What Have We Done is the tale of teens from a sketchy foster home 25 years after committing something terrible. What follows is a plot that is so unrealistic and so full of coincidences that I just couldn’t buy into what was happening. At the same time, though, the book was difficult to put down, despite my sense of disbelief and sometimes utter astonishment at how ridiculous the book’s events seemed, so kudos to Mr. Finlay for that.

I loved The Night Shift but was terribly disappointed in What Have We Done.

My thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing g an ARC of this book.

Alex Finlay’s books never disappoint. The story kept me guessing and was A page-turner at its truest definition. The characters were well-written and well-defined and the ending a surprise!

I finished this book last week and really needed to think about this review. I love this author but I preferred his other books- this one was not my favorite. Told from 3 different points of view-Jenna, Donnie and Nico. The story line sounded interesting but I don’t think there was enough background about their past at the foster home to tie it together. I kept getting confused with the number of characters and where the story was going. I kept going back to try and figure out what was going on but I just couldn’t get into it.

On the heels of the bingeworthy "Every Last Fear" and "The Night Shift" comes Alex Finlay's latest highly anticipated release, a fast-paced, edge-of-your seat thriller.

The narrative weaves between three POVs: An aging rock star, a reality tv show producer, and a retired assassin for hire. The three are brought together through a shared dark secret they thought had been buried in their past, until a string of unexplained violence and murder leaves them scrambling to find answers, desperate to understand what has happened and uncover the reason for the recent killing before they become yet another casualty.

I devoured this book in under 48 hours. The short, snackable chapters make it easy to push to keep reading "just one more" until you've somehow breezed through entire sections of the book.

Finlay's characters borrow heavily from common character "types," which allows him to sketch out the outlines and allow the reader to fill in the pieces enabling the rapid-paced narrative despite the ensemble cast, but also risks feeling highly stereotyped at times. It also leaves the reader without much investment in any individual character arc. Nevertheless, I found the characters to be highly entertaining, especially Donnie with his tour bus and groupie anecdotes who stands out as one of the most colorful of Finlay's characters across his most recent books.

Another bright spot to "What Have We Done" are the moments of unexpected levity. A mysterious pair of twins play out as the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of the book with their ongoing blundering and mishaps... if Tweedledum and Tweedledee were a pair of highly attractive female assassins for hire whose sole motivation comes from taking pleasure in violence. Fans of the British tv series "Killing Eve" may find this particularly enjoyable.

I would recommend "What Have We Done" to readers looking for a light reading, fast-paced thriller, and am grateful to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an arc in advance of the book's March 2023 release in exchange for my honest feedback.

A fast-paced thriller that starts off with a bang. Four foster kids bound by a shared secret from their childhood find themselves being targeted 25 years later by a contract killer. As they figure out that they are being targeted for their past, they come back together to try and end everything once and for all. Not the most likable of characters, but certainly an interesting cast including an assassin, gambling tv producer, honorable judge, tech mogul, and ageing rockstar.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed Alex Finlay's two previous works and was so excited to be approved for an ARC of this one.

I love it when the author plunges the reader into the action right away from the first page. There is no dragging chapters that feel pointless and confusing.

There is no one main character but rather several point of view characters. It was a bit hard to keep track of who is who in the beginning.

Now let's talk about the twist! Wow! I would say there is one major twist plus a smaller reveal.

All in all, an enjoyable, fast read!

while certainly thrilling at some points, and mildly predictable at others, i ultimately i just couldn’t connect or believe in these characters. the prose and depth are there but fizzle out as the plot goes on, and i found myself almost completing this read like it were a chore.

Okay so all together I liked this book more than his last but I liked the second half of The Night Shift better than this whole book. This was one of those books where I’m truly baffled at the detail that goes into the back stories of creating a book with so many main characters who are all complicated humans.

I did NOT guess the ending which is always a nice bonus and I did like the twist and thought it was a solid execution. I’ll definitely be recommending to my followers! Finlay just has a knack for truly immersing their self in the book and really engaging with dynamic characters and that was so evident here.

My heart broke for so many of the characters and that’s RARE. The beginning is confusing because of how many characters there are but it’s by necessity and stick it out I promise!

Alex Finlay is a new favorite of mine. I loved the Night Shift and I loved this one, too! Might just be a new auto-buy author.

ugh I wanted to love this so much more than I actually did!! I absolutely adored THE NIGHT SHIFT by alex finlay last year, so I screamed out of my mind when I got the ARC for his latest, WHAT HAVE WE DONE.

sadly, it did not live up to my high expectations 🥲

alex finlay’s writing is so unmatched!! the amount of detail in characterization as well as the timeline of the story itself is well done, and the entirety of the plot was easy to follow! I could read finlay’s books all day long for that tension as you frantically flip through the pages to see if you were right 🫠

however, what didn’t work for me this time was the plot itself. it was comprehensive and quick paced, but I found myself guessing the plot twists miles before they even happened…

and don’t even get me started on the characters 🥴 MCs jenny, donnie, and nico are probably the three most unlikable people you’d ever read about

for a foster family trying to make good memories out a bad situation, they sure like to stab each other in the back (literally and figuratively) 🫠🫠🫠

