This is a great book about 5 people Nico, Donnie, Ben, Art and Jenna who grew up in a group home together and are later attacked as adults. They committed a crime as kids and someone knows but who?

Jenna, Donnie, Benny, Arty, and Nico became friends when they were at a group home.

They learned some things, saw some things, and did some awful things...one in particular.
 
Now all these years later after they are out of the group home and successful, they are being targeted, but why? 

Did someone find out what they did?

Does someone think the group needed to be cleaned up so nobody tells what they did?

Just what did they do at the group home?

We follow the characters and the people that are after them.

It was a pretty rough read because of all the violence and cruelty.

I actually was disappointed in this book...it was difficult to follow and very dark.
 
I really enjoyed Mr. Finlay’s first two books, but this one not too much. 3/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

I want to preface this with love for Alex’s previous book The Night Shift, it was a really great investigative thriller which had me shocked at the end, so I was really excited to get this ARC before publication on March 7, 2023.

Now this was definitely a pager turner from chapter one, it was like eating popcorn, I could not stop! So top marks for that. .

However, this was equivalent to a Michael Bay movie, a lot of high action, cheap entertainment. It doesn’t win awards for plot, it was highly implausible, unnecessary additional story lines for flare and a twisty end that tied up nice and neat.

3 stars for keeping me interested but I’m already starting to forget this one. I am still very interested in reading what this author does next because they have the chops, this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

What Have We Done is A crime novel where past lives have put three individuals in the sights of a contract killer. And what a great title!

Jenna is mothering two teenage step daughters, Donnie is a B-list rockstar, and Nico, is a reality tv producer. Why does a professional killer need them dead? Gradually, secrets from their present lives and past come to roost, linking them all to one big, long thought buried secret.

Twenty five years ago, Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were the best of friends, having bonded through the abuse and neglect they endured as residents of Savior House, a group home for parentless teens. When the home was shut down, after the disappearance of several kids, the three were split up.
Now ther path intersect once again.

The narrative alternates between the three above mentioned. Oh yes, there are a few additional chapters thrown in from the killer(s)’ point of view. Each character is more than who they seem to be; but they are linked. Jenna, to me was the most developed character and I really enjoyed her chapters the most. Nico and Donnie are good too but Jenna shines.

If you like action, here you go. This is a quite readable and fast-paced. There is also a bit humor interjected throughout. The ending is wild and chaotic, and I found myself wondering why I was tempted to side with the contract killers.

A big thank you to Netgally and St. Martin’s Press for this opportunity.

I fell in love with these characters. At first, I was hesitant having so many narrators, but I was proven wrong. Everyone has complexity and brought something new to each chapter. As for the story itself, I am thrilled to say I was guessing until the end! I continue to really enjoy this author!

Another excellent, though unexpected, novel by Alex Finlay. The story feels a bit scattered at first with multiple plot lines and even a genre that seems hard to pin down. However, the story slowly comes together and is entertaining, unique, and addictive. Highly recommended!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #WhatHaveWeDone which was read and reviewed voluntarily.

Thank you Minotaur Books for my gifted e-ARC.

I was such a big fan of The Night Shift and Every Last Fear that my expectations were set high, and this one just felt like a let down. It was book with four very different characters that all shared a secret... but that is it. Nothing big or crazy happens outside of that. It took me forever to read this book, and I think it is because I was never sucked in the way that I was expecting.

Thank you to NetGalley for a digital ARC of What Have we Done by Alex Finlay.

This was the first book by Alex Finaly that I have read and it definitely won't be the last.

Twenty five years ago, Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were the best of friends, having forged a bond through the abuse and neglect they endured as residents of Savior House, a group home for parentless teens. When the home was shut down—after the disappearance of several kids—the three were split up.

Though the trauma of their childhood has never left them, each went on to live accomplished—if troubled—lives. They haven’t seen one another since they were teens but now are reunited for a single haunting reason: someone is trying to kill them.

This was a fast paced book that did not take me long to read. I needed to know what was going to happen. Is this story line believable? Maybe parts of it, the lives they each had before and during their time at a group home, even what they have done after. The current time frame not so much, but I still really enjoyed the book and it kept me wondering who the entire time.

Over two decades ago, Jenna, Nico and Donnie were placed in the same group home which was shut down when children begin to disappear from it. Fast forward to the present day, the group has not seen each other in years. Each has gone on to some semblance of a successful life. However, someone is trying to kill them and the group must figure out who, and why, before it is too late.

Overall, I found this book to be a fun page-turner. The chapters end in cliff hangers, and the book jumps from character to character to keep the book moving at a fast pace. If you enjoyed Alex FInlay's other books, then do not miss this one!

Special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Minotaur Books, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was really disappointed with this one. Too many main characters and POVs. I hoped it might really twist to a bug ending but fell super flat for me. Will still give this author another shot though.thanks so much to netgalley for the Chance to read it!

Twenty-five years ago, Jenna, Nico, Donnie, and Ben were friends in an abusive and terrifying group home. Jenna is now a successful stay-at-home mom after years of obtaining skills most suburban stepmoms don't have. Nico has a career in television and a terrible gambling habit. Donnie became a famous musician with a substance abuse problem. When the three of them have attempts made on their lives, and they learn that their friend Ben, a judge, was killed, they come together for Ben’s funeral and to the Savior House that left them each damaged and with a terrible secret they worry might be revealed.

