of characters in this story meet at a place called Savior House, a group home for teens where there is bullying, secrets and missing girls. It fast forwards to these teens as adults who have to confront their past when someone winds up dead. This story is full of twists and turns and is action packed and fast paced. It is somewhat hard to follow at times with so many characters and is a bit out there at times but overall enjoyed this book, preferred on audio which was well done.

This was just okay for me. I think the writing is really good but the characters were kind of one dimensional for me. Even though they weren’t great people all around, I found I was indifferent to their individual plights. Obviously I loved the premise because Finlay is great for thrillers but this one didn’t resonate for me like a typical Finlay novel would.

This is a fast paced, captivating thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. It has an engaging plot with well-developed characters that created an immersive experience. It had twists and turns that made it hard for me to put down. The chapters are short which also engages me more, as you want to continue to find out more. It's a well crafted story that delivers on excitement and suspense. This is the third novel by Finlay that I've read, but I will read whatever he comes up with next

This book was just the book I needed during our Disney vacation. It was fast paced and intriguing. I was invested in the outcomes of the characters. And it drew me in and made me want to spend time reading it when I came back to the room exhausted. Thanks to the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this novel. I look forward to continuing to read Mr Finlay's books in the future.