What Have We Done is the latest mystery thriller by bestselling author Alex Finlay. The novel focuses on three friends, Donnie, Jenna, and Nico who haven’t seen each other in twenty five years when they were in the abusive Savior House, a group home for foster teens. Unfortunately they are reunited because the choices they made in their past have now come back to haunt them, and someone wants them dead. Through shared memories of their nightmare of a childhood, they piece together their traumatic past in order to survive. The past is never forgotten but carried with us forever no matter how much we try to forget.

What I liked about the book:
-the fast pace, edge of your seat action of the story
- the multiple POV chapters that often ended with a cliffhanger
-the complex characters that are interwoven from their traumatic childhood
-the dual timelines
-how each character coped with their traumatic past
-multiple twists in the story
-the twin assassins

What I didn’t like about the book:
-I have zero complaints but my only wish is if Agent Sarah Keller and her husband Bob from Finlay’s previous books, The Night Shift and Every Last Fear, could have made an appearance since they are such likeable, compelling characters

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Trigger Warnings- drug use, sexual abuse, violence, trafficking, traumatic, exploited, abusive childhood

My final takeaway: I loved this edge of your seat thriller, it kept me wanting more. Finlay knows how to capture the reader’s attention from the start and holds it until the end. I highly recommend this book for fans of mystery thrillers. Finlay is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press Minotaur Books for this eARC.

3.5 stars

I loved Alex Finlay's previous book Every Last Fear so it only stands to reason I'd grab this one. I was lucky enough to receive both the kindle and audio book.

Told from the perspectives of a trio that were bound together by a shared experience in a group home 25 years ago. This experience wasn't shared with anyone turning this into a dark and mysterious story. I was captivated right away.

What Have We Done is a story that jumps around a lot. The mystery held my attention and left me scratching my head wondering what was going on. But my interest did start to want somewhat in the middle. I think after a certain point, with a lot of characters, things were a little muffled in terms of who was who. Ultimately though things fit together at the end.

The audio was read by a number of different voices, all of whom did a great job. It came in at almost 9 hours and was enjoyable to listen to.

While What Have We Done? was an entertaining read Every Last Fear is still my favourite and one I recommend.

My thanks to St. Martins Press and Macmillan Audio for advanced copies in exchange for a honest review.

What Have We Done is an exceptional new book by Alex Finlay. This is a twisted story that did not let up until the very last page. Alex Finlay is a talented author who knows how to pull you right into the story. This is a fast paced mystery thriller that is riveting and action packed. It is told in multiple point of views and dual timelines. It has a unique storyline and plot that makes it very captivating. Suspenseful, with dark secrets and extreme action that will keep your pulse pounding. I have read other books by this author but this one is my favorite!!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and Alex Finlay for another fascinating book to read and review. The opinions expressed are my own.
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#stmartinpressinfluencer

In a world where truth is a character trait that many strive for, a group of foster kids hold on to something that has already altered their lives and they don’t even know it. What Have We Done is a riveting story about how the past can haunt and those skeletons don’t lie still forever.

The Savior House is where it all started for Jenna, Nico, Donnie, and Ben. All have seemingly random events happen to them in their later years, while what happened 25 years prior is what defines them. Jenna is minding her own business when she is tasked to dive back into her previous life and target someone that used to be close to her. As she begins to contemplate if she’s capable of returning to a dealer of death, she finds out she’s been the target all along.

Donnie is in a former platinum selling band “Tracer’s Bullet”, and on a rock and roll cruise ship jamming every night, when he is forced to make a decision that will most likely cost him his life. Nico is a television show executive producer in the foothills of coal mining country. His life flashes in front of him as explosions trap him in after a late night meeting goes sideways.

As those affected are trying to figure out what is happening to them, there is a most-sinister plot being developed by one of the most unlikely people. As the group begins their journey back to Chestertown, PA, the place where their worlds all collided decades ago, they walk right into the lion's den. Each individual story is being torn and frayed as the puppet master pulls the strings of all involved as lives start to come to end. What have they done? What will they do? How will they survive?

Alex Finlay flawlessly blends the lives of the Savior House foster kids into a spider web of lies and death. The home turned nightmare haunts them even more as the past comes roaring back into their lives and tortures them even more. Finlay takes and molds five separate lives through long forgotten tension and budding violence. Finlay leads you into a firestorm of emotions in trying to figure out what happened to the kids decades ago, while creating a tortuous path that the reader must navigate to find the truth behind the lies.

This book immediately sucked me in from the prologue! Do you have to suspend some belief for this thriller? Yes… but I couldn’t put it down. It was so fast paced and full of action. I loved the short chapters and multiple POVs. I loved each of the characters on their own and if I had one criticism it’s that I wish we had more of them interacting together. Every character has a vice or a negative character flaw but that’s what helps make this story so unpredictable. In this book five young, misfit friends do something bad 25 years ago and now someone is hunting them down and trying to take them out one by one. There are multiple twists along the way and many moments where I was holding my breath to see what would happen next…especially in that epilogue! You are on the edge of your seat until literally the last page of this book. I really enjoyed The Night Shift by this same author last year and again, he didn’t disappoint.

