Bravo to Alex Finlay for What Have We Done!

Alex Finlay has easily become one of my go to authors. Every book that I have read by him has been fantastic including his latest effort What Have We Done. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this fast-paced, action-packed thriller. A big thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, the author and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of the.

The storyline opens up with the prologue twenty-five years in the past with five troubled teenagers Jenna, Nico, Donnie, Benny, and Arty from Savior House group home standing over a shallow grave. The young teens have committed a crime that will bind them together forever. Fast forward to the present day, they are adults now and have craved out descent lives for themselves. Unfortunately they have grown apart and haven’t kept in touch with one another. Still that long ago crime is harbored amongst the five of them. But wait there is someone else that knows their dark secret and that person wants revenge.

What Have We Done is told from the point-of-view of each character, toggles between the present day and the past. It is an intriguing, edge of your seat, adrenaline rush. Filled with so many twists and turns that you will be guessing right up until the very end.

Twenty-five years ago, when Ben, Art, Jenna, Donny and Nico, were kids, they all lived together in a group home called Savior House. As is sometimes the case, their time there was fraught with abuse and neglect. Unsurprisingly, through the hardship, they bonded. They were best friends. Their bond took on an even more ominous tone, however, after a particularly traumatic incident occurred in which they all played a part.

In spite of their early traumas, they all grew up to lead fairly successful lives. Forging their own paths, in a variety of different fields, far away from one another. As our story begins, these kids are now adults. We follow Jenna, Donny and Nico as crazy things start happening to them. Someone is trying to take them out, but why? Could this be linked to their shared past?

We follow them as they start to reconnect and put together what is happening to them, all while on the run, trying to stay two steps ahead from their would-be killers.

In addition to the current action, we also get a past timeline that reveals a lot of the truth behind their time at Savior House, and the event that would ultimately lead to the pickle they find themselves in today. From the beginning, I was fascinated by this group of characters. Each of them felt unique and compelling. I particularly enjoyed Jenna's and Donny's perspectives. They really got this story off on the right foot for me.

I totally understand that this might not work for everyone, but it was so different from other Thrillers I've read lately, it honestly felt like a breath of fresh air.

Admittedly, I'm a huge fan of the trope that is like a group of individuals who grew up together, who had something happen many years ago, who reunite as adults to investigate, or put to bed some sort of issue that has plagued them since they were kids.

So, out of the box, this was most likely going to work for me. I just love that vibe. It was giving me It, or even Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi, except for instead of supernatural forces we're tackling, we have a full-fledged Action Thriller. Is this OTT? Absolutely, it is, but I didn't mind at all. I felt like the characters and the backstory were so well done that the OTT-narrative didn't make me flinch for even a moment.

I listened to the audiobook and would recommend that format. The narration was fabulous and kept me 100%-focused the whole way through. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes action-packed Thrillers. If you enjoyed things like Adrian McKinty's, The Island, or Falling by T.J. Newman, you should absolutely check this one out.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I was really looking forward to this and it didn't disappoint. I feel like all of Finlay's books have been so different. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he serves us next!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Alex Finlay for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This is my first Alex Finlay book and I'm thinking it may be my last. I requested this book because the blurb really caught my interest. I struggled mostly with the writing and the pacing throughout the book. There were so many POVs and changes from past to present that it was hard to keep track of everything and everyone.

I just finished What have we done by Alex Finlay and here are my views.

The trauma of that children's home is still heavily ingrained on Donny, Jenna and Nico even after all these years. The wounds are brought back to the surface as they find out that Benny, another foster kid in the same home, is now dead.

25 years ago, children from the home disappeared and were never seen again. After the home closed, the teens were all relocated and lost touch. Something bound them all together. One shared secret…. Something so awful that they agreed never to speak of it again.

It’s not just the funeral that brings them together but the fact that someone has tried to kill each of them too and at this point, there is safety in numbers…. Right?

This book was actually well written and the plot was clever in its complexity. This book made the number one mistake I have with thrillers…. Too many POVs. I understand why the author felt this was necessary but I find it muddles the storyline when you have to check who’s POV you are on and with a shifting timeline. It was messy. A couple less POVs would have been better for me.

