3.5 STARS

Entertaining in a Fantastic Five kinda way!!

Yes! The characters had a comic book sort of appeal. They were colorful, animated and some even had special talents. This was also action packed, fast moving (for the most part), and the end was wild, but quite fitting!

No one wants to talk about it! What they did...

This group of kids have grown up hiding their secret past, but it has come back to haunt them, perhaps to their demise.

They must come together once again, unite and save themselves before its too late. Might be too late for a couple of them!

If Superhero VS Supervillain appeals to you, this is fun with a cartoonish vibe (IMHO) I found some parts very humorous, there is even a bar named DRINK. 😂 Sooo, you will have plenty of comic relief!

25 years after a life-changing event, 4 former best friends are being hunted. But who’s doing the hunting all these years later, and why?

Told in alternating points of view, you get an intimate look at each character’s life. Jenna is now a stepmom to two girls. She has left her past behind, and she couldn’t be happier. Donnie is a musician struggling with alcoholism, and Nico is a producer but a gambler, and he’s in some major debt.

With this one, I don’t feel like the characters were all that in-depth. You don’t necessarily root for one over the other because you don’t get to know any of them intimately. We’re told that Jenna was essentially a contract killer in her past, but that isn’t really explored. A few times, the timeline jumped into the past without transition or warning, which was a bit confusing.

This one feels different from his previous two books, but the level of research done with the book is apparent in the reading. The story is fast-paced and full of action. Overall, an enjoyable read. Thank you, St. Martin’s, for sending this along!

Alex Finlay continues to write the most absurdly plotted, but completely action packed thrillers!

This book had so much going on I kept thinking what else could he possibly toss in?! And then there'd be something else! 🤣

If you like:
Short chapters
Plot driven drama
Killers for hire
Multiple POVs
Flashback mystery

This is a book for you! It'll get your adrenaline up and have you dying to see it as a movie!

What Have We Done is almost a perfectly woven web of a mystery read. The way everything subtly connects and splits off into the individual stories of what became of each kid from the Savior House is fantastic. There are aspects of the story that make it a little bombastic in terms of buying in to what you’re reading. The specialized training of Jenna, the way everyone seems to have second and third lives, and the twin assassin angle were all a bit much to be present together in the same story. However, the mystery itself is well written and definitely worth the read.

3.5/5⭐️

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC! What Have We Done is set to be published March 7/2023.

This was my first Alex Findlay book and I was kept intrigued throughout. There was never a dull moment. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

The things I enjoyed most:
⭐️Action Packed (although a little far fetched at times)
⭐️Kill Or Be Killed Vibes
⭐️Contract Killers
⭐️Fast Paced
⭐️Multiple Timelines and POV’s to keep you guessing.

Not my favorite Alex Finlay book but the ending made up for the slow start. It did take me a while to get into the story because I wasn’t super interested in the plot or any of the characters. The ending definitely got better for me and overall it was a good book.

Thank you NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Alex Finlay for the advanced copy of What Have We Done in exchange for my honest review.

Finlay has quickly cemented himself as an auto-buy author for me. His latest is thrilling and twisty and kept me up way past my bedtime. It is pretty different than his first two novels but in the absolute best way. It's not really what I was expecting but that's not a bad thing at all!

Right off the bat it may feel like there are too many characters, and even though I have struggled with that in the past, I quickly figured out who was who and did not find it to be an issue at all.

The ending was *chefs kiss* in true Finlay fashion.

Don't sleep on this one folks! It's out on March 7, 2023.

This book was absolutely exhilarating! It is about adults that did something terrible when they were teens in a group home. But this group home had more sinister things going on from girls disappearing to abuse.

Twenty five years later they each are being targeted but no one is sure why. Jenna is the girl that had been trained as an assassin from the group home but was now married with two stepdaughters. Nico was a producer of a mining show, Donnie was a drunken has been rock star, and Bennie was a judge. Bennie has been murdered and they already have the suspect in jail. Artemis was in the group home also and he was a target for Jenna last assassin. Want a slime ball he is! Can Jenna get them out of the tough situation they are in?

You will be taken into high speed chases, fighting for your life and working together to get out of this horrific situation. Who can you trust? The reference to books was awesome to how they figured some of the clues out. Let’s just say the mean girls are scary and crazy! Alex Finlay does a crime book like no other!

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

“𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎?“

Last summer, I discovered Alex Finlay when I requested 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵 from Netgalley. I absolutely loved it and jumped at the chance to request and read his latest, suspenseful thriller!

“𝚆𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝.“

Finlay’s short, quick-paced chapters have the ability to pull you in immediately. The writing is engaging & clever with just the right amount of nostalgia. This is a coming-of-age story packed with a huge punch of non-stop action.

