This thriller filled with action and suspense. But for me, I had a lot of difficulty following the multiple POV and timelines. There were a lot of characters to follow, and I had a lot of trouble keeping their stories straight. I felt like there were characters from the past that just came out of nowhere and I had difficulty connecting the characters. Otherwise, the storyline was solid, and the action would be addicting for someone who likes action thrillers. There was only one character that I liked, Jenna, mostly because she was a serious bada**. Overall, this story missed its mark with me but would surely be enjoyed by someone who enjoys an action-packed read and can follow the multiple POV and timelines.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, St Martin’s Press, and Alex Finlay for providing me with this gifted ARC and audio in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this action-packed book was interesting but there was just too much going on with too many characters. I usually love multiple POV, but it was just confusing and caused me to lose interest in this book. I wanted to enjoy this book, I found myself just telling myself to push through and find out how it ends. The cat-and-mouse chase/mystery was rather far fetched and if you are into that type of thing it would likely be entertaining. BUT if you like action-packed themes such as Jason Bourne movies, this book might be something you would enjoy.

*****Many thanks to Macmillan Audio, Minotaur Books, Alex Finlay, and NetGalley for the #gifted copy as it was provided to me in turn for an honest opinion.

Alex Finlay is back with another fast-paced, juicy thriller. I had super high expectations because THE NIGHT SHIFT was one of my favorite thrillers last year — and unfortunately this one just fell a little flat for me.

▪️multiple POVs
▪️Finlay’s writing is whip-smart
▪️flashbacks to the past
▪️unlikeable characters
▪️different storylines + all the action made it feel like too much was happening all at once

The story was very creative, but it just didn’t pull me in like I hoped it would. It felt too unrealistic at times and I ended up predicting some of the twists. However, it’s a quick read and takes you on a wild ride.

What I liked about this book:
✨short chapters, fast paced
✨….thats about it 🥴 There were too many characters to keep up with. The flashbacks weren’t executed well. Just not my favorite.

What Have We Done is a fast moving thriller that features 3 POV characters and two timelines. Overall I found the story interesting and enjoyed some of the twists and turns. In the present, the three main characters realize someone is trying to kill each of them, but in order to understand why they must reckon with the secret of something they did as children.

I always have mixed feelings about multiple POV thrillers. When it is done well, it can be an excellent device to keep the reader in a constant state of evaluating and reconfiguring what we know as the story progresses. But, far too often this device can come across as confusing and frustrating, especially when we are taken from storylines we are invested in to ones where we do not particularly like or care about the character. Finlay's pacing and short chapters avoids this issue and helps us stay invested in each story as she weaves them together. Even so, at times when characters move from the present to a scene from the past in their thoughts, some of the time line shifts get a little murky. I found myself having to backtrack a few paragraphs to realize we had made another shrift, but this was easily rectified with a quick glance up a few paragraphs usually.

The plot also gets a little over the top by the end as things come together and we start getting answers- but even though I didn't fully buy into some of the details, I did start to care about the characters, shady as they are.

What Have We Done turned out to be a great afternoon 1 sitting read that kept me guessing and caring about what happens.

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur books for access to an eARC in exchange for this review.

This is my second book by Alex Finlay and unfortunately I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would :(
There were many moments that I was confused due to the many POV that were involved in this book as well as many story lines that were confusing. It was fast paced and action packed but it wasn't for me :(

What Have We Done is Alex Finlay’s third thriller and after reading all three, I just don’t think his books are for me. This book brought nothing new to the genre. It was straightforward without a lot of suspense or twists. I did like learning more about the character’s stories but I wish they interacted more.

Okay, so I’d like to preface this with the fact that I haven’t read a book in one day that wasn’t a novella or a graphic novel in literal years. But I blazed through this one in a day. In a shady group home 5 teens commit a horrible act. Years later a killer seems to be targeting them. This thriller unfolds as they are forced to band together to solve the mystery of who is targeting them and how much they know about their past. I love all the negative comments that are like, oh this story is unrealistic, it’s so implausible. I don’t care! I was having a good time with it! To be fair I haven’t read any Alex Finlay before, so maybe this is way off from his usual style. But I thought this was a really well paced fun thriller with a big cast of characters that they balanced really well. If you’re looking for a really fun action thriller/mystery this is a solid pick.