I think the worst part for me was the fact that I simply did not care about what was happening in the story. I didn’t care about the characters’ backstories, the resolution, or even if the “villain” prevailed or not.

so to recap, the writing itself was excellent, but I just couldn’t get into the story at all 😅 but a HUGE thank you to minotaur books and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!!!

rating: 2.5 stars
wine pairing: veneto pinot grigio

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay tells the story of how haunted pasts catch up with three individuals who grew up together. Packed with suspense, this story is told from three, well-written viewpoints. Each viewpoint opens with action and intrigue that keeps the reader asking “who” and “why” throughout the book. This book keeps the reader guessing until the end. Then, just as you think the story is winding down, Finlay throws in one final twist.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

I read an ARC of What Have We Done from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. Thank you for this opportunity.

This book is about a group of adults with various high-end jobs and pasts who suddenly are targeted and attacked. They all make their way back to where they were brought up, a sketchy orphanage that started it all.

If it’s not clear from the rather sparse synopsis, I not only was not a fan of this book but didn’t really care about what was going on in the book either. The characters, such as they are, did not interest me. The most interesting was the assassin who’d settled down to start a family with a rich man, but honestly, she also was the straw that broke the camel’s back for immersion for me. The men we follow at the beginning are both insufferable, boring, and I wished their respective killers had gotten them, so I didn’t have to listen to their prattle because I hated them.

I read it all, but it took me forever, and honestly, I only retained enough to confirm that the twists and plot points that I thought were going to happen were going to happen. I get that books have a certain way they play out, but when I read a thriller, I want to be thrilled or at least routing for some character.

What We Have Done is the story of the consequences of a horrific event that happened many years ago. The characters were all residents of a group home at the time, and we meet them 25 years later as adults. This is a thriller with lots of twists and turns. Unfortunately, as the story progressed, it seemed to get a little too chaotic, and sometimes I had trouble distinguishing past from present. I did read it in record time, looking forward to some closure, which was provided.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review What Have We Done.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for allowing me to read this early. I was SO excited to see i was approved for this one. I loved the night shift and read this as soon as i was able to.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5. It was different than the night shift. Less thriller and more action/mystery. Think Kill Bill with Mick Riva as a character. I thought all of the characters were interesting. I was sucked in from the beginning. I loved the short chapters.

Being from Delaware County, going to university in Chester, It was weird to me trying to place this all going on there. But that’s just a me thing since I’m from the area. Another great book i read in only 2 sittings and can’t wait for everyone else to be able to read It!

In the prologue, twenty-five years ago, we have a group of teens taking turns shooting into a grave. And now, we have three major POVs: Jenna, suburban housewife, recruited at SoulCycle to be set up for her past assassin skills; Donnie, washed up rock star, being pushed off a cruise ship; and Nico, TV producer, trapped in a coal mine on his coal miner reality show. What do they have in common and what have they done in order for someone to try to kill them? In flashbacks, we find out that the three were together at a foster home called Savior House, along with another friend named Ben, a judge who was just murdered.

In the multiple POVs are flashbacks to the foster home (which can be a tad confusing in transitions), we slowly learn what happened back then. The present day action brings the three back together with yet another one who was present at the gravesite and the appearance of a pair of contract assasins, twin sisters. It’s an action packed story as the trio must outmaneuver the thrill killers and face the past. 4 stars! Alex Finlay again delivers a twisty, brainy, multi-level narrative.

Thank you to St. Martins Press/Minotaur and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO In fact, no eye colors were mentioned at all, just some red eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Although we do have a character named Blue Flowers.

Whew, what an insane ride! I went into this book completely blind and I’m glad I did. The characters were so well fleshed out & given such amazing stories. I will say that the first 30% and the last 20% were my favorite. It began and ended with such a bang. The middle sections flow seemed a bit off for me? It seemed like a lot was going on while not a lot was going on at the same time? I also wanted the characters to meet earlier than they did, but I understand why they didn’t. This was such a unique book & that’s what I love about Alex Finlay’s stories. I didn’t see the bigger twist coming at all (screw you Arty)!
Overall I liked it a lot, but didn’t fall in love with it.

Incredible thriller that immediately pulls the reader into the plot. I absolutely enjoyed this story and could not wait to enjoy the rest of the book

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Minotaur for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
Another winner from Alex Finlay. A fast-paced, quick read. Can't say too much without spoilers. Jenna is a really strong character and my favorite of all of them. The action ramps up at about 70% and you won't be able to put it down until the end. It's like watching a Jason Bourne movie. Some aspects of the ending were a little too far-fetched which is the only reason this gets 4 stars instead of 5. Highly recommend.

This book starts off with a bang and takes you through the perspective of several people all tied together by one murder. The question is who can you trust and who is really to blame. The book is fast paced and keeps the readers attention without delving too deep. It is a light easy read perfect for mystery lovers. Some action no smut.

Finlay's best yet- he is a master story teller and an amazing writer. Can't wait to see what's next!