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amobrien's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a fast-paced multi-POV thriller and while it is certainly entertaining, I found the characters to be a little hard to believe. They all seemed to have interesting individual lives and I feel like they had so much potential, but they were written one-dimensionally. My favorite perspective to read from was Jenna as we were able to see a bit more from her than the other characters, next was Donnie and last was Nico. If you love a good action story with some mystery, you might really enjoy this, but I prefer more character development in my stories so I found this to be lacking at times.
Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.
Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual violence
goatsrsexy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book was a wild ride! It's definitely the type of story that keeps you up all night reading because you just have to see what happens next. It has multiple POVS and short chapters which is a combination I really like specifically for this genre (thriller) The juxtaposition in this book between some very dark and serious subjects and almost cartoon like villains/ action Scenes shouldn't work and yet it does. There were a few scenes where thought to myself "okay this is too much this is silly" but I was still extremely riveted so guess it wasn't too much. The ending of this book is so sad and melancholy in a brilliant way. I definitely recommend this for a quick read. There's nothing super graphic but l'd still look up trigger warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gun violence
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Sexual violence
onemorepagecrew's review against another edition
3.5
What Have We Done by Alex Finlay was a decent, fast-paced mystery with multiple POVs that kept my attention, but ultimately landed in ‘liked not loved’ territory. The story centers on a group of friends who met in a group home during their childhood and are now living a wide variety of adult lives. They come back together when they realize someone is trying to unalive each one of them.
The timeline jumps between their childhoods and their adulthoods, but not in the conventional way with clean chapter breaks. There were times when it would jump and I wouldn’t realize it for a few paragraphs. Not a negative, just something that took some getting used to. My favorite character was Jenna – I loved her dual-life of contract unaliver and low-key mom/wife. I wish there had been more about her early adulthood and how she got into that business, or even just more chapters that centered on her character. The others were just okay, and I was less invested in them.
It's worth noting that the childhood timeline is heavy. It sets a grim scene with abuse, abandonment, and generally awful experiences. I don’t know if I would call this a thriller, it felt like a time crunch mystery with a bit of tension and physical combat. If you like a dual-timeline mystery where both timelines have puzzles to solve, this is worth a read. I’d recommend physical or digital editions to keep track of the characters and timelines unless that’s easy for you to do on audio.
Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an advanced digital copy of this book, I appreciate you!
Content warnings: Child abuse, Child death, Bullying, Addiction, Violence
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Addiction, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, and Gun violence
kaylasbookgram's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What Have We Done follows Jenna, Nico, and Donnie as they try to figure out who is trying to kill them and why. They are all linked by meeting at a group home at teens and one big mistake that was made 25 years ago. Will their secret come to light or will they be able to keep the past in the past.
This was my first book by Alex Finlay and I enjoyed it. The beginning was a bit confusing to me but once you got through the 3 POVs a few times things began to line up and make sense. This is a great who dun it mystery thriller.
This was my first book by Alex Finlay and I enjoyed it. The beginning was a bit confusing to me but once you got through the 3 POVs a few times things began to line up and make sense. This is a great who dun it mystery thriller.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Grief, Torture, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Addiction, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, and Violence
rainbowbean's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I received this as an eARC from NetGalley and St. Martins Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you both for this opportunity! <b>There are no ending spoilers in this review.</b>
I gave this 4.5⭐'s. Rounded up to 5 on Goodreads since they do not allow partial stars like Storygraph does. This was a fast paced excellent mystery.
<b>+1⭐ Writing:</b>
I found the chapters and writing both to flow together well. There's a lot to take in here and the author did a good job of weaving the story without being repetitive or infodumping. Language reads real and current.
<b>+1⭐ World Building:</b>
Excellent job of modern world building and showing not telling. Easy to place myself in the middle of this. Accurately describes the DMV area. lol.
<b>+1⭐ Plot:</b>
Excellent mystery with a very unique and intriguing story.
