While I enjoyed this one, to be up front it was probably my least favorite of Alex Finlay’s books.
I think fans of Jason Borne or Jack Reacher will enjoy this one. It was very action packed with that kind of over the top badass action. I would also kinda describe the characters as over the top too.
It was fun! Just maybe not my typical cup of tea.
I will say the ending was great though. The whole last few chapters were so twisty I couldn’t figure out what was going to happen next.
So maybe the typical mystery/thriller reader might not love this one action fans will!

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay is an explosive thriller about three orphans from the same foster home as teens, with a secret from their past that is haunting them twenty five years later. Jenna is a stay at home mom, she has a voting husband and two step daughters she adores. Nico is a reality star with a hidden gambling problem that is catching up to him, and Donnie was the rocker from a decade ago with a drug and alcohol habit that he can’t seem to shake. As teenagers, the unlikely trio all lived at Savior House, until the group home was shut down after reports of kids disappearing under mysterious circumstances. It was also a time when the trio, plus two other teens, did something so bad, they swore to keep it a secret forever. But someone knows about their past, and they are now trying to kill them, a quarter of a century later. They must now come together once more, after all this time, to figure out who has dug up the nightmare they thought they left behind, before they each end up dead.

This was a tough one to get through. I have read other books by Alex Finley, and absolutely loved them, I feel this wasn’t his best work. The characters lacked something, they weren’t very likable, but Jenna’s story peaked my interest most. I was confused often, not really seeing where the connection was, especially when the contract killers were exposed. The ending picked up, there was a lot of action, and a twist with a surprise ending, that I enjoyed. Some of this was predictable, but most of it was just meh. I’ll still keep Alex Finlay on my list of favorite authors, and chalk this one up to a one-off.

I would like to thank Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and Alex Finlay for an advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book starts off like an action movie and I was entirely into it. I accepted that yes, this would be unrealistic and far from life and I loved the story until the 60% mark. After that, something happened, and the whole thing became a mess. The revealing twist was weird, to say the least, there were so many better ways to handle the situation (but of course then we wouldn't have a book).
Overall, this is not a bad book to read between heavier reads, it was fun and full of action. However, it all felt too easy, and messy, and had me roll my eyes so many times.

This was my first book by this author. I will say I felt as though this was your average thriller. Medium paced with a description that hooks a reader but a story line that has little plot twists. Everything was much expected in this story and the plot twists (assuming it had any) were very much expected. Still the story was overall good and I would recommend to other readers.

Findlay did it again! Decent pacing, unique characters, and twists and turns. I would have finished this much faster, but life got in the way. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Minotaur books for the gifted ARC of this one!

Overall I really enjoyed this book! I loved the back and forth between past and present. It kept the book so interesting. I also liked the multiple point of views. This was unlike any thriller I’ve read before and I liked the group home background. It made it that much more intriguing.
The narrators for this audiobook were fantastic! I always really enjoy books read by Brittany Pressley - she does such a good job!
Overall I definitely recommend this book!

This was a fast-paced thriller that actually gave me a satisfying ending!

Alex Finlay brings us What Have We Done where four old friends are reunited after 25 years… the reunion being their failed assassinations.

They soon learn they have become targets due to a secret of their past. The story alternates between past and present with multiple POVs bringing forth the horrors of their childhood in a group home for foster children.

I read this book in less than 2 days. It’s fast paced and intriguing. The characters are interesting and multifaceted. I would recommend this to those looking for their next thriller novel.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher St-Martin’s Press and the author Alex Finlay.
I was so ecstatic to be approved for the latest novel by this author. I really enjoyed the mystery, the characters, the crazy dilemma they were in.
How your actions from your past affect your future. How it traumatized people.
Overall a good read.
Recommend

This was yet ANOTHER incredible read by Finlay. Such a different take on the thriller with so many twists and turns and dynamic and interesting characters. And the best part....I did NOT see the twist coming! This was a face-paced, action packed thriller that had my adrenaline pumping from page-one and is definitely one of my favorite books so far in 2023.