Official review will appear on Instagram @boozehoundbookclub on the pub date.

3.5 stars (rounded up)!

"What Have We Done" is the first novel by Alex Finlay that I have read, and I enjoyed it for the most part. I did find it to be a bit formulaic, with characters like an eccentric tech billionaire, an aging binge-drinker has-been rockstar, a generic former assassin who has softened now that she has a family, a once-messed-up-kid-turned-lawyer who wants to make the world a better place, etc. This book also sort of had a dynamic akin to the one in Stephen King's "It," but without all of the creepy clown stuff. At first, I was a little confused because there are so many moving parts and so many characters. Luckily, it all becomes clear and eventually clicks into view. When it does, that's when the thrills and twists begin. As our characters have assassination attempts on their lives one by one, we start to realize there are more things going on than we were initially told. Details slowly unravel about what happened 25 years ago to this group of foster kids who all experienced unspeakable atrocities to land them in the same place, Savior House, and what that meant for them moving forward in their lives. When it all comes together in the end...I was a little bit let down, but the ride to get there was compelling enough that I would still recommend this book. I think this story is pretty well-paced, which could have been because I was enraptured with the voiceover work by Brittany Pressley, James Patrick Cronin, Jon Lindstrom, and Maggie Thompson, who make this book 1000 times better than it might have been with just the voices in my head. A+ work to all of them, spectacular narration by the lot of them.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alex Finlay, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

Alex Finlay has told another stunner! Wow! What an awesome book this is! It is a great choice for those looking for an intriguing suspense thriller.

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay is a gripping and intense thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The story follows three childhood friends who were reunited after 25 years due to a series of murders targeting them. The novel delves into the dark and traumatic past of the characters, who were once residents of a group home for parentless teens, and the secrets and trauma they've been carrying for years. The author masterfully weaves together the present and past, creating a narrative that is both compelling and emotionally charged. The pacing is fast and the plot is well-crafted, making it impossible to put the book down. The characters are complex and relatable, and the ending is satisfying and unexpected. Overall, "What Have We Done" is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and suspense novels. It is a powerful and thought-provoking novel that explores the themes of friendship, trauma, and redemption.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for this advanced copy

4.5 stars

25 years ago Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were best friends, bonded by their stay in the Savior House (a group home). When the home shut down due to multiple children going missing, they were sent their separate ways.

Now a stay at home mom, a rock star, and a TV producer they appear to be living successful lives, even as their childhood trauma still haunts them. Although they haven’t spoken in years they are thrown together again by one scary fact: someone is trying to kill them. To save their lives they have to join together and confront their past.

From the minute I picked up the book it grabbed me and didn’t let go. From the prologue that absolutely hooked me to the twisty ending, I was glued to the pages.

The story is fast paced, never truly slowing down until the end. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t put it down, I had to find out what was going to happened next.

Told in multiple POV, I was kept guessing, trying to put together the pieces. Every time I thought I had it a curve would be thrown in and make me question myself. Even though I did get a few parts of the mystery right, the story was told in such a way that I was never certain of it, I was constantly second guessing. And there were definitely a few twists thrown in I did not see coming at all!

My only complaints are that the character development left something to be desired and one part of the ending got a little far fetched for me.

Overall an unputdownable thriller, my first from Alex Finlay and now I will definitely be reading through his backlist!

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing a free ARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I enjoyed Every Last Fear and The Night Shift so I was looking forward to a new thriller from Finlay. Unfortunately this one did not hit the mark for me and was my least favorite of his novels so far.

Both the characters and plot line were very heavy on tropes and stereotypes of the genre. Tech billionaire? Check. Aging rock star with a substance abuse issues? Check. Hitmen from shadowy organizations? Check. Shady people taking advantage of young orphans? Check.

I did enjoy the read and it kept me engaged but the ending was a bit predictable and had more than a few twists that stretched reality past the breaking point.

3.5 stars.
Four seemingly disparate people separated by distance: Jenna, Donnie, Nico and Artemis, are all suddenly targeted by a woman and almost killed (though in Artemis' case it's a wee bit more complicated). They all knew one another when they were kids at a foster home. Though seemingly a caring place, it was actually pretty grim with bullies, and alarmingly, several girls went missing over a three-year period. In the present, they've all achieved a level of success and/or notoriety, and must reevaluate their pasts after their near-deaths.

