This is a fast-paced thriller about three main characters who spent time in a seedy group foster home where something terrible happened twenty five years ago. Donnie, our alcoholic has-been rock star, Jenna, our assassin turned suburban mom, and Nico, our reality TV star haven't seen each other since leaving their painful childhood behind. But when their friend Ben is killed and each of them threatened, they must come together to finally face what happened long ago. I appreciated the characters in this novel, and how realistically complex and flawed they were, given their traumatic childhood. yet at the same time, they managed to break out into some kind of success. The plot is also decently twisty and I really enjoyed the way the POVs weave together at the end. Well done! Thank you to #netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the e-arc.

💫 What Have We Done 💫
By Alex Finaly
Publisher: Minotaur Books (March 2023)
Genre: thriller

Did I binge it at the airport and the flight home? Hmm that would be a hard yes….. I couldn’t wait to see what they had done 😜

I’m keeping this short because the author has the reader guessing which direction it’s going multiple times. At one point I was sure I had it. And then I second guessed myself. And then 💥 the ending…. Besides that, my lips are sealed.

Brief synopsis: a Group of young children in some sort of group home are now grown up and living their lives 25 yrs later. But something happened at the home and some one knows who did it.

Total page turner for me. Just a side caution there are a few triggers that might affect readers, particularly with forced sexual content and alluding to child molestation (none on page).

Easy 4.5 ⭐️ from me.

St Martins Press

A perfect fast-paced thriller told from multiple different characters leading up to a twist! Super enjoyable read!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

What a great storyline! I enjoyed following Jenna, Donnie and Nico throughout this mystery, although the ending/epilogue did feel a bit rushed! Overall I appreciated the varied timelines and the twists throughout the story!

Thanks to Netgalley for the early read!

This book had a decent storyline, although I really couldn’t connect with any of the characters. Jennie, Donnie and Nico come together when they realize someone is hunting them down for something they did 20 years ago. To me the plot wasn’t all that interesting so I didn’t really get into the book.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press, Alex Finley and Netgalley.
Somewhere along the way as I was reading this book, I realized that this author and his books make me happy! That's an odd thing to say about someone who manages to worry me near to death over my fear for the characters!
Were I a nail biter, mine would have been worn to the nubs.
This was a sad story. I was upset that Ben was dead and I never had a chance to get to know him. "He died in the beginning, so no spoilers!"
But to varying degrees, I really cared for everybody from Saviour House. "Wretched place."
I've loved every book I've read from this author, but this story ended up really touching me. I especially loved Donnie, the rock star. His character was so broken and vulnerable. I actually ended the book with big, ugly old lady tears rolling down my face!😱😲😕

5 teens bury a secret while living at a group home. 25 years later someone is trying to dig up the past. An action packed thriller told by multiple pov. It alternates between the past and the present.

While I enjoyed the story line, short chapters, and different pov, I just felt that the ending was rushed.

This one had a similar vibe to the last Alex Finlay book that I read: Every Last Fear. I wasn’t really invested in the story until about halfway through but then I was hooked. It felt like the chapters were getting shorter and quicker as I went. I really liked the setting of the foster home and the unique perspectives of all of the main characters. I wish the ending was tied up a little better and that it felt like more of a shocking twist but I was still satisfied with the ending. If you liked Every Last Fear then you’ll like this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and Alex Finlay for this ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review. What Have We Done will be published March 2023.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this incredible ARC. I have been a fan of Alex Finlay after reading The Night Shift and it is safe to say this book did not disappoint either. It was very fast paced, thrilling and is told through multiple POVs. Because of the multiple POVs it is hard to figure out who the "bad guy" is in this story, but it keeps you on your toes and full of suspense. I highly recommend this book, it is definitely one of my favourite thrillers I have read this year.

This thriller follows five teenagers in a current-day/flashback format. Jenna, Donnie, Nico, Artemis, and Ben have secrets from their experience at Savior House, a foster home for homeless teenagers that they attended twenty-five years ago. We quickly learn that something sinister happened there and in the present day it is rearing its ugly head. All five are being targeted and the crux of the novel is an exploration into why as well as a re-examining of what happened all those years ago. This novel is action-packed and does keep a reader’s interest with twists and turns. Having said that, I was a bit bored by the end of the book. It wasn’t quite as gripping as it could have been. Some of the retellings of their story could have been more developed including their relationship with each other and their experience at Savior House. Overall, it was an interesting read but nothing special. A big thank you to Net Galley for the advanced copy!