I did enjoy the twists, they were quite brilliant. I even think there was room for the author to take it a little darker than they did but all in all I found it was quite a good read. Easy lucid language and it was well developed. Definitely kept me entertained.

3.5 stars! Don’t let the star rating put you off, I’m just not a fan of multiple points of view but for people who are…. It’s dynamite!

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for my review copy!

I received the audiobook and digital ARCs through Netgalley, and read this as this month’s pick for an IG Thriller Reads book club.

Perhaps because I listened to the audiobook, I didn’t feel the tension and suspense I think the author was going for. The narrators were good, but the even tones were too calming for a book that wanted to be an action-adventure.

It definitely had Jason Bourne vibes, but while it was filled with action and attempted murders, I wasn’t drawn in and felt like the plot was lacking depth. While the entire premise centered around what happened to these missing girls, the story never really got into the girls’ stories.

Overall, the story was fine, but the epilogue really killed it for me, wrapping things up way too nicely for a thriller.

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜɪs ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ:
🕵️‍♀️ like to know exactly what happens to every character at the end
🕵️‍♀️ are a fan of Bourne Identity-esque assassin organizations
🕵️‍♀️ want a light thriller to start off in the genre

#happypubday to @alexfinlayauthor & his newest book!

three past lives are brought together in this action-packed thrill ride. a stay-at-home mom, an aging rockstar, & a gambling-addicted TV exec all find themselves on the wrong side of death. anxious to find out who is gunning for them, there’s only one thing connecting them: Savior House, the group home where the 3 near-death victims lived in their teens.

25 years ago, these 3 adults were just teenagers trying to survive. after making a decision as if their lives depended on it, they swore themselves to secrecy. but it seems as though their secrets have been uncovered, & someone is out there seeking revenge after all these years.

i saw a lot of mixed reviews on this one, but I thought it was a pretty solid thriller overall! the beginning drew me in with its action and intensity, & I enjoyed the character development throughout.

i would definitely say that I favored the actual plot development in this book over the climactic angles & its eventual resolution. a lot of the action/violence seemed a bit unbelievable to me, & I caught onto a few twists; that being said, I was frustrated that I didn’t catch onto something that in retrospect should have been so blatantly obvious, & I always respect a book that dupes me like that!

for those who enjoy multiple POVs, short, action-packed chapters, or are fans of Finlay’s other books, this may be one to add to your #tbr !

thanks to @netgalley & @minotaur_books for my #arc! this book is out now!!

Three former best friends, harboring a secret, haven’t heard or spoken to each other in twenty five years. Each managing to survive their childhood group home and become successful members of society, all have one problem; someone is trying to kill them. The only way to survive and solve the mystery of their killer is to reunite, revisit the nightmares of their childhood and confront a secret they have kept buried for so long.

Not having as much time as I’d like to have devoted to devouring this novel, I just entered part three and am still on the edge of my seat with how this tangled web is going to unravel. This being my second work to have the opportunity to read/review; I am loving the right amount of nostalgia the author puts in each story with an excellent balance of relevant flashbacks and current events. It’s books like this that remind me why reading is one of my favorite past times! If you’re looking for a book to get you back into the reading habit look no further.

25 years ago 5 friends did something unimaginable in order to protect on of them. When one of them shows up dead, and the others all have attempts at their lives it’s apparent they are all in danger, but would would want to kill them and why? There is only one thing that links them all, but none of them have told anyone about that dreadful day….

This book is fast paced and keeps you wanting to find out more. I found the first 30% of the book a little disjointed on who the characters were, what they do now and how they were connected in the past. At about 30% of the book it started to all come together. I can see this being a turn off for some people but it honestly kept me intrigued and wanting to know more.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. It’s a fast paced read with lots of twists and turns. It didn’t disappoint.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is my new favorite by Alex Finlay! It’s so bingeable — I read it in a day. It’s action packed and played like a movie in my head.

I love a dual timeline and this one did not disappoint. I was slightly more interested in the past timeline and super invested in what had happened to the missing girls. I really liked reading about the kids’ bond while living at the group home. It made their reunion in the present timeline more interesting.

