This one kept me on the edge of my chair! I loved the differentness of this thriller. I loved the different back stories of the people involved and how the story came together at the end. This one was different and it worked! I would recommend this one to anyone who loves a fast paced thriller!

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay
Rating: 3 stars
Pub Date: 3/7

This book has a very “I Know What You Did Last Summer vibe.” 25 years ago, five friends do something terrible, and now someone is trying to kill them for it. They must band together to find out who is after them before it’s too late.

This fast-paced book had me on the edge of my seat. The fast action, short chapters, alternating timelines, and POV kept the story moving and gave it a pulse-pounding feel. I loved the cat and mouse of the present timeline, and I feel like the author gave us just enough backstory for each character to keep the reader invested in the outcome.

Unfortunately, the outcome was a bit of a letdown. There’s very little character development, and becoming invested in any of them was difficult. I loved the premise, but the execution was all over the place. The twists and turns were very entertaining, but ultimately this one is forgettable.

Thank you so much to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my complimentary copy. What Have We Done is available on 3/7.

This is my second Alex Finlay book and I've really enjoyed both of them. Finlay throws in a lot of twists that were not easy to guess.
What Have We Done is told from multiple perspectives including a stay-at-home mom, a washed-up rocker, and a reality TV personality. They are forced to reunite when they realize that someone is trying to kill everyone who was a part of their friend group growing up. And it might be someone who knows what they did all those years ago...

I love Alex Finaly's books, and I really enjoyed What Have We Done! The story was fast-paced, suspenseful, and somewhat disturbing, but what I appreciated most were the cast of characters. I really enjoyed Jenna, Donnie, and Nico. I also really liked Ben, though the reader only knows him through other characters, which I think speaks to Finlay's talent as a writer. He seamlessly wove in a dual timeline without needing the breakpoints of chapters, which made the plot very easy to follow. I didn't think the ending was as good as the lead up, but I wouldn't say I was disappointed. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good thriller!

I will start this one off by saying 1) this is my first Alex Finlay book, but I know his other thrillers are really well loved in the thriller community and 2) this was not your average thriller. Man, did this one start off with a bang and it didn’t stop. From page one you are on this edge of your seat story that took some really surprising turns along the way.

As with any good thriller, I highly recommend going in blind. This just adds another level to these fast-paced novels that I, personally, really enjoy. Think a group of foster kids coming from a really hard background all sharing one giant secret. Fast forward 25 years and they are unexpectedly brought back together when someone starts to target all of them. Are the decisions they made in the past finally catching up to them? Who knows their secret and wants them dead?

Like I said in the beginning this one started out with a bang that I wasn’t quite sure I was sold on, but by the 25% mark I was all in. Finlay has this way of captivating you from the very first chapter. Here we have multiple point of views and timeline hops that are mainly told through flashbacks of their shared traumatic childhood. I found myself really intrigued by these characters and the decisions they make. I will say parts can be confusing. I felt like there were some important information moments that were easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention.

I would say that this did not feel like your usual thriller. I don’t think I have ever read one this fast paced. It was action packed from the start. My favorite thriller ever? No. Is it worth the read? I thought so. I found myself not being able to put this down once I got invested because I was so interested in where this story was going to go and how these timelines come together.

Pick this one up if you like:

-Action packed thrillers
-Multiple POV
-Dual timeline told through flashbacks
-Intriguing Characters (I can definitely see where they can also fall into the “unlikeable” main character vibe though)
-Assassins
-Some good twists that you don’t see coming
-Messy, dark, and complicated

This is a wonderfully crafted suspense filled mystery! Told through alternating points of view this story is laid out in such a deceitful (but thrilling) way, that you fall for the misdirection, and curse yourself when what you think you know, you don't know. Well at least I did!

This was exciting and very entertaining. I absolutely loved The Night Shift so I was really excited to get an early copy of this (thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress!), and even though it didn't quite live up, it was still a really fun read.
*Quick synopsis: Twenty-five years ago, four teens were living in an abusive group home where kids kept mysteriously disappearing. Now, one of the four have been murdered, and someone is trying to kill the rest of them. Could it be that something from their past has come back to haunt them?
*
Multiple POVs, short chapters, lots of action scenes, this will absolutely keep you on the edge of your seat. While there isn't necessarily a *ton* of character development (this is very much a plot-driven story!) each of the three main characters has a unique voice and flaws and I enjoyed each of their perspectives.
*
This does require a good bit of suspension of disbelief, and I still have some questions about how some of the plot points came together, but even when I didn't understand what was happening, I was still excited to find out what was coming. And I did like the epilogue, specifically Jenna's part.
*IMO The Night Shift was better, but this was still a fun, very bingeable read!

