When you get an advanced copy of an Alex Finlay book, you immediately have to read that book. This is my third book by this author, and y'all, talk about consistently bringing thrills. This story focuses on three individuals - a mom, a reality television producer, and an aging rock start. Their lives seem quite different, but they share a past, and that past is about to bring them back together. While they all think they've moved on, someone is out to bring them back to what they thought they left behind. This one had some good suspense as there were twists in the past and the present as you tried to figure out what they did back when and also what was happening in the now. I will say this isn't my favorite Finlay (but that's only because The Night Shift and Every Last Fear were so, so, so good, but this still definitely brings all the pageturning excitement and suspense! Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this March 2023 release!

Alex Finlay offers a tightly woven eclectic thriller with diverse characters. Definitely a page-turner, Finlay's novel is exciting on multiple levels, with protagonist Jenna displaying both ethos and high level espionage expertise. Highly recommended.

Thanks for this ARC. I’ve never read a book by this author, but I’ve heard great things. This story hooked me quickly and kept me invested the whole time. But the ending was just kind of meh to me. Anticlimactic.

Thank you for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a good novel. I personally did not enjoy it to where I was like....you have got to read this! Enjoyable...but no rush to read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

"What Have We Done is a tale about the lives we leave behind and the secrets we carry with us forever."

Four teens meet at a group home with mysterious goings on - girls are going missing. The teens believe they know who's responsible and take action before they all escape from the home. Their futures take divergent paths. Twenty-five years later, with their lives in danger, they reunite.

Overall, I enjoyed What Have We Done. Each character is unique and reasonably well developed, with some more likable than others. The plot alternates between POV of the characters - and past vs present for that character. The plot line kept me engaged and wondering at the outcome. Recommended reading.

This was a great thriller. It definitely kept me engaged however various times I had to re read sections because I struggled with following the various points of view through different characters and time periods. I love this author and have enjoyed many of their books in the past. I def would recommend this to others.

25 years ago, 3 best friends forged a bond as residents of Savior House, an abusive group home for parentless teens. When the home was shut down, the three were split up. Though the trauma of their childhood has never left them, each went on to live successful, 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 book had all of the elements of a 5 star thriller but it wasnt quite executed. The switching from past to present was rather abrupt. It also dragged in parts and wasn't as gripping as thrillers should be. I liked Jennas story of orphan to assassin and could have used more back story on her.

All in all i enjoyed it but didnt love it

3/5

This book did some things I was not happy with but I’d say that’s about normal for a thriller. When you liked 94% of it and learned to like the thing you didn’t initially by the end of the book I’d say that made this a really fun reading experience.
Twenty five years ago a group of best friends, Jenna, currently a stay at home mom with a past, Donnie, a rockstar of late who has a terrible habit, and Nico, a reality TV producer with a large debt, were all part of a group home called Savior House. It was an abusive home for parentless teens.The home was shut down after the disappearance of several kids and the friends were split up.
The trauma they experienced in their childhoods has never left them but they all went on to have successful though often troubled lives. They haven’t seen each other since they were separated but now they are finding that an unplanned reunion is a foot. Why? Because it would seem that someone is trying to kill them.
Now, in order to save their lives they have to revisit all that happened in their childhoods and also confront their past. It’s not a reunion any of them wanted but it may just be what’s needed in order for them to live.
I really don’t want to give everything away that happens. There were things I didn’t like at first that had to do with Jenna and her past but it’s because I don’t normally read the type of stories with characters like hers or I intentionally avoid them but she really grows on you and the improbability of a certain aspect of her sort of is actually very interesting. I know that’s a strange bit of information for you there but it’ll all make sense when you read the book.
There are a few things like that that I would normally avoid but now I’m questioning my choices since I really enjoyed this book. It’s very well written and just sucks you right in so you just don’t want to stop reading until you have the answer to every single little thing that could possibly be answered and you do get those answers.
Definitely a book worth checking out.

This book kept me both engaged and guessing the whole time! The twists, the turns, the action. Loved every minute. The multiple POVs going between past and present really drew you into the story. A fun fast paced mystery that you’ll absolutely love.

4/5 stars from me

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

An amazing and chilling thriller telling the stories of a group of people connected by a shared secret. Absolutely intoxicating!

If I’m being honest this book did not grab me from the beginning. I struggled with the jumping all over the place and flash backs. Eventually it did pick up and had some decent suspense to it. I definitely did not have the ending pegged accurately. Overall it’s a decent read.

This was such a highly anticipated book for me and it came up short of my expectations. While I enjoyed the story, there was too much switching between characters for me, only to have them not tie completely together in the end. I enjoyed the storyline, but also wished it was a little more relatable.

This is my second Alex Finlay book and i was pleased to find that once again, Mr. Finlay has offered up an intelligent, twisty thriller with the breakneck pacing that I often crave. This was almost a binge read for me as I had a hard time putting it down. While not all that heavy on character development or literary fluff, the pacing makes this book really cook and the varied characters are drawn well enough to engage the reader and make them care for the their future. It became clear at about half way through that I wasn't going to figure out where things were going so I decided to just hang on and enjoy the ride. An explosive novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Just finished What Have We Done by Alex Finlay. This book quickly drew me in and kept me turning pages late into the night. Well developed characters and an ever-evolving plot held my interest. Well-placed twists and turns kept me guessing. I found this book to be a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read.