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Read if you like:
▫️rooting for the underdog
▫️action packed thrillers
▫️unlikable characters

3.5 Rounded up.
I found this one to be pretty different than past Finlay books. It was fast pace with both multiple POVs and multiple timelines. The style in which the past timeline was written was a tad confusing at first but I got used to it. Nico, Donnie and Jenna were friends in the Savior House when they were young which was a terrible place for kids. Their lives separated after the home was shut down and they all went on to build their own successful paths. They are brought together again to find out why someone is trying to kill them all. I thought the characters were well thought out and I particularly enjoyed Jenna. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. Minotaur Books for an advance e-copy in exchange for my opinion. What Have We Done will be published on 3/7/23.

I knew I was going to love this one I just did no know how much! This story starts right off and takes you on such a wild ride. It has short chapters that kept me flying through the pages. I could not put this one down until I knew what happened!

This is a twisty thriller with more layers to the story than a good baklava. I found it to be intriguing despite it not being my preferred style of writing. The characters were definitely unique, each well written, with over the top lives that somehow seemed believable. Despite this I found it a bit difficult to connect with the characters.
We never know when actions or experiences from our younger days will come back around. Unfortunately for Nico, Donny, and Jenna it could be sooner than they think. They have been leading their own successful lives until they are inexplicably drawn back together. Someone is trying to kill them. Can resurrecting their shared trauma bring the answers they need before it’s too late?
If you’re a reader who loves an adrenaline rush and action that just won’t quit, this book is the one for you. The surprises never stop, and that’s what makes it one you won’t put down until the end.
I received a copy through NetGalley courtesy of Minotaur Books. This is my honest opinion of the book.

Jenna, Donnie, Nico were close friends growing up in Savior House, a group home for kids without parents. They were also close with other outcast children at Savior which had mysteriously gone missing or were later murdered. They all put their past behind them, or so they thought, when they went their separate ways all those years ago. Now adults who haven’t communicated with each other in years, working as a mother slash undercover hit woman, washed-up alcoholic rockstar, and tv producer with a gambling problem, they all must face their reckoning in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with someone from their past. But who? And why? Did it have something to do with what they had all done all those years ago in the woods?

This book was definitely one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I had a choice of consuming this title between audio, physical, and digital and I decided to listen on audio. I flewwww through it in only a handful of days because I was very interested in the plot and how all of these characters’ stories connected. The narrators were also fantastic. I always appreciate when a book written in multiple POVs and/or dual timelines have multiple narrators to fit the bill. I had no idea where the story was going or how it would end but it kept slowly building and kept me pretty entertained the entire time. I do wish it was slightly faster paced and more thrill, though, but it all came together in the end.

3.5/5 stars

This was my first Alex Finlay book and I’ll definitely be reading more from him in the future!

Thank you to Minotaur/SMP, Alex, and NetGalley for an advance listener and advance reader copies of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying, I did enjoy the story. Of course I enjoyed the writing style as I am a very big fan of Finlay’s previous novels. That being said, this one didn’t quite live up to its predecessors or my expectations. The blurb about the story didn’t really seem to align with what the book was actually about. Also, it felt too unbelievable.

I fear I may be judging it too harshly based on Finlay’s previous works but I was expecting another solid 4.5-5 star read. The epilogue scenes did bring it all together nicely but I still would have to give this 2.5-3 stars, sadly.

I wasn’t anticipating so much action and intensity but enjoyed the fast paced story along with the flashbacks. I honestly got a little lost in the characters and the plot at first but then enjoyed it as the story picked up and I got to know each character. 3.5 stars rounded up

Reading Between the Wines book review #26/115 for 2023:
Rating: 3 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book 📱: What Have We Done
Author: Alex Finlay
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
RELEASES on March 7, 2023!!!

Sipping thoughts: This book is filled with all of the things that make books great for me like multiple POVs, short chapters, switching timelines and dark content. While I enjoyed the previous books I read by Finlay, I felt like this one was a little bit of a letdown because I wanted to love it. There were so many characters which in itself is okay but I just didn’t care about anyone except Jenna. I also felt like I needed more time spent at the orphanage to build the storyline and make the mystery make sense. The ending was jammed pack and left me a little confused. I wish the real villain had made more sense to me.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress for an advanced copy of @WhatHaveWeDone.

#WhatHaveWeDone #AlexFinlay #StMartinsPress #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

25 years ago, Savior House, a group home for teens, was closed after several girls disappeared. Now, Jenna, Nico, and Donnie are faced with their past and the secrets buried there when someone sets out to kill each of them.

I’ve read all of Alex Finlay’s work and WHAT HAVE WE DONE is easily my favorite!

This book is packed with all of the things I love: multiple timelines, alternating POVs, short chapters, and a creepy home for orphans?! SIGN ME UP.

This one gets a bit outlandish, so brace yourself, but the craziness made this book hard to put down.

Jenna was hands down my favorite character - a true badass lead you’d want in your corner - and I looked forward to her name popping up in the chapter headings!