“𝚆𝚎‘𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜.“

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur books for this early copy!

I was surprised when this one played out like an assassin action movie! I loved Jenna’s POV from the very beginning, but enjoyed the other POVs as the story went on! This one was fast paced which I always love! It’s like a breath of fresh air. I really enjoyed how the story unfolded and it was done really well!!

Wow, what an incredible ride! I have been on the worst book slump, but was immediately pulled into this book from page one. I absolutely devoured this book in one sitting.

The journey begins with a scene from the past, with a group of friends all taking part in a murder. We then learn the history of the orphanage-type home that all of the characters unfortunately found themselves in, and the horrible situations that happened there. We are then blasted into the future where we learn that one of the members of the group has been killed, and that the remaining friends are also being targeted. Can these friends get through the web of secrets that have caused this mess and escape their attackers, or will what happened in the dark be brought to light?

This book was nonstop action. There weren’t any dull moments, and the author did an incredible job at introducing us to all of the characters consistently, and making it easy to love them all. I love the dual timeline, and the multiple viewpoints. This is one of those books that I will think about for a long time. The writing was fluid, the story was original, and the pacing was perfect. I cannot recommend this book enough. Five big stars, and the title of being my favorite thriller this year so far! Don’t miss out!

This book had me on the edge of my seat! Finlay created such complex characters that I felt completely hooked into the story. While it is a little confusing in the beginning to find out who all the characters are, it gets much easier and is well worth it. I did not see the plot twist and this one had my heart racing until the very end! Definitely recommend.

"What Have We Done" is a very action-packed and page turning novel. It did take a while for the plot to get going in any sort of direction, which wasn't helped by the many alternating points of view from between every chapter (a plot device which is far to overdone in thrillers nowadays).

This was a fast paced thriller about friends that were in a group home being targeted and they don’t know why. This was fast-paced with lots of twists and turns. The downside is there was a complete disconnect. Alex Finlay is a great thriller writer but this one missed the mark. The multiple POV’s were fine, but they dragged and so much that was written seemed like page filler. The first chapter or two started off strong and then it just went downhill. As you’re near the end it didn’t get more tense as you’d expect. The plot felt like it fell apart and the characters while they had back story, there was no connection with them.

I had a very hard time getting through this one. It didn’t read anything like his previous two novels, to me. There was some kind of disconnect I think and I found my mind wandering while reading.

This one unfortunately missed the mark for me.  I struggled with the multiple POV's and the back and forth of the story line.  It didn't necessarily flow.

I've read, and loved, other books from Finlay, but this one missed the mark for me. I did like the multiple POVs, all of whom had spent time at Savior House in Chestertown, PA while young. However, the character and time period shifts were a bit jarring and hard to follow, and that pulled me out of the story. There was a lot of action, but the suspense was lacking in comparison to the author's previous books and others in this genre. The potential was there, but it didn't quite live up to it. If you're looking for a fast-paced read, this does fit the bill. There were some twists, but they were predictable. While I didn't love this book, I will certainly check out Finlay's future books.

What Have We Done is not Alex Finlay’s typical novel. I was intrigued from the first ten pages, but soon after it went down hill for me. I thought I was going to like Jenna’s character, but ended up not connecting to her or any of the characters or the story. There really wasn’t any character building throughout the story. When you don’t connect with the characters it’s hard to connect to the story. This writing also seemed disjointed and hard to follow.

While this one wasn’t for me if you like a fast read, more of an adventure type story with a mystery element you might enjoy it, If you read this and don’t like it do not give up on Finlay, read Every Last Fear, it is a phycological thriller, with tons of surprises that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Although I did not care for this book I will definitely look forward to Finlay’s next book when it comes out.

Alex Finlay is one of the best thriller writers today. What Have We Done is fast-paced, nuanced, and keeps you guessing until the very end. His plots are always unique and break the mold for your basic cut and dry thrillers. So excited to see what comes from him next!

Jenny, Donny, and Nico all experienced time together in a group him as adolescents, their past connecting them to a traumatic event. As adults they’ve all gone their separate ways and have completely different lives… until someone begins to target them for death.

This book started off with a bang and kept me invested for the most part! With short chapters, 4 different POVs, and a ton of action this book definitely keeps you on your toes.

I felt there was some pacing issues between 50-75% and found my interest waning a bit, but it picked up after that and I couldn’t put it down! I didn’t see the twists coming and as soon as it happened everything snapped into place for me! I love when that happens.

All in all this was a great thriller and I’m glad I was able to read and review the digital ARC!

⚠️CW: murder, blood and gore, violence, intense action sequences, abduction, on page attempted rape, off page child molestation and murder.. and plenty more. It’s an adult thriller after all…