What Have We Done: A Novel

My Sincere thanks to Author, Alex Finlay, The Publisher, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of What Have We Done.

This is another highly anticipated, riveting, capturing, action-packed, heart-throbbing Alex Finlay novel!

Four best friends from a group home haven't been in touch in 25 years. The stay-at-home mom, the has-been rockstar with an addiction problem, a powerful district judge, and the reality TV producer all share a secret. Three have survived recent assassination attempts of them.

What Have We Done is told from the alternating points of view of the three surviving members of Savior House. It’s mostly in the present but with occasional memories to relate moments from the past. The alternation of narrators does a nice job of slowly revealing little morsels about what happened, the characters’ various secrets, and the occasional red herring.

Now, these three have to come together, dodging the people who are out to assassinate them. If they don’t make it, the secret that they have been keeping for 25 years could come to the surface.

With rich characters and a lightning-fast plot, the mystery is compelling, and I didn’t see who was responsible until the very end. All the hype around this novel is well deserved!

What have we done …
Twenty-Five years ago, a group of foster kids forged a bond through their diverse backgrounds and abuse they endured while at Savior House, a group home for parentless teens. As adults they are now living separate lives:
Jenna is a stay-at-home mom with a past.
Donnie is a has-been rock star with a habit.
Nico is a reality TV producer with debt.
Ben a federal judge and Arty a tech mogul.
Now present day their past pulls them back together, black mail, gambling debts, attempted assassinations and mystery that unfolds involving all of them and two sociopaths that their idea of a fun time is asking “Do you know there are six types of screams?”
It will be a reunion none of them will forget.
I began this book with an audiobook but with it having three different points of view it was more than I could pay attention to and not feel lost. I bought the eBook and began reading from the start. It can be a bit confusing as the author snatches us back and forth from the past to the present, leading us to where this is all going. He does not give too much away or develops these characters too much in a way that I would have expected, however it was enough to keep me involved in the story.
There was enough action and mystery to keep me interested, the author outlines all loose ends and answers all the questions without it being predictable and that makes an impressive mystery thriller.
Despite the lack of character development and the confusing moments of back and forth the stories that unravel for each of these characters were tragic and heartbreaking. I love that despite growing up to having separate lives their bond remained, whether it was because of what they all endured or because of the secret they shared does not matter, it made sense.
Overall: Though the character development was not excellent it was enough to keep me engaged due to the tempo and mystery. The author concludes the story very well; however, I would love to see another book unfold involving the Jenna, I feel the author could have done so much more with just her character alone.,

4 out of 5 stars

Neither the characters nor the plot inspired any motivation to continue reading this book…how I finished it is the true mystery here. A trip to Target would fill me with more suspense than any of the “plot twist” reveals.

4.5 ⭐️
Quick read that moved along quickly. Enjoyed to multiple pov. Audio was great.

Thank you for this book in exchange for my honest review.

I had high hopes for this book due to the author’s previously written books that I’ve enjoyed. However, What Have We Done did not grip me like the other novels by Alex Finlay did. I found myself tuned out from the beginning.