This was a quick, entertaining and fun read! A popcorn thriller. Be ready to suspend disbelief though. I don't usually have a hard time with that, because that's just the fun of it. That's why it's fiction. Lol!! Just go with it. I was really into the whole story. It was twisty and caught me off guard so many times. Lots of action. This would be great on the big screen! Told through 3 characters POV. They are Jenna, Nico and Donnie. They all were in a group home together when they were younger, until it was shut down. Now, years later, they must come together again, because someone is trying to kill them! Not going to give it away…but I will say that I really did enjoy this.

Our NOW!! Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own. My review will be posted on Goodreads Instagram Bookbub and Amazon.

I am really enjoying Finlay's thrillers even if they have more action than my normal thrillers that I'd read. Something about his stories are very compelling to me.

2.5/5 Stars

Jenna, Donnie, Art, Ben and Nico were all residents of a group home called Savior House. When multiple girls went missing, the home was shut down, separating the five teens. As adults, they went on to live some-what successful lives. They are reunited after the death Ben as well as the realization that someone is trying to kill them over a secret they've been hiding for the past 25 years.

I don't know what it was about this but I could not get into it. I found it such a struggle to get through. I was invested enough in the story to continue reading as I wanted to know what they were hiding... but it was ultimately a let down in the end once it was revealed. The story is told in two different timelines, the past and the present. I was definitely more interested in the past, and what happened at Savior House. I listened to this on audio, which had different narrators for the
cast of characters. I definitely think that made me give the book a higher rating, as I said, I struggled a bit to get through this.

Four once-friends reunite when a secret from their past makes them a target—in Alex Finlay’s new fast-paced thriller, WHAT HAVE WE DONE.

Jenna, Donnie, Nico, Arty, and Ben were best friends, having become close after the nightmares they endured in foster care. Twenty-five years later, Jenna is a former assassin and now stepmother to two girls, Donnie is a washed-up rockstar with a drinking problem, Nico is a reality TV producer with debts to pay, and Arty a tech billionaire. But when Ben—a judge—is murdered, and each barely survives their own assassination attempt, they realize the key to everything lies within their shared past, and a secret they swore to never talk about again.

Through alternating past and present chapters, we learn their backstories and what led them to do what they did so many years ago. This very much felt like a ‘popcorn thriller’ with unrelenting twists and fast-paced action. Each character was troubled and multifaceted, uniquely shaped by the trauma of their past. Taut and tangled, this is one that will keep you guessing all the way to its white-knuckle ending. Finlay is quite the exciting thriller writer and this one reads like a pulse-pounding action movie from which you can’t look away.

I really liked this one! Creepy and mysterious without being obvious, it's the story of 4 adults who are all connected by one major thing from their past: the time they spent at a group home for foster children. It has shaped all of their lives in one way or another, some faring better than others, but the one thing uniting them seems to have come back to haunt them as they realize that someone is trying to kill each of them.

I loved that this was a fast paced book without reading at a breakneck pace. This way, I felt like I got to truly know each of the characters on a deeper level than the reader is normally allowed in thrillers in this same genre. I read it quickly because I was really invested in the story AND the people. I woulds recommend this one to fans of thrillers, but also fans of well crafted stories.

Thank you to NetGalley & @minotaur_books for the ARC of What Have We Done

I was so happy to have the chance to read this highly anticipated book! Though, I have to say that some of the characters were just too unbelievable. It was a solid 3 star read, whereby I did have to finish it to find out what happened, but it just did not grab me like I thought it would when I read the synopsis. I will be sure to give Alex Finlay another try since this is the first book, that I read by him. I would categorize it as more mystery, suspense that is action packed.

When your past becomes your present your whole life gets turned upside down. Meet Jenna, Donnie and Nico friends who grew up together in Savior House a place for teens with no parents. They eventually move out because multiple kids have gone missing, many years later as adults they re connect, not for fun but for safety as they realize someone is trying to kill them.

I liked the idea of this book but the execution was not there for me. It was hard to keep track of the characters and what the real premise of the book was. I enjoyed the short chapters and the hustle and bustle of the story but this one fell flat for me overall.

A Retired assassin, tech mogul, rock star and tv producer are being hunted in retribution for their past. Can we trust everyone or is does someone know more than what they are saying?

What a thriller! Alex Finlay draws us in from the very start, Kees us on our toes and manages to give us a great epilogue.