The characters were well developed. There was such a sadness to each of them that manifested in different ways. I definitely recommend this one, especially if you’re already a fan of Finlay’s work. This book is quite different from his first two but is, in my opinion, the best.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧.

📍 Read if you like:
• Action-Packed Thrillers
• Quick Reads
• Twist And Turns
• Friend Group

Out of the three books I’ve read by Alex Finlay, unfortunately, this is my least favorite of his.

Reading the prologue set a suspenseful tone. It had me immediately intrigued and I was so fascinated reading the story. It did continue with the intrigue level, but it eventually fell flat.

We follow a group of people who meet at Savior House, a group home for teens without parents. There’s a lot that goes on in here… from bullying to missing girls.

We immediately are pulled into the story with the teens standing over a hole in the group… questioning “What Have We Done”.

Years later, now adults, these characters are reintroduced with who they’ve become. Secrets are held from the past that haunts them. Suddenly, one of these five original adults is killed and it looks like someone is out to get the rest of them.

I feel like at times you need to suspend your belief with this one. Some plot-line points had me so confused and felt unbelievable. I liked the dual timeline and following these three characters - each being unique and having a secret of their own.

I liked the connection they had with others, but some twists didn’t make sense. I had some questions! Also, that ending was sort of underwhelming and predictable.

I listened to the audiobook while following with the e-galley and I think both were great!

This is my least favorite by this author, but I still enjoyed some parts of the book. I found the characters to be interesting to read about, but not so likable. Overall, I would still recommend this one.

What Have We Done, by Alex Finlay

Short Take: Just too much, too choppy, and too over the top.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

Hello my beloved nerdlings, and greetings from the land of pain! In a last-ditch effort to rehab my shoddy lungs, I have been putting my chubby self on the treadmill for the last couple of weeks, and will it surprise anyone to know that the experience is, shall we say, less than enjoyable? But fortunately, I live in the time of podcasts and streaming TV, so at least I can bribe my brain with some form of entertainment.

I still hate it.

But the good thing about bad things is that they are often temporary, right? So when a book isn’t exactly flibbering my giblets, I can usually find a few bits that still work for me. Case in point…

In What Have We Done, five children are in a terrifying state-run home, where girls are hunted by the older boys, and sometimes they disappear. The kids commit a horrific crime, and all swear to secrecy before they go on their different paths.

In the present day, all five are targeted by a shadowy killer, with a strange weapon, an unlimited budget, and seemingly, the ability to be in two places at once. Of course, Dark Secrets Come To Light, and it’s a Deadly Game of Cat and Mouse.

Duckies, I was ready to love this one. I reviewed one of Mr. Finlay’s previous books, Every Last Fear, and I was thrilled when Netgalley approved me for this one. But it just didn’t work for me. The story itself has been done a lot of times, in a lot of ways, and the way it was written (super short chapters, flipping character POV every couple of pages) made it hard to keep everyone straight early on, and to piece together the past events, even when they were finally spelled out.

But for me, the real dealbreaker was the characters. The five lost kids grew up to basically be superheroes - a tech billionaire, a rock star, a federal judge, a TV producer, and (I kid you not) a gorgeous Black Widow-esque highly trained female assassin. Just… what? I won’t give any details about the bad guy, but they are also kind of eye-roll-inducing.

On the plus side, the pace was pretty quick, and some of the action scenes were fun. As a lifelong WV resident, I appreciated the coal-mine shout-out and lack of stereotypes.

The Nerd’s Rating: THREE HAPPY NEURONS (and a face-melting power ballad.)

While I really liked this author’s first two books, this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It was definitely fun, and fast paced, which I really liked. It was easy to read and easy to get sucked in. However, this one felt a little more unrealistic, then his previous two novels. It was just a little bit of a stretch. And it read like an action movie, which, for me personally doesn’t really work. I know that some people might really love that action packed style, but it’s just not my favorite kind of reading.

I just do not think this author is my cup of tea. In my opinion, this book is not a thriller. However, I would be at a loss trying to describe what genre it would actually fall into.

The set up hooked me straight away, but after that I could just care less about everything that was going on. Also, I really had to suspend my disbelief many times while reading, especially when it came to Jenna's chapters.