There are definite echoes of Stephen King’s “It” in this story, in that in the past a small group of loser kids that no one would miss decide to investigate the disappearances of other kids in their foster home. And in their present, after one of them dies, they must come together to determine who wants them dead.

It turns out a pair of identical twins have been targeting them, and once Jenna ensures her family is safely hidden away, she reunites with Donnie and Nico and the three begin digging into why they’re on a hit list.

Alex Finlay maintained tension as we follow the three separately as they decide to return to the foster home for answers. There's plenty of violence along the way, with the twins fairly cackling as they consider ways to murder, whether targets of innocent bystanders. The pair are almost caricatures as they keep popping up menacingly, and dealing out violence.

I greatly enjoyed Finlay's "Every Last Fear" and "Night Shift", I think primarily because of the presence of Agent Sarah Keller, who's not present here. And though Jenna is somewhat reminiscent of Sarah, I found it hard to care about Nico and Donnie, and the twins never quite felt like real people. This book was a wee bit less compelling than the previous books I've read by this author, but still kept me curious, worried and tense.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I couldn’t put this book down. That’s how good this book was. We have multiple POV’s, all leading to an amazing end, and one that I didn’t expect. We have a group of people who are being targeted, someone want to kill them off, but WHY? We go back in time to when they all met and OMG, the things that discovered, and the secrets they all kept, it was such a ride. I love me a good psychological thriller read. I am adding this one to my MUST read for EVERYONE!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

25 years ago, 5 kids on a group foster home had a life-altering experience. They went their separate ways and, mostly, didn't speak again until now. One of them has been killed and the others are all targets, but who wants them dead?

This book was wild. It's pretty different from prior books by Alex Finlay, but it's still a page-turner. There are secrets, betrayals, friendships, and ... assassins! If you're looking for something that keeps you reading into the night, and you're willing to suspend your disbelief for a while, this is a good book for you.

I really wanted to love. I’ve read two other books by Alex Finlay (The Night Shift and Every Last Fear) and absolutely loved them. I was hoping this would be the same. Sadly, it just wasn’t.

While it was an OK read, the story didn’t pull me in and I really didn’t care for the characters. The pacing was off, somewhat slow and disjointed in the beginning, but kind of felt rushed at the end. And how it all wrapped up? Eh.

It was an OK read and while I’d recommend it to some, it wouldn’t be the first option to top my recommendations list.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

I received a digital advance copy of What Have We Done by Alex Finlay via NetGalley. What Have We Done is scheduled for release on March 7, 2023.

What Have We Done begins with Jenna, Donnie, and Nico in separate places but all in potentially deadly situations. The three manage to survive those opening moments, then work to find the connection between the threats on their lives and their common past in a group home for parentless teens. The story weaves between the three points of view, showing us their paths to rejoin as adults to face their common threat and the threads that have followed them from their past.

The strength of this story is the plot. Finlay manages to create questions for the reader regarding both the current events and the events from the past. These questions were enough to keep me forward in the story, as I wanted to figure out what happened to the characters at the group home and how that tied to what was happening now.

What was disappointing for me was the resolution of those questions. While the events of the story made logical sense, I found that the why of the story did not hold together for me. While we did see the story from the point of view of the three main characters, I did not feel that the characters were deeply developed. Like the secondary characters around them, they read more as types than as individual people. Without that depth of character, it was difficult to follow the motivations of the characters, which made the resolution to the story unsatisfying.

Overall, What Have We Done had the plot potential to be a great read, but I needed more character development to really appreciate the tale that Finlay wanted to tell.

This book was okay. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives to the story and multiple storylines. Still, it felt like there were A LOT of different characters and storylines….Sometimes it did not feel cohesive. At times, I thought that this was a sequel because it felt like there may be something I was missing, only to realize that this was not a sequel.

I love a book with multiple POV and Alex Finley definitely delivered on this front. However, it was really hard to connect to any of the characters; none of them was likeable. In the end though, it was still a very entertaining thriller and I had a good time reading it.