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!

I liked this one. I also think that people are going to expect one kind of book and get another entirely.

I sort of expected a murdery suspense thriller and I got more of an action thriller…with murder. And I really didn’t get the coming of age part promised in the description at all.

The story is tragic, the characters entertaining, and the plot is full of surprises. And a couple of the characters (bad ones) were iconic.

Fun book. Very unexpected and very enjoyable.

• ARC via Publisher

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for the ARC of this book!

I absolutely loved The Night Shift by Alex Finlay last year and it was an EASY 5 stars for me. I was so excited to receive this one and had similar expectations.

It pains me to say that this one didn't do it for me. While it caught my attention quickly with the short chapters and multiple perspectives, the storyline was flat and discombobulated. It seemed like a hodge podge of plot lines and absurd characters but overall, I lost interest in the characters and the story.

The positives are that it was very readable and a super fast read.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 for Goodreads.

This will be available on March 7, 2023.

Alex Finaly's thrillers are a must-read! This book will suck you in until you forget everything going on around you. If you enjoy Every Last Fear and the Night Shift then this is a must-read for you!

This book was a whirlwind of activity. I felt that the author tried to do too much with too many characters.
I liked the fast pace of this story, but felt that it was too sloppy.

Five friends decide to kill a caretaker for taking girls away from the group home. They promised to keep the secret forever.
However, someone has found out and hired a contract killer to take them out. One friend is already dead....who is next?

The book meanders through how each of the remaining friends might be killed, a mine cave in, a fall from a cruise ship, an assassination attempt...yet the remaining 4 survive.

For instance there was two main mystery points:
1. Who was blackmailing people and who hired the assassins.
2. The FBI Agent trailing the 3 friends.

This book was so sloppy in the fact that the FBI agent was a pretty big side point and yet when it came time to resolve his storyline, it was glossed over.
Then the person who was blackmailing was revealed and then nothing happened?! Everyone just forgave him and then the reader never learns why he was blackmailing in the first place.

This could have been a five star book if the author had fleshed out more of the two points.

What Have We Done is the third book I have read by Alex Finlay, and I have loved all of them!
The novel is told in three different points of view- Nico, Donnie, and Jenna, who were best friends growing up in a group home twenty five years earlier. Now, their lives are in danger, and they need to revisit the past to try to figure out who is trying to kill them before it's too late.

I loved it- quick paced and surprising enough and had some scary af characters. We need to set up Casey with the dude from No Country For Old Men. Jenna was really the only one I cared about getting a happy ending and she was an assassin. I forgive easily though.

I just reviewed What Have We Done by #AlexFinlay #NetGalley

Lots of twists and turns keep you guessing about what is really going on. What do these murders have in common? Murder, blackmail, and a bit of madness. It's a darkly compelling story. Suspenseful and well-plotted.

I really really liked THE NIGHT SHIFT so I was psyched to read this new one. Unfortunately, this one read super differently; more like a fast-paced mass market thriller than the psychological mystery I was expecting. I'll continue to look for Finlay's novels, because I think that even if this one wasn't for me, he's got style.

Although very frustrated in the beginning in my inability to follow the plot, as the book progressed, I could not put it down. My rating reflects the slow seemingly disjointed beginning of the book.
The story of five orphans who grew up together in a fictional group home in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For some unknown reasons are being targeted for murder later in life. The story is told with each chapter being about one of the five at different times in their lives, coming together at the end in the resolution of the issues. Fast paced, well written telling a disconcerting story about five disadvantaged children who despite life dealing them horrific blows grew up to be successful only to have their past come back and haunt them.

I was immediately pulled into this Alex Finlay novel by an action-packed opening. The action never let up, and in the alternating POV chapters, each character's back story was filled in, making the book more captivating. Jenna, Donnie, Nico, Ben, and Arty knew each other when they were young kids. They had lived in many foster homes and wound up in Savior House. Things happened, and secrets were agreed on, which could never be broken.

Action is the name of the game in this fast-paced novel. With the death of Ben, the plot unfolded with seedy characters and the FBI chiming in to try to understand what, why and who created havoc in the present and the past. I enjoyed every page. This is my first Alex Finlay novel, and it won't be the last.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

enna, Donnie, Nico, Ben, and Artemis were residents of Savior House, a group home for teens without parents. Mr. Brood was abusive and made their lives miserable. All they had were each other. Before they left, they all participated in a crime. Some of the children from the home vanished and they still wonder what happened to them. Twenty-five years later they are brought back together because someone wants them dead. Jenna, a housewife, is commanded to kill a person and if she refuses her family with be killed. Donnie is an old rock star and while performing on a cruise ship, he is forced to go overboard. Nico is filming in a mine and while he is in the mine, an explosion nearly kills him. Ben, a judge has been killed. Jenna, Donnie, and Nico decide to stop whoever is trying to kill them as well.
I really liked this book. The characters are so different yet special to one another. Jenna has unique skills to maybe save them all. I love how her husband was aware of her life before him and still supported her. They all had secrets and to find the killer will take effort on all their parts. This book moves quickly, reflecting on their life as teenagers and how their current lives hold secrets from their past.