The story is told from the three surviving members of Savior House. The mystery is compelling, and I didn’t see the who was responsible until the very end.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES MARCH 7, 2023.

Alex Finlay has done it again - I really enjoyed this. What Have We Done is about a group of adults who revisit a terrible time in their past and do their best to right the wrongs that have been bestowed upon them - while attempting to rectify the damage and trauma they lived through in their teens.

This book reads like a suspense/action movie. I could definitely see this as a TV series or Netflix movie! What a thrill ride from Alex Finlay, who has become one of my go-to authors!

Told from multiple view points, Jenna, Donnie and Nico were all great friends growing up in a group home. All of them were alone, abandoned by their parents and clinging to each other for family. Kids start disappearing from the group home and after a terrible incident, they all lose touch with each other.

25 years later, each of them are in different stages of their lives when a hit is put out on each of them. They manage to survive and separately start trying to figure out who would want them dead. Does anybody know about their secrets from 25 years ago?

A wonderful book from start to finish with nuanced characters! Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.

Alex Finlay has quickly become a go to author when it comes to wanting something face paced and entertaining. This book was packed with action and keeps you entertained throughout. What this book lacked a little was that thriller feel, it felt more like an action movie than a thriller. But, still the way Finlay tells the story has a way of hooking you in for the wild ride.

I can't not read a book by this author. Always a twist, always a great storyline, and always great character development.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me review this book. I usually like Alex Finlay. This book didn’t really do much for me. There are 5 characters from a group home 25 years ago. The book opens with them, holding a gun, over a freshly dug grave, they are all teenagers. All five have gone their separate ways and made different things with their life. Ben became a judge. Arty became a tech mogul. Donnie is a rock star. Nico is on tv and Jenna has become an assassin. Now that they are all adults, someone wants them dead. The action is fairly fast paced. Jenna isn’t afraid to ask for help. But Ben is dead. And Donnie gets pushed off a cruise ship, Nico is almost killed on a TV set. The plot thickens. The ending is ok. People can now breathe easier. Their lives are on the way to being what they could be. It just seems a little too formulaic for me. See what you think.

From the first page-- I was hooked! This is the perfect example of a pageturner. From the prologue, I was interested in the characters and curious about the mystery. I enjoyed the different POVs and the "flashbacks" that told us the story of what happened 25 years ago.

I will admit that many of the twists were predictable, however I felt that they were well executed. I was a little confused-- why did the group home in Pennsylvania have connections to The Company? I also felt that the Twins were very shallow characters and I wanted a little more background on them and why they "liked killing".

Overall, I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. I will definitely be recommending this book on my instagram to many friends who loved thrillers. I can't wait for the rest of the world to see how great this thriller is!

What have we done is a story told from different points of view of 5 children that grow up together in a group home and get involved in a something that can ruin their lives. We then fast forward to 25 years later find out what happened to them. Author Alex Finlay does a great job intertwining their lives and how their act years ago effects them. The ending might surprise you

Well that was a wild ride. Unrealistic? Definitely. Entertaining? For sure! Five kids with traumatic pasts who grew up in the same toxic group home did something sinister one fateful night as kids and now, 20 plus years later, find themselves being targeted one by one by a killer. Told through three of the main characters’ POVs - Jenna, Donnie, and Nico - the reader learns more about the shared history of the group through memories interwoven among present actions. Personally, I loved this approach of melding the past/present versus “Then” and “Now” chapters because it felt realistic - after all, you don’t sit around just thinking of linear memories. Rather, something in the present day swiftly brings you back to a place and time you hadn’t thought about in years. I didn’t find the intersection for past and present confusing at all as Finlay did it all quite expertly. I also fell for the broken characters and wanted them to succeed even though they all had marred histories because, again, it felt realistic and true to human nature. What didn’t feel true, however, was that every one of the five kids led extraordinary lives - each one famous in their own rights. How often does that happen? Why couldn’t any of the characters have been just your average Joe? Also, in true Finlay fashion, the final confrontation was unnecessarily over the top dramatic. Overall, though, it kept my attention and I was excited to keep reading it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advance electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

OTT Entertainment

3.25 stars

A crime from the past puts three individuals in the sights of a contract killer.

Jenna, a stepmom of two teenage daughters, Donnie, a B-list rockstar, and Nico, a reality tv producer, come under fire (literally) when a hired killer tries to take them out. Gradually, secrets from their present lives and past align, linking them all to one big, buried secret.

The narrative alternates between the three, with a few additional chapters thrown in from the killer(s)’ point of view. Each character is more than who they seem to be; however, each is one giant cartoonish cliche. I enjoyed Jenna’s chapters the most, but Nico and Donnie have some moments where they shine.

The premise is interesting, but one has to suspend disbelief to enjoy this novel. The best way I can describe this book is a combination of Orphan X and a James Patterson novel. It is big on the action but low on character development and nuance. I would have never guessed that Alex Finlay wrote this book. The tone and the plot are very different from his two most recent novels: The Night Shift and Every Last Fear.

This is a very readable, fast-paced, action-packed novel. There is also some humor woven in. The ending is wild and chaotic, and I found myself liking the contract killers. I had fun trying to figure out what in the world was going to happen; however, it was missing the tension and subtlety I expect from Finlay.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.