Jenna, Nico, and Donnie came to know each other in their teen years at a rundown group home for parentless children. Whether it was standing up to the resident bully whose father ran the group home, surviving the area the house was in, or finding an escape from the dangers within the walls, they were joined with their mutual trauma and experience. One night something happens and a gun is hidden before the three and the others in their group depart the house. Twenty-five years after leaving the house, they unexpectedly get sucked back in to what happened in the past when someone tries to kill them.

Twin sisters who didn’t know the other existed find each other and realize they each have an evil streak within that they are willing to let others pay them to use. Whether it is causing a coal mine cave in, pushing an aging rock star from a cruise ship at night, or bringing a retired hit woman out to take out a former friend, the sisters thrive on the dark side of humanity. Someone has hired them to kill the Savior House’s former residents, but who? What do the twins know about the past of the residents of the house?

This was my first Alex Findlay book, but it won’t be my last. Fast paced, suspenseful, and leaving a feeling of a satisfying conclusion, What Have We Done is what you have been looking for as a hot 2023 thriller. Be warned though, just when you think you are seeing the end, it turns. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book is set for publication on March 6, 2023.

#netgalley #arc #alexfinlay #whathavewedone #minotaurbooks #stmartinspress

I'm not one to DNF eARCs because I understand the privilege of getting to read a book before its publication date, but there was no way I could finish this. The truth is that I couldn't even get past the first chapter. I tried so many times, and each time I disliked it more. I'm definitely in the minority here so take my review with a grain of salt.

I’ve been a fan of Alex Finlay’s work since ‘Every Last Fear’ and ‘The Night Shift’.

In his newest thriller, ‘What Have We Done’ the story follows a group of 5 friends with a dark secret surrounding their time in a group home.

The book rotates through multiple POV’s, maintaining a fast pace, keeping the reader engaged. Although, I did enjoy some character’s POV’s more than others.

The timeline does get a bit confusing when paragraphs written about the past are embedded into the story without forewarning, leaving the reader to figure out which timeline we’re reading about.

Although my favourite Alex Finlay book is still the Night Shift, I really enjoyed this book and the way the plot built up to the ending, keeping me guessing about what would eventually be revealed.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

What Have We Done tells the story of five friends who lived in a group foster home as teenagers. Surviving abuse and neglect together, they forged a bond and have secrets that haunt them. Twenty-five years later, they have moved on as a stay at home mom, an aging rockstar, a television actor, a tech millionaire and a judge. A reunion is forced when one of them dies and the rest of their lives are being targeted by a hired killer.

The story is told from multiple points of view in three of the character’s perspectives. The beginning was a little hard to follow but the plot was intriguing enough to keep me reading. The conclusion wraps it all together with lots of action in between. Overall, a fast paced and quick read that will translate easily to a screenplay.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in return for an honest review.

What Have We Done started out incredibly promising with a gripping prologue that should have set the book up for a thrilling ride. Unfortunately, it fell flat.

5 teens find themselves, for various reasons, in a group foster home run by a corrupt overseer who has little control over the other residents. Girls start disappearing and the teens do something they swear to never speak about again. Eventually, they all forge their own path in life which brings us to present day.

A series of accidents that aren’t so accidental and coincident that aren’t so coincidental and the death of one of the 5 bring them back together again. As they begin to put the pieces together, it is clear someone spoke about what they did so many years ago and is out for revenge.

While I typically like books with multiple POVs, in this case it was choppy while also not allowing the reader to garner any character depth. The plot went a bit off the rails, though it was wrapped up at the end. I was intrigued enough to keep reading, however.

This book was a miss for me. I liked the short chapters but the twists weren’t good or original.

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fast paced, action packed thriller following a group of friends being targeted by a contract killer for secrets they have been keeping since childhood. It was told in multiple POV's, from Nico, Donnie, and Jenna each giving different insight into the past. Jenna was clearly the star of this novel, but I do appreciate what Donnie and Nico brought to the story.

The premise was so exciting and had me hooked from the start, but then it kind of went.... downhill. It just felt so repetitive with very surface level characters. It reminds me of an action movie where the lead has one line and then the rest of the movie is just fight scenes. This is very different from any other Alex Finlay book I've read in the past. It just didn't grab me the way THE NIGHT SHIFT did. Honestly, it felt like it wrote this to be sold as movie rights, because it would definitely make a better movie than it did book... sorry.

Overall, this was a super quick action packed book. Would I recommend it? Probably not. Would you hate this book? Not at all. I just could have lived without it. But if you are a huge action fan or Alex Finlay fan, I think it's worth a read.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

Having read and loved The Night Shift last year, I couldn't wait to read Finlay's newest thriller...unfortunately, this book just did not do it for me.

There were sooo many characters. Each one seemed pretty unrealistic, and absolutely none of them were relatable. And, while there were several mysteries scattered throughout the book that needed to be uncovered, none of them were really that interesting to me. I had to push myself to get this one finished, and despite the somewhat crazy ending, after a few weeks I already don't even remember the exact details of the ending. I haven't given this book much thought after finishing it.

With all that being said, I really hope others will enjoy this one, as I'm still an Alex Finlay fan, and will seek out his future novels.

I was introduced to Alex Finlay through "The Night Shift", which was an easy 5 star read for me, so I was very eager to get to read his latest release, "What Have We Done".

WHWD was definitely similar in some ways but different in others, the biggest being that the twists were so unclear that instead of anticipating a twist to be coming, I had a hard time placing what was going on in a few of the storylines.

It was clear from the synopsis that the characters all had some sort of connection, however you dive right into their stories that it was just really weird to hear that one character used to be a contract killer, one is suddenly a billaionaire, etc. Some more clarity on their backstory (without giving away the ending, would have been appreciated instead of dumping us into scenarios we don't really understand to maintain a fast pace.

