BOOK: What Have We Done
AUTHOR: Alex Finlay
RATING: 5/5
GENRE: Fiction/Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

THANK YOUs: Thank you NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Alex Finlay for sending me this gifted ARC to pre-read before it publishes on March 7th!

SYNOPSIS:
YOU THINK YOU KNOW.....BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!
Twenty-five years ago on a stormy evening, five teens stood around a shallow grave, and each took turns firing a bullet into the hole in the ground. Each of them held on to a sacred secret and as well as shared trauma. Fast forward into the future, and Jenna, Nico, Donnie, Benny and Arty are each targeted and theirs and their families’ lives are in jeopardy. Someone’s trying to kill them off one by one. But who’s behind the attempts?! Could it be someone from their past? Someone who tormented them when they all shared living quarters at Savior House, the foster home they grew up in which was anything but a “Savior”? Each chapter focuses on of those (now) adults that remain. Can they come together, put their painful past behind them, and piece together this twisted puzzle before their demise?

REVIEW: YOU. WON’T. SEE. WHAT’S. COMING! I PROMISE YOU.
This was my first book to read by Alex Finlay, and what an enigmatic mystery it is, chocked full of suspense! The very beginning starts with a cliffhanger, leaving you wanting more, and it continues the story with much action and intrigue. This book completely held my attention throughout. Towards the end I was literally on the edge of my seat! And the author kept BRINGING IT!!!! I appreciate Finlay’s writing style, as the story is vivid, dark and mystifying. This was FULL for twists and turn from beginning to the very end! An incredible thriller! You think you have it figured out, but you have NO idea!
I highly recommend purchasing this book on March 7th or adding it to your TBR today! I highly recommend purchasing this book on March 7th or adding it to your TBR today!

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What Have We Done is a action packed twisty revenge story full of interesting characters. Having met at Savior House, and orphanage for older children, the five friends have gone on to lead productive lives. But the five share a past that someone wants to kill them over. The story is told from Jenna, Donnie and Nico's points of view with a lot of flashbacks into all of their pasts. As the three rush to stay safe and figure out who is trying to kill them the story throws out several good twists. Our pasts are part of us and stay with us forever. I was quickly drawn into the action of the story. I felt the tension grow as the story progress to an thrilling ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced reader copy of the book!

I really liked Night Shift, which was the first book I read by Finlay. Naturally I was over the moon when I was approved for What Have We Done. I had high expectations and unfortunately, this book didn’t meet my expectations. I felt the writing was different than this past work. A writing style that I didn’t love. I couldn’t connect to the story nor was I interested in finding out how it ends. It felt like something was missing. I will read more by Finlay in the future. Hopefully this was is just an outlier. .

What Have We Done
by Alex Finlay
Pub Date: 07 Mar 2023

Synopsis: Twenty five years ago, Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were the best of friends, having forged a bond through the abuse and neglect they endured as residents of Savior House, a group home for parentless teens. When the home was shut down—after the disappearance of several kids—the three were split up.

Though the trauma of their childhood has never left them, each went on to live accomplished—if troubled—lives. They haven’t seen one another since they were teens but now are reunited for a single haunting reason: someone is trying to kill them.

To survive, the group will have to revisit the nightmares of their childhoods and confront their shared past—a past that holds the secret to why someone wants them dead.

My Opinion: A heart pounding, exciting action packed read. The characters fit the plot very well. If you like mystery/thrillers you're sure to like this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Minotaur Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay was wonderful! This book kept me on the edge of my seat and had me second-guessing what had occurred in the characters' past. With most details being revealed, I kept believing I knew what was going on but I was very surprised, I highly recommend this title to individuals looking to start thriller books.

A lot of characters and a lot of plot lines, so at times it was a bit difficult to keep it straight. That being said, it was very suspenseful and I really liked the story.

I went into this book mostly blind and I’m glad I did because it made it that much more twisty. I loved the multiple POV and the back and forth between their teenage days and the present. There were definitely twists I didn’t see coming, especially at the very end. It definitely kept me on my toes and I kept coming back for more. Th narration on the audiobook version was really well done.

This was my first Alex Finlay book and I must say I loved it! Each character was so interesting and their past at Savior House so horribly crazy. A horror book could be written just about Savior House and it would be quite good.
There were lots of twists in the story and I had a few things figured out but not nearly all of it. Five stars from me!

What Have We Done
By Alex Finlay

This is an intricately plotted thriller. The backstory is about a group of kids who were together in an unsavory group home and who banded together to save themselves from a horrible situation.

In the present, years later, they have each gone their separate ways: Ben has become a judge; Donnie a rock star; Nico a gambling addict on the wrong side of the mob; Artemis a tech billionaire; and Jenna, after training and working for the Corporation as an assassin; has "retired" and married Simon, a widowed tax accountant with two daughters.

The story begins with the murder of Judge Ben Wood. He is Donnie's closest friend – "brothers from a different mother". Then Jenna is coerced into performing another hit – but when the intended victim turns out to be Artemis, she doesn't complete the hit. She and her family go into hiding pursued by another contract killer. The story goes back and forth among these people and a pattern forms indicating that the killings are all tied together somehow. But who is behind it all and why?

This book is intriguing, even when a few plot points are never fully explained. For thriller fans, this is a really good read.

Spring 2023 brings a new Alex Finlay book - and I'm not surprised that it's one of the most anticipated thrillers of the year! Alex Finlay has a knack for creating totally unique stories that are addictive, fast-paced, and exciting! What Have We Done was no exception, and fans of outrageous, total suspension of disbelief stories will absolutely devour this book. We meet several seemingly unrelated people who just barely survived what would've surely been horrific and untimely deaths - how are they connected and who is trying to harm them? They all meet for the first time in many years at the funeral of a childhood friend to share secrets and try to find answers. Will any of them survive long enough to learn the truth?