I enjoyed this thriller that kept me guessing for most of the story. I wished there was further character development as their stories seemed so complex, but we just scratched the surface. It was a tad 'formulaic' in nature so I knew where things were headed but all in all, it was an enjoyable read.

Alex Finlay brings us another great mystery thriller in his newest release. This book has one of my favorite tropes which is when something happens to a group of friends when they're younger and then they reunite years later for one reason or another. Jenna, Donnie, and Nico bonded as teens when they lived together at a group home. The environment was abusive and led to events that would haunt these three for years to come. As adults, they begin to be pulled in when a mutual friend winds up dead and the others are each attacked in various ways. Will they be able to stay alive long enough to solve the mystery of who is coming after them?

Finlay does a great job of building the suspense and keeping the reader on their toes. The narrative switches from one friend to the next so you can never see clearly what is coming next. While this was tricky to track when listening on audio, it wasn't an issue with the print copy. I found each of the characters engaging and their stories unique. I wanted them to win in the end and wasn't sure they would. They have to face their horrid past and you feel for them and dread it right along with them.

If you are a fan of suspense, you will enjoy this book. It has twists and turns with each page that keep you reading since you cannot put the book down. I look forward to reading more from Finlay in the future.

What a wild ride! Alex Finlay has done it again with his latest book, What Have We Done. I love thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat and keep you guessing (at least for a good part of the book).

The story centers on five teens who became friends in an abusive group home, who are now adults, and someone is trying to kill each of them. They jointly harbor a secret (hence the title!) from back then, but have each gone their separate ways and have not been in touch for years and years. You gradually learn their backstories and how their lives have evolved and brought them to their current situations. Be prepared for frequent switches between the present and the past.

The chapters vary in terms of POV (point of view) - either Jenna, Donnie or Nico. Their friend Ben is dead and we don’t get a chapter from Arty’s POV. Finlay does a great job with the atmospheric details; I could “see” the group home and the rundown neighborhoods he describes. A particularly creepy section focused on being in an underground mine.

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook has a number of distinct narrators who all do a wonderful job: Brittany Pressley; James Patrick Cronin; Jon Lindstrom; Maggie Thompson. I love it when audiobooks have more than one narrator.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook and to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

▪️Strong beginning and ending.
▪️A small lull in the middle.
▪️Couldn’t figure out who was behind it.
▪️Lots of action but only surface level character development.
▪️Completely unbelievable.
▪️I enjoy his writing but think I enjoyed his first two books more. This one had a different vibe.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Can’t wait to see what this author writes next!

3.5⭐️

We start in the past... 25 years ago... In a children's home where Donnie, Jenna and Nico were best friends. Something happened. Something dark. And then the home was shut after several other children disappeared and our trio was split up.
Back in the present and they are all leading very different lives. Mostly successful but also troubled by what happened in their childhoods. They haven't met up, or been in contact since the home was closed, but are forced to reconnect when they find out that someone wants them dead... In fact two of their original gang of five have already fallen foul...
Oooo, have I whetted your appetite yet? Well, sit back, buckle up and get ready for one heck of a ride. Albeit a tad over the top larger than life, hence the dropped star. Entertaining though it most definitely was.
As well as being a bit over action packed for what I thought was more of a suspense storyline, I also found it a bit hard to connect to the characters. probably more a me thing than anything bad the author did but I think that might have marred my enjoyment somewhat along the way as I failed to really get behind them.
It does have a lot of good point though. It's quite cleverly funny in places and did make me chuckle along the way. Which I think kept me going. And it did enough to hold my attention throughout - eye rolls and all. But it didn't quite do it for me enough for all the stars. Even though parts were deliciously bonkers.
All in all, not the authors best but a solid read nonetheless if you like your books on the action-packed side. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Dear What Have We Done,
You were so intriguing for me! You had some maybe delicate threads that you brought together. I loved each of the three characters. Jenna was such a unique female character, especially given her history with The Company. I think a whole story about her time with The Company would be fascinating! Donnie and Nico were also so interesting. Iso successful, but so troubled about their past. None of them could escape what happened to them at Savior House and the thing that brought them together. Each one of them were fighting their own addictions and hurts, trying to bury secrets and not succeeding. The way everything was brought that to a head, with so many twists and turns was interesting and sometimes surprising as well. You were quite the thrill ride!

Wow. This was a very action packed mystery-thriller. I don’t think there’s three consecutive pages where something big or action packed wasn’t happening. Definitely kept my interest the whole time, I was dying to know what was going to happen next.

There was so much detail in this book! I applaud the author for giving these characters so much depth. There were so many little things that just made the characters seem more real.

