QUICK TAKE: Finlay's NIGHT SHIFT was one of my favorite thrillers of the year, but this one fell flat for me. A bit of an exaggerated mess, and the assassin storyline made zero sense to me.

I always enjoy Alex Finlay’s twisted thrillers… What Have We Done didn’t let me down! ⁣
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⁣This book tells the story of three former foster kids and the ways their stories are intertwined. It features a ton of characters and a lot of jumping around which made it a little choppy at first, but I soon caught on and was able to follow the story. Plus- it had short chapters that kept me hooked! ⁣
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⁣Just a warning- this one is pretty far fetched and unbelievable. It’s definitely an action packed and exciting! Much like Finlay’s other books, I think What Have We Done would make a wonderful movie! ⁣
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⁣Anyway- read this one if you want a wild ride! Never dull! Four stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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⁣Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book!

I’ve become a pretty avid reader of Alex Finlay novels lately, and I really loved the multiple perspectives and action in this novel. It was giving me Stand By Me vibes with the childhood packs and traumas. I did not figure out the twists in the end and lived still being surprised. Overall, I give it 4 stars!

For those that enjoyed "Night Shift" and "Every Last Fear", you are in for a treat with Alex Finlay's latest who-dun-it. Narrated by three point of views, I felt a connection with all three of the narrators.

Ben, Donnie, Nico, Jenna and Art are unfortunately placed into a tumultuous and violent group home known as Savior House. The older and bigger kids are constantly abusing these 5 "outcasts" at home, in the playground, and at school. This unlikely band of misfits ends up sharing a horrible secret. that catapulted them out of the group home and into safe environments.

Fast forward 25 years, and this group has not spoken since that fateful night.. When one of the 5 is tragically murdered, and the others are receiving death threats... They must come together once again. Who would want all five of them dead? Without giving anything else away, I must stop here and encourage everyone to read this book!

This was one of the better Alex Finlay novels I read. I did figure out the climax before it hit, but it was satisfying none-the-less.

This booked grabbed me from the first page and held me until the end. Great characters and superb story line. I enjoyed every minute of it and would love a novel that is a spin-off of Jenna’s life. A great 5 star read. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC.

FIrst, thanks NetGalley for the advance copy of What Have We Done. Mr. Finlay succeeds again in offering a compelling story with diverse characters in a well-crafted thriller. The stage is set 25 years ago when 5 teenagers, residents of Savior House, a home for orphaned kids, kill someone. Fast forward to the present when each of the 5 becomes targets of assassins. Determining the source of the threat and how to escape or eliminate it takes you on a real thrill ride. The five haven’t been in touch in years and each has an interesting back story. With fast pacing and good twists, What Have We Done is a very good read. As noted, “…the more difficult it became to tell the bad guys from the good. Wealth and power can hide monsters in plain sight.” The book is scheduled for release March 7, 2023.

This is a story about a group of kids who were all for whatever reasons, in a group home. Savior House is anything but a safe space. Kids disappeared and bad things happened.

Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were residents of the home. Good friends and as tends to happen, they formed a strong bond with one another. When people finally caught on to the abuse, the home is closed and the friends are separated.

Now, twenty-five years later, someone is trying to kill them all. But, why? So many secrets here and one of them is deadly!

To save themselves, they must return to the place of nightmares, Savior House. To the past, the past that will finally show who wants them dead and why.

I have read quite a few reviews of this book. If you are a regular reader of Alex Finlay, then you know this isn’t the best of his work. I am a big fan of his work, but hyping this as his best work is just not my take on it. But I will be first in line for the next one!


NetGalley/ March 7th, 2023 by Minotaur Books

Another fantastic story from Alex Finlay!!

Something awful happened 25 years ago. Five kids from an abusive group home called Savior House were somehow involved. It’s now 25 years later and someone is trying to kill them.

We get to know three of the five as main characters: Jenna, Nico and Donnie. We hear their back stories, as well as what is happening in their present-day lives. Finlay slowly and masterfully reveals just enough to keep you on the edge of your seat, He tells the story of Savior House, and the sinister events that caused it to shut down over two decades ago. This book is filled with multiple plot twists and nonstop action. It was riveting and hard to put down!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were best friends as children at Savior House. This picks up 25 years later when they are all adults and living their own trauma-filled lives when someone is stalking each of them, forcing them to reunite.

I was not a fan of this one and felt like it was not easy to connect to any of the characters. Jenna and the new husband who was just cool with her past? Willow? None of them were likable and I found it hard to get into the book to see how they were all connected. I rarely do this, but I skimmed the last 100 pages just to see how it would end so I could finish it, but I just did not care for it

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay has a great premise- three friends from childhood must confronts their past deeds. I found this book to border on unbelievable in that everyone is fairly successful from the tv producer to an aging rock star. All of the characters are flawed as their pasts come back to haunt them. That there is an assassin among them too who is just your every day Mom is pretty implausible too, even though her new husband just goes along with her past. Definitely a fast pace, with many changing points of view and timeframes, it's kind of hard to keep track of what's going on. Not the best for me, so I have to say I gave up reading about two-thirds of the way through.

This book had me right from the start. It is a fast read and great character development. I was on the edge of my seat and did not figure out what the ending was. I love Alex Finlay's books and this one is another best seller. If you are interested in mystery and want to be sucked in from page one, than this is the read for you.

I really love Alex Finlay books. I don't think the central mysteries of their books are particularly hard to solve (can usually accurately predict the killer(s) to my husband by 40% in). That said, I think Finlay lays out the reveal and mystery incredibly well; I enjoy the journey even if I know the destination. This particular book, What Have We Done, stretched my disbelief a bit - seriously, a Black Widow-like assassin training academy for orphans? A sociopathic set of separated-at-birth twins who go freelance as shitty assassins? A little too fantastical for my tastes but the characters did pull me in, especially Jenna, and I love a storyline that unfolds past and present together. I had to suspend my disbelief at so. many. hitmen. and the fact that our characters never seemed to recognize the real name of the pedophile neighbor who is connected to our killer even if it was dropped numerous times. Still a 4 star book, highly enjoyed.

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.

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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.