<b>-.25⭐Plot Hole</b> I was just slightly bothered by the lack of explanation surrounding the disappearance of the person killed in the past and also the whereabouts of the person nextdoor. It didn't ring n the story for me, just felt like that piece was missing.
<b>Plot Twists:</b>
I feel like I saw it coming, however there was enough to make me wonder if the twist would happen so I was still surprised.
<b>+1⭐ Character Development:</b>
Told from multiple POV's and I was here for every one of them. I wanted to put the pieces together so bad. Every chapter the characters' back and current story get even deeper. The character with the writer following him was a clever way to tell the backstory.
I enjoyed getting to know each of them.
<b>-.25⭐ Representation:</b>
A good bit of representation here across several groups. I really could have done without the slurs though. They were unnecessary and lost star points because of that.
<b>+.5⭐Pace:</b>
Full speed ahead this was a rapidly moving story I could not stop. It was so good I finished it the day I started it.
<b>Ending:</b>
Great and tidy but not annoying ending. I liked it.
<b>Overall:</b>
This could be adapted into an excellent mini series. I would watch it for sure. I would recommend reading and buying this. I would be interested in other works by this author.
<i>(As always to be fair: I am extremely picky about purchasing books for my limited shelf space and choose 4-5 stars from my personal ratings and only if I love it, want my children to read some day, or want to re-read.) </i>
<b>Trigger Warnings:</b>
LGBTQIA+ Slurs
Human Trafficking
Rape
Child Abuse
Torture/Violence
<b>EDITING FEEDBACK:</b> <i> Does not affect my rating as this is an eARC that clearly states it is still in the copyedit process.</i>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Addiction, Torture, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Murder, Gun violence, Child death, Bullying, and Adult/minor relationship
booksbytheglass's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
ugh I wanted to love this so much more than I actually did!! I absolutely adored THE NIGHT SHIFT by alex finlay last year, so I screamed out of my mind when I got the ARC for his latest, WHAT HAVE WE DONE.
sadly, it did not live up to my high expectations 🥲
alex finlay’s writing is so unmatched!! the amount of detail in characterization as well as the timeline of the story itself is well done, and the entirety of the plot was easy to follow! I could read finlay’s books all day long for that tension as you frantically flip through the pages to see if you were right 🫠
however, what didn’t work for me this time was the plot itself. it was comprehensive and quick paced, but I found myself guessing the plot twists miles before they even happened…
and don’t even get me started on the characters 🥴 MCs jenny, donnie, and nico are probably the three most unlikable people you’d ever read about
for a foster family trying to make good memories out a bad situation, they sure like to stab each other in the back (literally and figuratively) 🫠🫠🫠
I think the worst part for me was the fact that I simply did not care about what was happening in the story. I didn’t care about the characters’ backstories, the resolution, or even if the “villain” prevailed or not.
so to recap, the writing itself was excellent, but I just couldn’t get into the story at all 😅 but a HUGE thank you to minotaur books and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!!!
rating: 2.5 stars
wine pairing: veneto pinot grigio
sadly, it did not live up to my high expectations 🥲
alex finlay’s writing is so unmatched!! the amount of detail in characterization as well as the timeline of the story itself is well done, and the entirety of the plot was easy to follow! I could read finlay’s books all day long for that tension as you frantically flip through the pages to see if you were right 🫠
however, what didn’t work for me this time was the plot itself. it was comprehensive and quick paced, but I found myself guessing the plot twists miles before they even happened…
and don’t even get me started on the characters 🥴 MCs jenny, donnie, and nico are probably the three most unlikable people you’d ever read about
for a foster family trying to make good memories out a bad situation, they sure like to stab each other in the back (literally and figuratively) 🫠🫠🫠
I think the worst part for me was the fact that I simply did not care about what was happening in the story. I didn’t care about the characters’ backstories, the resolution, or even if the “villain” prevailed or not.
so to recap, the writing itself was excellent, but I just couldn’t get into the story at all 😅 but a HUGE thank you to minotaur books and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!!!
rating: 2.5 stars
wine pairing: veneto pinot grigio
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
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