Following the lives of four adult friends from a dysfunctional group home 25 years later and how one secret they all kept hidden has brought them together again. What I loved most about this book is how Finlay tied all these seemingly unlikely careers/lives into characters you could relate to as you read from their narration.

What Have We Done is already in my top 10 books I've read this year. Being my first Alex Finlay book I had big hopes for this one and it did not disappoint! I've already started The Night Shift and can't wait to read his others.

Although most of this seems unlikely to ever be a true story I would gladly watch this as a movie!

My rating: 4.5⭐'s

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. The release date is set for March 2023!

I really enjoyed “What Have We Done” and can’t believe I haven’t read one of Alex Finlay’s books before! With the pacing and action of a James Patterson thriller and interesting characters to root for, I zipped through this in a matter of hours. I did have an issue with the number of storylines and some unresolved elements as well as an ending that felt a little too pat, but overall, it was a solid thriller.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fast paced thriller that pulls you and doesn't let go until the last page. The story is told through multiple POV's, which I love. It makes you question every person and their motives. I thought the ending was great and it tied up a lot of loose ends. I look forward to reading whatever Alex Finlay comes out with next!

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay is about a friend group who grew up together as teens in a group home. They have lost touch as adults but when an event from their past threatens their current lives, they are brought together again. This book as a lot of characters to start with and the storylines are crazy, in a good way. There are a lot of storylines, you never know who the “bad guys” are, and I was sucked into the story until the very end. Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC!

A great fast paced thriller as expected from this author! The story was told through 3 different POVs, which I found confusing at first as they were not connected, but once more of each character's backstory is revealed then the transitions are seemless. The story also switches between past and present, which again, I found confusing until I understood more of the backstory. The plot was a tiny bit unrealistic (namely - the jobs that the individuals end up with after leaving the group home) but overall I enjoyed this dramatic, action packed thriller.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

25 years ago 5 teens buried a secret in the grounds on Savior House ~ a foster home they all stayed at. After all these years one of the, has been murdered and the others attempts have been made on their lives. What gives? What did they do all those years ago? And who knows about it and it trying to exact revenge. I enjoyed hearing the story from three of the 5 ‘s pers-Ext I’ve. The story was a bit choppy with abruptly going from past to present all in the same chapter so it was a bit much to keep up. I really like this author and am looking forward to reading more,

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Publication: March 7, 2023

This is my first Alex Finlay book and I was caught off guard with this book. I thought I was going into a thriller with psychological aspects but rather got an action packed book. It read easily with short chapters (which I love) however, I found parts to be a bit far fetched in my opinion. This book has similar vibes to Daniel Silva books. If you're looking for action to get through the winter, mark your calendars for Finlay's book!

I thought this was a solid read! It started out pretty strong and had enough twists to keep you interested. With the short chapters and multiple POV it was fast paced and easy to read in a day. I did feel like the ending was a little rushed and might have been cleaned up too neatly. There was a scene in the epilogue that was short and quick so it didn’t have as much of an impact as I think it could have.

I will still be looking out for Alex Finlay’s other novels, The Night Shift and Every Last Fear, because I’ve been reading lots of good reviews for them.

Thank you to Net Gallery and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC!

I felt as though there was a lot of disconnect happening in <i>What Have We Done</i>, and when paired with a cast of rather unlikeable characters, it just didn't work all that well for me. There was a lot of action, and I could very much see this as a fast-paced action movie, but the twists and turns along the way were often predictable and fell rather flat.

The biggest downfall of this book for me was the way that the chapters were written. They were short and quick-to-read, which is a huge plus, but I VERY much wished that the rotating perspectives had been told from a first-person viewpoint instead of third-person. Instead of getting to experience how a character is feeling or what they are thinking firsthand, we see that through the eyes of a narrator, and it all just lacked the depth that I was hoping for.

I also really disliked the way that the flashbacks were set up, and the number of times we got a "Donnie's mind drifts back to a time when..." retelling of events smack dab in the middle of a modern day sequence became obnoxious after awhile. I think it would have worked MUCH better had the chapters been set up in a way where they were labeled with the characters name and the year (ex "Jenna, 1999" or "Nico, 2018") instead of just constantly jumping back and forth within the chapter.

All in all, not a bad read, but I felt like there was still a lot of room for improvement.

This one grabbed me right from page one! Enjoyed reading each character's story and the multiple POV did not get confusing at all. If I was going to be fussy, I would say less explicit language. This book makes me very curious to read more from Alex Finlay. Thank you so much to Minotaur Publishing and to NetGalley for this ARC. My library patrons are going to love this!