Not a love. But it held my attention long enough to not finish. I loved The Night Shift so that could be where my downfall was with this one. High hopes.

Real Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars

Okay, I’m not going to lie: This book is a whole lot of fun and a real page-turner. I found myself swept up in the story right away and kept reading unless something necessary pulled me away.

I’m also going to be honest once again and say: I had to force myself to completely suspend disbelief in order to enjoy this book. If I tried to enjoy it as a regular suspense thriller, I’d just end up laughing. The circumstances of the book, the characters, and the plot are all so close to outlandish–like something out of a graphic novel–that I just couldn’t take the book seriously.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, though! I had to take a beat, let myself come to terms with the fact I wasn’t reading one of the usual books in this genre, and embrace the extravagance before I could dig in first.

Reporting on the plot would reveal a minefield of spoilers, but be reassured it is equally entertaining and ridiculous. The characters are all ridiculous in their makeup but written well. The pacing is well-done and the way the story is constructed you don’t have time to think too hard about what’s going on. Enjoy the thrill ride and all its eccentric glory and try not to think too hard. Just go with it.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, views, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Suspense/Suspense Thriller/Thriller/Suspense Mystery/Crime Fiction/Crime Thriller/Murder Thriller

I loved this book. It had so much going on that it took my breath away. The ending I did not see coming at all. Still wondering where the twins came from but it's not relevant to this story. It was just an all around good edge of your seat story.

Children in the system. Living in a group home for foster children. Teens. At the right age for adults to basically take advantage of them. There was five children who you meet in this story. Each one coming from some type of loss to be left here by the state. Under the care of who I saw as a very uncaring man. His son was a bully and he did nothing to stop him.

The story is told from several different characters. Each explains what is happening to them at the time. Someone is out to kill them and it takes them a bit to understand that it has something to do with the house they lived it.

It starts out with someone being shot. Multiple people shoot this person. You know who is pulling the trigger so no surprise there. Five children who live in this group home. Each pulls the trigger. Sealing them together with this secret forever. Thus the title: WHAT HAVE WE DONE!

You'll meet Jenna. She's married to the love of her life. She has two step-children and she once worked for an organization that took out people. She was groomed from the age of fifteen and finally got out. Finally has a good life. Then it all starts to fall apart. Someone is threatening her and her family if she doesn't do what she is told. She has to take out someone or else!

Donnie is a musician. He is also a bit of a drunk. He never truly got over his life. He's been drinking since he was a kid. But one night he falls off a cruise ship. One that he was playing in a band on but was fired from said band. Did he jump or was it something more sinister?

Nico is a tv personality. He is in charge of a reality tv show called The Miners. Someone tricks him and leaves him for dead in the pits of the dark mine. He knows there is not much time and he has no cell signal at all. Very little battery life also. What will become of him?

These three will have to work together to find out who wants them dead and why. Could it be linked to what they did twenty-five years ago. Could it be the son of the man they killed?

Ben was on track to be a federal judge when he was murdered. He was one of the children from the group home also. He worked very hard to pull himself up and do what he did with his life. He left behind a wife and child that he loved dearly. He had no secrets from his wife either.... Who killed him and why.

There is also Artemis. Artemis was the quiet one. The inventor. The one that grew up to be very rich. He was also in the group home. You'll get to know him also.

Then you get the twins. Casey and Haley. Both evil to the core. They love inflicting pain and horrors on people. They seem to get off by tortuous acts. Who are they and where did they come from. What do they have to do with the children, now grown ups, from the group home.

You'll find out everything. You will cringe from some of the things that happen in this book. You'll root for the kids to make it. For the grownups to make it. For some to live. I have to admit that I wanted a couple of these characters to be killed. They really do deserve it.

I loved the three initial story tellers. Jenna, Nico and Donnie. They are solid and very likable in their own ways. I don't think any one of them deserved to go through anything.

This book is very good. It's edge of your seat good. It's not what I thought it was going to be after reading a few other reviews. It wasn't dark. It contained no acrobat actions. Nothing out of the ordinary for a good thriller. Lots of fighting and some bloody parts sure. What did you expect. It's a Finlay book. A good Finlay book.

Thank you #NetGalley, #AlexFinlay, #StMartin'sPress, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

4.25 stars. Grab it. It's that good.