This read is not to be missed! Pre-order now for its publication date in March 2023!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was my first Alex Finlay book and I flew through it! It was very fast paced and easy to read. It has short chapters- a huge plus for me!

The books follows 3 individuals (Jenna, Donnie, and Nico) who all lived at the same children’s home during their youth. They all share a secret and someone is after them.

This was such a page turner. I could not wait to find out who was after them and the ending was so satisfying! Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC of this book!

4.5 ⭐️

This book wastes no time. First page, the action starts. And it doesn’t stop. I had to put it down a few times because it was a lot at once and I needed a break. It was completely gut-wrenching and an edge of your seat thriller.

The chapters are extremely short which I love. I felt like I couldn’t read this book fast enough.

(I also loved the reference to the ice cream machine always being broken at McDonald’s 😂 that was a good one!)

However, I’m really upset with myself because I ruined the ending a little bit 😑. But nevertheless, it was still really great.

I highly recommend this read as your next thriller!


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy. What Have We Done is available March 7.

Wooooof. That’s a no from me dawg. I did not want to suffer past 30%. I got some Last Thing He Told Me vibes with a lethal Carmen Sam Diego hot on the main characters tail while carting around her rude sassy stepdaughter (not the good sassy). Won’t be recommending. Not sorry ✌🏻

25 years ago, several kids bonded over a night of trauma at the Savior House, an abusive group home for foster kids. Now, that night has come back to haunt them when a mysterious person starts trying to kills them.

I've been wanting to read an Alex Finlay book for a while, so when I had the opportunity to read this ARC, it was the perfect excuse to make room in my overflowing TBR and hope right in. The result: this was a fun read that was enough to convince me to dive into his backlog.

Here's what I enjoyed about this book:
- It was a very fast paced and easy read. I flew through this book and managed to finish it in 2 days. It also had short chapters (a preference of mine) which also helped with the fast/easy part.
- It was a fun ride!
- Similar to the above, this was a twisty read with twists and turns happening up until the very last chapter.

Here are my critiques for the book:
- While there were a lot of twists, a lot of them felt a little predictable. I was able to guess two of the biggest twists mid book. While it was still a fun read, the ability to guess so much of the mystery took a little away for me.
- It felt a little low on tension to me. While it was action-filled, the tension didn't kick in for me until the very end. I wanted more tension throughout the book.

Overall, I wanted a bit more from the book, but it was still a fun and twisty book and I'll definitely give more of Finlay's works a try!

This was a fantastic read! A slow burn for sure, but it's a clever mystery with a great twist ending!

This was just meh. I definitely had high hopes since I enjoyed Alex Finlay’s last two novels. I think this type of action crime thriller isn’t my style. I thought the first half was great and action packed, but the second half fell flat. The storyline itself wasn’t my favorite and I didn’t enjoy any of the characters. There was zero character development, and the epilogue pushed it over the edge for me and felt unnecessary to me. Especially Jenna’s POV.

If the author decides to write another psychological thriller then sign me up for that one!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!

Five children in a group home do something terrible. Years later, one of them is dead.

We meet Jenna, who is a trained assassin. Donnie is a washed up rock star. Nicco is a production manager for a reality show. Ben (who was killed) was a judge. Artemis is a tech giant. Nothing against children from foster homes making something of themselves, but what are the chances that five friends from the same home would go on to do all these great things. They had no family to support them and did everything themselves. It was just a little over the top to begin with.

Donnie and Nicco both have an attempt made on their lives. Jenna is tasked with assassinating someone (who turns out to be Artemis), but then she becomes a target when she can't pull the trigger. Someone is after the group but we don't really know why.

The story follows three of the remaining four characters. That right there was a little bit of a red flag for me. If someone wants them all dead, why are we only seeing three POVs?

I immediately figured out the person behind the assassination attempts, even though the author clearly wanted us to look at other people. I didn't quite know the reasoning behind the assassination attempts, so that was a good little twist, but everything about this book was over the top.

It was fast-paced and action packed, so for me that was enjoyable, but overall, the story was just eh for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. What Have We Done is out March 7th, 2023.

If you want an action packed read, look no further! “What Have We Done,” is so fast paced I almost felt like I was watching a movie. The book centers around three main characters; a well known reality TV producer, a former rockstar, and a stay at home mom with an interesting past. The story begins with someone after all three of them. What is their connection? Why are they being targeted? Well, you’ll have to read to find out.

This is a quick read, and such a page turner. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened, and felt it had a satisfying ending. Thank you NetGalley, the Publisher, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well I definitely wasn’t expecting an assassin story based on the description but that’s what I got. And while I didn’t hate it, had I known that going in, I probably wouldn’t have gone in 😂
Jenna, Donnie, Nico, Bennie, Annie, Artemis all bonded together when they were children living in a group home called the “Savior House”. Traumatic events tied them together for life and despite not staying in contact for 25 years, they are now being drawn back together because the big secret they’ve all been hiding has been revealed and someone is trying to kill them all off as a result.
The story is told from multiple POV and both current and past timelines so there’s a lot to keep up with so it’s easy to get lost if you don’t pay attention.
I really enjoyed Night Shift but this was kind of a miss for me so 2.5 stars.
Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This was a very quick read that kept you wanting to turn the pages. The premise was pretty wild and a little unbelievable, but it still made for a good read if one could suspend the disbelief. Would make a good movie.