What Have We Done is sure to be a hit among thriller lovers and mystery fanatics alike. While this book ran a bit dark for my tastes, there are a lot of interesting twists and turns that kept me hooked throughout the story. I'll keep this review spoiler-free. Decades ago, three children were involved in a murder that would change their lives forever. Now, they are brought back together by a mysterious force, they are forced them to reckon with the question: what have they done? I feel confident in saying Alex Finlay is an up and coming voice in thrillers and I can't wait to read more of their work. Thanks so much for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Alex Finlay continues to knock it out of the park. This story was completely different than I was expecting - but I loved it. It was action packed, thrilling and kept my attention. This isn’t a typical thriller like his previous works but it also didn’t feel out of place. I loved Donnie and and Jenna. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and the dual timelines. The flashbacks to the past were really focused on friendship and gave another dimension to the story.

I haven’t read anything by Alex Finlay before but I’ll definitely be going through his backlist now!

This book follows five kids that were in a group home together. Twenty five years later, someone is out to murder them all.

Y’all this book started out with a bang and didn’t let up until the last page. It kept me up late at night cause I didn’t want to stop reading. I loved the concept of the story and how it all played out in the end. There’s definitely a lot of twists and turns throughout the book. I definitely wasn’t expecting that ending at all.

I highly recommend picking this one up on March 7th when it’s released! I promise you won’t regret it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the e-arc!

I really enjoyed this book. At the time of this review, it wasn’t “rated” as highly as I was expecting. So I went into it thinking it wasn’t going to be as good as I thought. Maybe that was the way to do it, because this book was really really good. It hooked me right from the start. Parts of the middle were a bit slow, but nothing that would deter me from recommending this book. If you’re looking for a “what the heck happened 25 years ago for these people to be hunted now by contract killers now” book, then you are in luck because this is THE book. I had no idea that it would end that way. I love when a book surprises me like that.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Three childhood friends with deeply hidden secrets reunite in a way that none of them ever suspected or wanted. Jenna, Donnie, and Nico all bonded as residents of Savior House. When suspicious disappearances of residences forced Savior House to shut down, the three were separated. Reunited under troublesome circumstances, the three must figure out who wants them dead and why. Alex Finlay crafts this story in such a way that keeps you reading until the very end. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced e-reader copy.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Very action filled. Like they want it to be a movie instead of a book.

Thanks, NetGalley,

I have read his previous two novels and enjoyed them and I was really looking forward to this one. I thought it had a good description but I found it a bit farfetched. I can usually see some of the book as being possible but I found this was a bit of a stretch. I think if Jenna wasn't an assassin I may have enjoyed it more. It felt like it was a bit much. If I am to be completely honest I wish Ben would have lived and he had chosen someone else because Jenna, Nico, and Donnie were all unlikable characters. The book was well written I just couldn't relate to the characters. It was a struggle to get through. This just wasn't the book for me but I hope others enjoy it!

I loved this book! Will be checking more out from this author and will be recommending it to friends!!!

This book is very different from the author’s previous works, but no less interesting or well-written. There’s just something about a ragtag group of unlikeable characters who are still somehow completely engaging. While I felt there were some parts of the plot that were never fully fleshed-out or explained, the story was entertaining enough that I didn’t really mind.

This book starts with an eccentric group of characters. Including, a washed up rock star, a tech genius, a retired assassin, a tv show producer and a judge. What these people all had in common, is that they helped each other survive a horrible group home called Saviour House 25 years ago.

They get pulled back together, when the judge dies, and several accidents lead them to suspect that someone is targeting them. Could it have something to do with the unknown crime they committed as teens 25 years ago? How does it tie into all the girls that went missing from the group home?

While I thought that this novel was entertaining, I don’t really think it had was that original. It felt like a mash up of several other books and movies. I feel that his book is a enjoyable, but forgettable suspense novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with an eARC of this book to read and review.

I was really anticipating Alex Finlay's next novel! The past two have been some of my favorites. The set-up to this book really drew me in--what had these kids gotten into in their past? And the book REALLY starts off with a bang in all three storylines. However, I struggled to keep straight all the characters from the storylines, how they interwove with one another, and what was going on. When the conclusion came and threads were wrapped up, I could hardly follow or remember where they had started. I wish the finale was a little more clear. There was a lot of potential here but I don't think it was quite achieved. The writing was exceptional as always and I still consider Finlay one of my auto-read authors.

Another excellent read by Alex Finlay. Kept me engaged the whole book through with great twists and a satisfying ending.

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay

A small group of kids meet in at the very misnamed Savior House, a group home for teens without parents. The place is a house of horrors with bullying and inappropriate adult caretaking. And girls go missing, never to be seen again.