I will say, I found Jenna’s POV to be fairly unrealistic. She’s running around like a superhuman, knowing exactly where she needs to go and what she needs to do in an instant. I understand she has a certain background that helps with this, but it was hardly believable.

The climax lasted too long in my opinion. Everything was getting revealed very quickly, and then more was revealed, and more, and things kept happening, and the whole climax lasted for so long! With the amount of mysteries that had to be revealed, I understand taking a long time to reveal so the reader can digest, however this book revealed things very quickly but still had the action happening. I personally didn’t like that, but some people might like the extended action.

I will also say, I absolutely hated the ending (the very very end). It was totally unnecessary, I don’t see a need for it whatsoever. It brought back a character and added a whole new dimension to the book only to end it like 5 pages later with a very convenient ending. It definitely could have ended before the epilogue, I didn’t get anything out of that ending whatsoever.

Despite these things I didn’t love about the book, it was a very well thought out and unique book that I enjoyed. I do recommend it, perhaps not as heavily as some other thrillers I’ve read recently, but it was a wild ride that I’m glad I took.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book!

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of What Have We Done by Alex Finlay.

Jenna, Nico, and Donnie, once friends in a trauma filled group home, are now grown and making the best of their lives. They have lost touch, but will always remain tethered by what they endured as kids. Now they are forced to have a reunion when all of them are threatened with violence and danger. Jenna is given a hit job that isn't optional, Donnie is thrown over the cruise ship he is working, and Nico is trapped in the mine where he has a reality TV show. It's clear right away that these aren't just flukes, and they are all going to have to work together to find out who is out to get them.

Normally this kind of book is right up my alley, but I unfortunately really struggled with it. I found myself constantly having to repeat chapters. It felt a bit messy, like the transfer between past and present were way too abrupt. I just couldn't get firm enough with the story to really dive in.

I read this author’s debut novel, “The Night Shift”, and was pretty unimpressed by it being a basic mystery story. I decided to give it a try again with their third book, but unfortunately I was equally unimpressed by this one as well.

There were a million characters it seemed, but our main three are:

Jenna, a once-miniature Nikita. As a young woman, she was kidnapped from a group home and trained to be an assassin. She has left that life and “The Corporation” behind, and is now a suburban stepmom.

Donnie Danger is an aging rocker, dealing with demons, drugs and alcohol. His best friend Benny (also from the group home, “Savior House”) had just died at the beginning of the book, and Donnie was taking it hard.

Nico is a reality show producer with a lame show about miners. He also is an alumni of this group home, though he tries not to remember those days.

Here’s the whole book: these three did something bad when they were kids, and now over two decades later, they’re paying for it. There are more characters than needed, the plot was completely implausible, and overall I’m realizing this author just isn’t my style. Three stars for being fine, but nothing notable.

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Alex Finlay, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on March 7, 2023.)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free copy of What Have We Done for an honest review.

It took me a while to get into the story due to the introduction of each character but, I feel like it added to the story in the end. You really get a feel for who these characters are and why their actions make sense based on their trauma and past.

This mystery/secret agent thriller is perfect for those looking for adventure, friendship, and a good plot twist.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

This was a wild ride - I binged the entire book in a day and have no regrets. It is fast paced, with some very flawed characters that you can't help but root for (mostly). I could picture most of the book as a movie and it ended quite well (mostly). I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fast-paced book.

@alexfinlayauthor’s newest book, What Have We Done Grabs your attention with the first line and holds on to it to the very end with heart pounding twists, short chapters, dual timelines, and multiple POVs. This book kept me up past my bed time to read just one more chapter. It sealed this author in the “must buy” category for me. I highly recommend reading this mystery thriller!

Thank you @minotaur_books and @netgalley for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay

Five kids did something bad 25 years ago! And now a sociopathic, set of twin female assassins tries to hunt each of them. The story is narrated in 3 pov. Nico, Donnie, Ben, Art and Jenna are the characters who meet after losing their love ones and end up at Savior House. There is someone killing young girls the kids believe it is a monster also they are being bullied by other members of the house.

Now we move forward into the future Ben a father of a young girl a district Judge who was the smartest of the group is killed. Someone is coming after them and it is up to the four left to figure out who it is and to stop them.

The story character development seemed off a bit but the overall mystery was good. For this reason I have mixed feelings about the story. I don't want to give any more information away about the story.
I do recommend it for its fast pace and the mystery part of this thriller.

Narrated by Brittany Pressley; James Patrick Cronin; Jon Lindstrom and Maggie Thompson which made following each character easier for they had their own voice. I would like to read something else from this author in the future the murder aspect of the story was really good. If you like thrillers with some mystery then this one will be fore you.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for a free copy of What Have We Done for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions I expressed in this review are my own.