Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC. I was totally hooked! While at first I kept thinking why the main characters don't just get together and work together, it became easily clear how this was well thought out and presented to the reader. The suspense was high and real, I did not want to put this down but keep on reading to know what is happening next. When I thought I had it figured our, another twist came along to surprise me.
I loved the choice of characters, how they all portray different backgrounds and levels of status in society. How they all though have a basic instinct to protect their families and therefore each other.
This book is a 5* for me! I strongly believe the best so far from this author!!

***Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC copy of What Have We Done which is set to be released on March 7th, 2023. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.***

This novel follows 3 POVs: a reality show producer with a gambling problem, a famous rock star with addiction problems, and a female assasin for a secret corporation. Together, they must try to figure out why someone is trying to kill them before its too late.

Told between past and present day events, this action-packed thriller will keep you at the edge of your seat from the beginning to the very last page!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this new story by Alex Finlay. If you are a fan of action movies, this one is for you!

The experience at Savior House foster home is abusive and young women are going missing. Their disappearance is explained as simply running away. The town authorities want the problem swept under the rug.

The POV of Jenna, Nico, and Donnie are three of five who do not feel this is an acceptable answer to the problem. There were five who banded together to “bury” a secret and then went their separate ways when the group home is shut down. Twenty-five years later something begins to happen to the members of their group, and the surviving trio attempt to investigate.

The three main characters are all damaged, one fighting addiction problems, and none are wholly engaging or empathetic. There are twists and turns and the pace tends to ebb and flow while keeping sufficient interest to find out the who and why.

The individuals share a desperate history as the backstories of each are explored. Something happened that someone doesn’t want to be exposed—even now.

This book keeps engagement although I found the subject matter disturbing. 3.5 stars – CE Williams.

Finlay’s gift is creating compulsively readable books with characters you love or love to hate, but regardless you can’t put down.

This book was no different - this was a great read and totally bingeable. I did struggle at times keeping track of who was who and at times it did stall out for me in certain areas. There were elements that really worked, but then somehow all of the kids from a foster home hit it big are famous and Uber rich.? This felt a bit hard to believe.

However, the story was unique, the writing was well done, the pacing was incredibly hit or miss for me, but overall this was thoroughly enjoyable!

This one was a miss for me. I loved Finlay’s first two but this one just didn’t do it for me. Parts of it really dragged for me and I didn’t feel like the characters were correctly developed? I didn’t believe they would all be so successful and because of this I had a hard time believing this story.

This is not Alex Finlay’s normal style of writing. I loved previous books, but this one I couldn’t really get into. There are way too many characters and each one could be a different book, honestly. The flashbacks are right in the middle of the chapter, so you don’t know when one is coming up. That’s confusing sometimes. I feel that the flashbacks could have had their own chapter to flow better. I also really wasn’t into the whole assassin premise. I’m sure this is someone’s cup of tea, but it’s just not mine.

In this book, we follow a series of 3 friends that were all placed in the same foster home. It has been 25 years since and all have grown into their adult lives (and become rich or famous - a little much) without thinking of the old friends. Even though they have long past their time at the Savior House, they still have memories of their time there and mostly wish they could forget.
Jenna, Nico, and Donnie must all come back together to solve a new mystery and resolve old traumas.
I enjoyed this book, some parts a little far fetched, but still a fun read. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

***

There are three characters whose separate stories are inevitably linked to an incident from childhood. As an idea, it's a solid one and the differenct characters are distinct enough for the multiple POV to not be too difficult to follow.

For some reason, I couldn't get into it and it took me quite a while to finish.

I think there's certainly and audience for this and it's well-written. It just didn't grab me like I'd hoped.

Like all Alex Finlay novels, this was an excellent and unique plotline combined with engaging characters. At times it was hard to know who to side with as pieces were constantly moving to make the reader question not only the reliability of characters but how the puzzle would eventually come together. Great read!

Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were brought back together years after being in foster care together. One night years ago set this story in motion. What Have We Done is a fast paced nail biter! I was sucked in from page one. Alex Finlay is now one of my go to authors for a great mystery/thriller!