I really enjoyed The Night Shift by Alex Finlay so knew I wanted to pick up What Have We Done.

Five kids who met in youth home, Saviour House, go their separate ways after a traumatic childhood. Twenty-five years later, they’re brought back together when one of them is murdered.

What Have We Done was action packed (think The Bourne Identity type action). I think this would translate well to the tv screen. However, this wasn’t entirely for me personally (which is okay!). There were a lot twists - which I liked. There were a lot of characters and POVs - which could be very confusing, especially in the beginning. You also have to suspend disbelief as the odds of any single event happening is very slim, the odds of all them happening are impossible.

3⭐️

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was my first book by this author. It was mysterious and suspenseful with multiple points of view. There was action throughout with plenty of twists and turns. However, the writing fell a bit flat for me. The multiple point of view did not hold my interest and I didn’t emotionally connect with any of the characters

This was my first book by Alex Finley and it was a good start. We have 3 narrators: Donnie, Nico and Jenna. They all lived in a group home called Savior House together. While there, girls start to go missing and the 3 of them, along with 2 others, form a bond through that. They are now adults…all of their lives have went in different direction and they are each being haunted. Someone is trying to kill them. They have to figure out who and why before it’s too late. I am very much a lover of twists and I seen all of these coming except for one. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just not as fun! I did enjoy the overall story and will be reading other novels by Alex.

What Have We Done, by Alex Finlay, is an action packed mystery thriller about a group of individuals who used to be members of the Savior House - a group home for teenagers. Now all grown up and spread across the United States leading various lives, they are being targeted. One of them is already dead and it doesn't look like it'll be long before the rest will be dead.

The premise sounded fantastic, and I had really high hopes. Although I've never read any of Finlay's past novels, I've heard great things. Unfortunately, this novel didn't live up to expectations for me. I never fell in love with any of the characters - Jenna was probably my favorite. The abrupt transitioning between the past and present wasn't done well in my opinion. I wish I could of connected more with the characters - I just didn't care about them a whole lot. Yeah, there's some redeeming parts in the novel and it kept my attention, but I'll probably forget about what this book was about before the end of the year.

3 stars.

Ugh. I wanted to like this book and had such high hopes but no idea what I just read. It was not good. I couldn’t follow it and I didn’t like the plot. I normally love this author so this is not what I expected. It was very hard to follow and jumped back and forth.

This is my first read by Alex Finlay and I can definitely see where the hype comes from!

His writing style is deliciously addictive and you'll definitely want to set aside an afternoon to binge read this book!

I love love LOVED Jenna's character and would have liked to explore her background more (this is me asking for a prequel about Jenna's life as a hitman for hire - please!!).

The beginning of this book was a solid five star read for me, the second half (especially the last quarter) felt rushed and left something to be desired, I would have liked to see some of the reveals and action happen earlier on to break things up.

Overall a super fun bingey thriller that you don't want to miss!

Alex Finlay continues to keep his readers rivetted from the first page to the last. His thrillers never disappoint, and his latest, "What Have We Done" is no exception. I won't get into the plot, just pick it up. Trust me.

I recommend this, and all of Mr. Finlay's novels. Fast-paced, twisty and addictive, impossible to put down.
Just what you want in a thriller!

Jenna, Nico, Donnie, Artemis and Ben are all grown up and living separate lives after spending part of their childhood together at Savior House, a group home for orphans. They haven’t spoken in years but are bound together by a secret they all share from their time at the group home. Now, one of them is killed & attempts are made on the others lives as well. Someone wants them all dead. But who and why?

Alex Finlay is becoming an auto buy author for me! His thrillers are quick, easy to read, and I find myself not wanting to put them down until it’s over. This one starts off with immediate action (someone trying to kill our main characters) and it doesn’t slow down. The story is split into three parts, THE TARGETS, THE REUNION, and THE TRUTH. The chapters are short and switch between Jenna, Nico and Donnie’s POVs. Each of the characters are so different which keeps it interesting. I’m not sure I can pick a favorite, they’re all that good. I even somehow kind of liked the ruthless killers? 👀

The ending was shocking and sad with a few twists I didn’t see coming. Nothing earth shattering but I appreciate that when all thrillers are trying to outdo each other for most unbelievable lately. THE NIGHT SHIFT is still my favorite, and I haven’t read EVERY LAST FEAR — going to change that soon! But I would definitely recommend this one, especially if you are in a reading slump and need a quick and addicting read!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press & Minotaur Books for the eARC!

3.5 stars, rounding down here on NetGalley


I liked this. It ended up being my least favorite Alex Finlay book, but I still liked it. I loved the background story and how all these characters came to be connected. I did figure out the ending, and didn’t love that. Looking forward to the next book from this author!

This was a fast paced, high action read. You jump in knowing a handful of kids have done something bad and then tumble into the future where this misdeed is coming back to threaten their separate lives in explosive ways. You get more details about the characters and what happened in the past bit by bit as the story progresses. There isn't really much in the way of character growth, this is a pretty plot heavy-high octane type of story. To be honest most of the characters felt like one-dimensional cardboard cutouts: the out-of-the-life trained assassin, the unfeeling-robotic computer genius, and the washed up-drunk-aging rockstar. Nothing really breaking the mold here. This had more action movie vibes to me rather than Thriller. It was decent for what it was but not exactly what I was expecting going in.

I was really looking forward to this book but unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. Friends who spent time in a group home together (for numerous reasons) have done something bad. And years later someone is trying to kill them because of it.

I just didn't really care for any of the characters to be honest. I felt they were a little flat and the telling of the story from 4 different viewpoints was a little hard.

I also felt the plot was a little all over the place and hard to follow at times.