The story starts with some of the teens standing over a hole in the ground. Another bad thing has happened but this time who did the bad thing? Next we are meeting some of those teens as adults. And what adults they have become. Hugely successful in their chosen fields. It'd be hard to find a group of teens that could have soared to such heights except in a story such as this one.

Now one of them is dead and it seems an assassin is trying to kill the rest of them. These adults are going to have to dive back into their past to stop what is happening now. The story is action packed and more than a little silly at times. The assassin has a favorite weapon that is more than a little gross.

I'm not really into so much action especially this kind of action. Nobody is likable here although they can be sort of funny in a snicker-y kind of way. Cliched caricatures might be a good way to describe them. But the characters fit the action very well, if you enjoy that type of thing.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

A special thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review. Alex Finlay is back this upcoming March 2023 with another high-speed thriller.

I can honestly say this one hooked me right off the start in the first few pages - Jenna is introduced first, and you get this secret agent/CIA/assassin vibe right away - loved that! So much so that meeting Donnie and Nico right after didn’t quite live up to that potential. I almost wish this one would’ve had Jenna as the main POV and had more of Donnie and Nico as supporting players - this one changed POVs with every chapter, but it also went from past to present within the same chapter, which sometimes made the continuity a little hard to follow.

I will say, I read a lot of thrillers and it’s tough to find something that’s original and unique and hasn’t been done before, and this concept was really different from what I’ve read lately. A little clunky with all the back and forth, but enjoyable to read nonetheless.

Again, thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advance copy in exchange for this review. Pub day is 3/7/23 if you’re interested in checking this one out!

I loved Alex Finlay's other books but this one was definitely lacking something. It is a thriller with 3 people that grew up in a home called Savior House. The home was shut down because several kids disappeared. Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were friends in the home and now meet again as adults to try and figure out who is trying to kill them. I wasn't as drawn into this book as I wanted to be. I didn't care about any of the characters. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

This book had all of the hallmarks of a win for me--multiple perspectives, short chapters with embedded cliffhangers, and a mystery from childhood that impacts the characters in the future. The main protagonist, Jenna, was the character and storyline that I enjoyed the most, but the rest of the character and plot development was not as satisfying.

I did not love the back and forth between timelines because it was not always clearly explained. Also, there were some missing pieces of the plot for me that left me asking questions about some of the characters and their motives.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free e-reader copy of What Have We Done by Alex Finlay in exchange for an honest review.

Twenty-five years ago, five teens in an abusive foster care home did something unspeakable. Now, someone is trying to kill them off. Who is the killer, and even more importantly, who has hired them? In the tradition of James Bond and Lisbeth Salander, Jenna - the teen recruited by “The Corporation” and the one with the most to lose - embarks on a fast-paced cat and mouse game to solve the mystery and save her friends, her family and herself. Solid writing and a couple of well placed twists make this a four star read.

I have generally liked this author’s books in the past and this was no exception. This was a fast-paced thriller which had a very surprising ending. That’s says a lot when almost all thrillers recently have been “meh” at best. I would absolutely recommend this one!

This review was also published on Goodreads.

Five teenagers growing up together in a group home until one night they commit a murder and take off into the rest of their lives. 20 years later, each of them face assassins sent to kill them and the race is on to figure out who is behind the killers. This was a fantastic roller-coaster of a thriller with lots of twists and turns.

What Have We Done is the first novel I’ve read by Alex Finlay. It gripped me immediately. We start from the prospective of Jenna, a young beautiful stepmom and trophy wife… so it seems. Within Jenna’s first chapter, we discover that she was a skilled sniper in a past life, and she’s being forced to use those skills again. We also go on to meet Donnie, a washed up rockstar alcoholic, and Nico, a reality tv producer with a gambling addiction. All three of our narrators have one thing in common - they met each other at Savior House, a dump of a group home for parentless teens.

In addition to our three narrators, there a a few more key characters (including the killer). I thought Finlay did a nice job varying the point of views so that it was easy to keep each character straight. There are two timelines, current day and the teenage days at Savior House. The pacing was good. I looked forward to picking up the book and reading what would happen next. There were nice twist, turns, and reveals throughout the novel. I found myself guessing until the end.

I have read a few reviews by Finlay fans saying that this one was different from his others. If you are a regular Finlay reader, go in with an open mind.

What Have We Done is set to publish on March 7, 2023. I would recommend this novel to someone looking for a fast paced, twisty, multi POV and dual timeline thriller. 4 stars for me.

Special thanks to St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for the digital ARC via NetGalley.