This was not gripping and it frankly put me in a bad mood after finishing it. One of my least favorite books of the year thus far. I hate writing negative reviews, but I just needed to give you my honest thoughts.

Not my favorite of this author but still kept my on the edge of my seat! Would absolutely recommend to anyone who likes his books

Happy Pub Day to What Have We Done by Alex Finlay! If you’re looking for a crazy thriller about something in the past coming back to haunt a group of childhood friends mixed with a bit of Black Widow origin story, this is the book for you.

Twenty-five years ago, Jenna, Donnie, and Nico forged a bond over the abuse they faced as the Savior House, a group home for kids. Then something terrible happened that will connect them forever, but also tears them apart. Now someone’s trying to kill them, and even though they’re leading completely separate lives, they must work together to find out who’s after them and why, and, in the process, they may uncover some heartbreaking secrets from their past.

I enjoyed this one, but it had a little more of an action adventure vibe than my usual thriller reads. I was absolutely invested and wanted to know where the story was going, but none of the characters passed the threshold of jumping off the page into my heart. It read a little more like a movie or TV show to me than a book, although that distinction is only a feeling. I definitely think this one would be great adapted for the screen.

I’ve read some other reviews saying that this one takes some suspension of disbelief, and I definitely agree. There’s a lot going on. Hit (wo)men, a secret society, a tech genius, cover-ups, escape plans, long-buried secrets and new ones, as well as a murder of one their friends from Savior House to solve. It’s not my favorite book by Alex Finlay, but it was a fun ride and I’ll definitely read whatever he has coming out next.

My first read by this author and I’m a fan!
This captivating story had me glued to the pages from beginning to end. As far as suspenseful psychological thrillers the author flawlessly took it up a few notches and made it stand all on its own. Heart wrenching, and moving read, this story begs the question is the past better left alone?
Told in POV of the main characters, the three main characters have to return to their former home and face painful memories. Except, things are not what they appear and mysterious things begin to happen. This story takes the whodunnit factor to a whole new level.
Edgy, twisted and full of unpredictable surprises, this fast paced story just kept me on the edge of my seat and it was so entertaining I couldn’t put it down.
Just when I thought the story was going in one direction BAM, wo, this story went in a completely different direction.
My only issue with this read was that there were some editing issues which confused me following the story. However it didn’t take away from enjoying this read and once I figured out what was going on it was fine.
4.5 stars!

Rating: 4/5⭐️
Pub day: Today!

This is only my second from Finlay and I thought both were very bingeable books. His writing allows for a fast-paced experience with a lot of twists and turns to keep a reader fully engaged. He also writes without gore or overly graphic details, which is a huge win in my book.

I loved how completely I was engrossed into this story and really appreciated the badass main female character. While I wasn’t shocked by all of the revelations I was quite surprised two times and enjoyed the jolt those revelations sent coursing through my brain. I definitely enjoy his writing and will be reading more from him in the future!

I did a combo of audio and digital and thought both were good!

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the #alc and Minotaur Books for the #arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a solid suspense read with decent twists and turns. You might have to suspend reality a bit in order to enjoy some aspects of the story, but it does touch on some very real issues, particularly in the child welfare system. I will continue to read Finlay's work to family and friends.

I loved one of Alex's previous thrillers and was super excited for this release. His style is fast-paced, multi-POV, and throws you right into the drama from the first page. This one was no different! The premise here was super engaging - a cat and mouse type mystery with high-stakes, lots of money, childhood secrets, and it kept me guessing until the end. The characters grew up in a foster home together, so I wish we had gotten a few more flashbacks from that time to build up their relationships a bit. I was more engaged by Jenna's (the only FMC) POV, but overall loved the premise, characters, and conclusion! It's 4 stars for me mainly because it was a bit over-the-top and sometimes difficult to follow, but I still recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars!

This book was a trip!! It kept me guessing and hoping that Jenna would prevail and kick some ass! Which she basically does with a few twists in the middle. This is really a book about the truth not really being buried and affecting someone forever, whether it's told or not. You just keep rooting for them to have a great life! I definitely recommend the book!