Huge thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: March 7, 2023

Thanks to Minotaur Books, the author, and NetGalley for the free gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was so pumped for this thriller because I LOVED Finlay’s last thriller The Night Shift. I ended up loving this one too but the first half was SO confusing with all the different characters and places it was hard to grasp what was going on at first.

I did end up loving how action-packed the book was after I finally figured out the list of what was going on, it was a lot of twists and turned with a lot of shady and untrustworthy characters.

A very fast-paced action-packed thriller - I highly recommend it if you love a thriller with lots of characters and lots of twists and turns. The details in this book are unique and I love all the breadcrumbs that all came together in the end, but all the pieces actually mattered and not just a bunch of fluff.

A solid thriller. Fast-paced and twisty.. especially the end. Just when you think you know the story, an unexpected twist is thrown in. Told between multiple characters and dual timelines, the story is laid out piece by piece. I enjoyed how each character brought the clues to the overall story to give us a complete picture at the end. I did feel some parts weren't fully fleshed out as well as they could have been, but overall, a compulsive read and one that I couldn't figure out.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and honestly review an advanced readers copy.

A group of foster kids with a dark past are brought back together decades later because they’re being targeted by a hired killer.

We have Jenna who appears to be a stay at home mom, but there is more than what meets the eye, Donnie the rock star, and Nico the reality tv producer in crippling debt.

There are many different POVs throughout the book, but it is primarily Jenna’s and Nico’s and Donnie’s that you’ll read about. Not only are they being targeted by an hired killer, but their dark history is being threatened to come to light and ruin their adult lives.

This book had a lot going on, and to be honest… it was too much. Young girls went missing, the kids had a secret that we slowly unraveled, and their other childhood friend was murdered which was also a catalyst to bring them back together.

I liked that the chapters were short and it was a fast read. I also enjoyed Jenna’s POV for most of the book, but by the end I was rolling my eyes.

My issues are that it had too many details, too many side characters and plots, the way the past was told was very confusing (the transition was very clunky and hard to follow) and the ending was overly dramatic and reminded me of a slasher film. It was too villain focused and it wasn’t my style. The action became a focal point and reading the fighting scenes bored me and took away from the overall plot.

I didn’t like the ending, the entire book felt like a lousy action movie, and this felt like a serious departure to what Alex Finlay usually writes. While I loved his other two books Every Last Fear and The Nightshift, this was a slog to get through. 2 stars, maybe 2.5 at best. This just felt like such a tired, uninspired story. I feel like I have seen so many movies/read so many books that have already had the same kinds of “twists”. I’m sad to say I didn’t like this one and I wouldn’t recommend it to others

I also listened to the audiobook which had a great cast of narrators, but again, with so many POVs and the very unclear transitions from past to present I couldn’t listen to much of it without getting confused.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press Minotaur Books, and MacMillan Audio for the advanced readers copy, and advanced listeners copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

📆 This book publishes on March 7, 2023!

Wow this was a fast paced thriller that had me questioning everything. I loved the multiple points of view and the edge of your seat pace throughout the read. It also covers some past as well as the present, so jumps timelines as well as pov. I didn't want to stop reading this and finished it in a 24 hour period!

I think Jenna's chapters were my favorite, and there were definitely some twists I didn't expect. The stories and history of the characters are messy and complicated, and I was shocked at some of the turn of events for sure.

Overall this was a great thriller and a solid 4.5/5 stars for me. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press/Minotaur for the ebook for my review.

had high hopes for this one but it fell flat for me. There was a lot of characters but not enough development for me. I didn’t catch myself loving or caring much about the characters. The first half of the book I couldn’t figure out where the plot was going and had little interest but it eventually picked up and I liked the twists at the end. Jenna’s chapters kept me more interested than the others but in the end Donnie was my fav character. The epilogue was nice where it wrapped it all up but I wish I got more of the before and their time at Savior House. I think that would have given me more of a pull to the characters and I was mostly into that part of the book. However if I was Jenna’s husband I would be so over it 😂😂 short chapters and it is fast paced so that’s nice for a lot of readers. Nicos character was the worst and I didn’t feel bad or care for him at all.

Will post to book Instagram on release day

This was an action-packed thriller! I loved the short chapters and how they ended on a suspenseful note, making you want to keep reading. I also love multiple POVs with a flashback aspect so I appreciated that in this book. The twins…what?? They were absolutely crazy. This book was full of action and twists especially toward the last 75%. It was a great read that definitely kept my attention.

Thank you, NetGalley and the Publisher for the eARC! Alex Finlay is one of my favorite thriller authors and What Have We Done did not disappoint!
The multiple viewpoints worked well throughout the story as it has short chapters with each chapter being a different character.
What Have We Done is packed with action, twist and turns, and ultimately had me guessing throughout the story up until the last page. The story itself had me hooked right away and the short chapters made it easy to convince myself to read “just one more chapter” 😃
I wanted to give this book 5 stars but I found some of the flashbacks within the chapters (especially in the beginning) I found myself re-reading to be sure I knew when /what going on.
Overall, I would recommend What Have We Done to anyone who loves thrillers, especially with lots of twists!