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Secrets seldom stay buried forever….and sometimes they are deadly

In a group home called Savior House, some of the residents banded together to protect themselves from the abuse that was rampant. After one of their gang, Annie, disappeared, the others found a way to escape. Twenty five years later, having followed different paths, their lives are going to intersect once more. Benny, who became a respected and well-off judge, is found dead, the apparent victim of a carjacking. Donnie had found fame and fortune in a rock and roll band, but drugs and other excesses have worn him down; his latest gig is on a nostalgia cruise, and he’s about to be booted from the band once and for all. Arty has channeled his expertise in technology into a billion dollar business. Nico is part of a reality series set in a coal mine. Jenna is a suburban housewife, after retiring from an unusual career. When attempts are made on the lives of several of these old friends, it seems clear that they are all at risk. Something happened all those years ago, and the secret they have all kept for so long is not going to stay buried any longer. They need to combine forces to confront their past sins, and find out who wants revenge for what they did. And they need to do it before the woman hunting them can silence them forever.

I had read and enjoyed Alex Finlay’s last thriller, Every Last Fear, so was eager to tackle his latest entry. The action is fast paced, but it takes time for readers to discover all that they need to know about each characters, with chapters that alternate between each of their points of view,
They’re a flawed bunch, to be sure, but I couldn’t help but root for them. They each clawed their way out of a grim adolescence to find some measure of success, though not all could hang on to it. Can they work together once again to preserve their futures?

Readers of Lisa Unger, Ruth Ware, and James Patterson (among many others) will likely enjoy this book as much as I did. Many thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read the advanced readers copy.

Alex Finlay books never disappoint! I loved the quick pacing of this book as well as the switching POV. The short chapters also made me want to just read one more chapter. For a thriller, the author did a good job with character development.

I definitely didn’t guess what was going on in this book and it kept me intrigued the entire time.

My only complaint is I thought the ending could be better. I didn’t think the last chapter centering around Jenna needed to happen the way it did (without giving any spoilers). Overall I enjoyed the book and read it in less than 24 hours!
Thank you netgalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll start out by saying that I absolutely loved the author’s previous two books. Both were five stars for me. I had such high hopes for this one and it fell a little flat for me. It took me until about the halfway point before I could keep the storyline straight and who was who with the characters. With all that being said, I look forward to more books from this author.

2.5/5

I am always able to get quickly drawn in to Alex Finlay's stories.

However, the characters didn't create the typical connection with me as a reader. I did enjoy Donnie and Jenna, but Nico didn't have the same amount of background and emotion to care what happened to him.

Also, some of the dialog was almost comical in how cheesy it was. Especially as it relates to the evil twins.

If you like your thrillers a bit on the bonkers side, then this is the book for you. We have three fairly normal characters whose friend has died. It also seems that someone is out to get them too. This could have been a pretty standard thriller, except for the assassin, which without spoiling too much, I will just say is very imaginative. Some of the assassination attempts are over the top, but you know what? I'm all in for it. In the end, I didn't really care about what they did, I was just along for the ride.

How is there still an hour left of this book? Obviously DNF because it was so scattered and disorganized. I hate when books time jump without telling you and there is 0% surprise learning that a man wrote it. The way he talks about the Bachelor contestants is disgusting. Just gross. I love NetGalley and love reading thrillers, but this one just isn’t it.

If you’re a fan of Law & Order: SVU, I think you’ll love Alex Finlay’s latest thriller. Nico, Jenna and Donnie’s lives are intertwined as the result of one dark night as teens in a foster home known as Savior House, before going on to become a reality TV producer with a gambling debt, an ex-assassin gone good, and an addiction-addled rock star, respectively. But when another of their friends from Savior House, the now-Judge Ben is murdered, and a mysterious woman (or is it women?) orders a hit on a fifth Savior House resident, tech entrepreneur Artemis, our three main protagonists realize that it all points back to that night on the knoll— and someone’s out to kill them all. Told in fast-paced, bite-sized chapters, this novel reads almost like three mini-thrillers in one, until they all collide in Part 3 with more twists and turns that a dark, back country PA road at night. The suspense will keep you guessing until the very last page.

My thanks to Netgalley, Alex Finlay and St. Martin’s Press for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fast paced, adrenaline type thriller. I enjoyed it but not as much as Finlays other book “the night shift.” It was bit too action packed for me but liked the different POVs with the characters.

Thanks to Netgalley for this advanced reader copy. I did not expect the storyline, but it keeps you wondering what will happen next to each character; pay attention to each page as there is a story behind the story. This is my first Alex Finlay book, I will keep this author in mind moving forward.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC.

A murdered friend brings together his left behind friends, whom are being watched (okay stalked…). They haven’t seen each other in 25 years and now must face their past in order to survive the present.

I enjoyed reading this twisty book. The multiple POVs was fun.