Alex Finlay is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. I have read two of his books in the past month and I am convinced that this man could write any thriller, mystery, etc. and it will be a five-star read.

What Have We Done starts like the old trope of "I know what you did last summer" type vibe. A group of kids who have traumatic pasts and each find success in alternative ways to create lives for themselves. But....they share a secret, a big one, that's coming back to haunt each and every one of them. This book is executed so flawlessly that even when you think you have it figured out, you don't. I was surprised by the ending as I only had half of it right. Mystery readers will devour this book.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for an ARC of this book!!

As children, Jenna, Nico, and Donnie lived in a group home called, The Savior House, where they became close friends. During their time at the Savior House, a horrible crime was committed. Now that they are older, someone is trying to kill each of them. This brings the trio back together again. Who is trying to kill them? And why?

What I enjoyed:
Fast paced and action-packed
Easily pictured as a movie
Several twists
Multiple narratives
Past and present timelines
Short chapters

The negatives:
Some parts were predictable, such as knowing who the bad guy is.
In my opinion, none of the characters were like-able.
I wish there was more character development to make the story have more depth to it.

Overall, this was a fun and twisty ride that had me biting my nails during some parts. I could easily picture this as a Hollywood action-packed film. This is my first book by Alex Finlay, and I’ve heard so many good things about his previous books. This makes me excited to read more of his other novels.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This talented author has written a novel with so many points of view I was confused. The characters are not likable at all. Friends who don’t understand what friendship means…red herrings…secrets…the past and the present collide…although this is a gifted author, this story just did not mesh with me. Maybe others will enjoy it more. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review.

Twenty-five years ago 5 teenagers buried a secret in the grounds of Saviour House – a foster home for homeless teenagers – a place that was supposed to be a safe haven for children who were orphans or wards of the State but was not quite so. After all these years one of them is murdered and there have been attempts on the lives of the remaining four. It seems that someone knows what they did all those years ago.

In the past twenty-five years, the five have gone their separate ways – Ben, a federal judge; Nico, a television producer with gambling debts; Donnie, a fading rock star whose attempts at sobriety are mostly unsuccessful; Artemis, a successful tech entrepreneur and Jenna, assassin-turned suburban homemaker – and someone is out to get them! Why , after all these years, is someone targeting them? Will this secret from their past upend their present lives? Will they be able to find out who is behind it all before anyone else gets hurt? Add to this the assassins (with an unusual weapon of choice) who are assigned the task of killing them and you’ve got an interesting thriller on your hands!

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay is an action-packed thriller with exciting twists and turns. The narrative is shared from the perspectives of Jenna, Donnie and Nico. The plot has potential and will have the reader trying to figure out the who and the what and the why from the get-go. However, it wasn’t quite as gripping, complex or tight-knit as I hoped it would be. The pace drags in parts and I didn’t really like any of the main characters (though Jenna’s assassin-turned-housewife backstory was interesting) and I felt that their shared history, which is shared in bits and pieces throughout the narrative should have been better developed. Another problem I had with the narrative was the abrupt switching between the past and the present-day events, which took a while to get used to. However, I did like the way the story eventually unfolded ( loved the literary references as a major clue toward the end) and my eagerness to know the who and the why kept me interested.

Overall, while I did not dislike this one, I wasn’t quite bowled over by it. But I am eager to read more from Alex Finlay in the future. I really hope he gives us another book featuring FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller (from The Night Shift and Every Last Fear).

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy of What Have They Done. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book is due to be released on March 7, 2023.

📚 ARC Review 📚
What Have We Done
By Alex Finlay⭐️⭐️⭐️
Out March 7 2023

Brief summary: What Have We Done starts the prologue out with 5 teenagers standing around a grave. Now, 25 years later one of them is dead and there has been attempts on the lives of the others. They have to find out who is after them and why before it’s too late.

This book was interesting. It was a quick read and held my attention. I definitely could see it being a fun movie to watch with the action/thriller combo. I think if you are big into thrillers, you will enjoy this.

Three main things kept it from being a 4 for me.

1. It’s multiple POV’s but I didn’t enjoy all of them quite as much. I liked Jenna’s chapters the most.
2. I had some issue with the killers. I’m going to leave it at that for spoiler purposes. But if you’ve read this ARC. Message me for a rant.😂
3. I thought the mystery was a little obvious.

Overall this was fun and I enjoyed myself. Pick it up if you want a fun thriller, but at least for me it was very middle of the road.

Thanks to @netgalley and St Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review is posted on Goodreads and Instagram.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. What a story - it kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat! A story mostly told in the present with some flashbacks to help unravel the mystery. It is told from multiple POV with the 5 teenagers/adults piecing together the current mystery. Will definitely recommend!!