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fanboyriot's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Honestly I didn’t really care for this book. I couldn’t get into the plot and I just overall didn’t like the characters all that much.
Spice Level: n/a
POV: Multiple, Third Person
Release Date: 07, March 2023
Rep: n/a
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Police brutality, Murder, Addiction, Bullying, Abandonment, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Torture, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Murder, Addiction, Trafficking, Child death, and Cursing
Minor: Toxic relationship, Car accident, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Racism, and Terminal illness
teatunesandtales's review against another edition
challenging
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence, Death, Abandonment, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Blood, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Car accident, and Confinement
coyotecasket's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I did enjoy this book, but it was just okay to me. I enjoy books with multiple POVs, but this one fell a little flat for me. The author kept explaining the same events multiple times with different characters and it became very confusing to me. Also, the characters all seemed a little flat to me. We didn't really get what the characters very feeling, only what they were doing. It was very much "this happened, then this happened" instead of "this happened and these are the emotions I'm feeling as this chatacter" Something else that bothered me is that all of these characters are supposed to be from foster care and all of this... yet all of them basically won the lottery of life. We have a billionaire, a pretty successful Rockstar (washed up sure but he was making it big at one point), a producer of a hit show, a rich judge, and an ex assassin who married well. Im not saying this doesn't happen to foster care kids or that they can't be successful, but all 5 of them seems very far-fetched for me. Capitalism ya know. Furthermore, in a lot of the circumstances, it was obvious that the author was speaking from an outsiders perspective and didn't really understand how an addict or someone going through what the characters were going though would act.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Bullying, Alcohol, Child death, Drug use, Rape, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Pedophilia
morethanmylupus's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My face at the end of this book probably resembled the "mind exploding" emoji. I absolutely did not predict at least 2/3 of the big reveals at the end. This book kept me on my toes. This book has a rotating series of perspectives. We get the viewpoints of each of the individuals who lived in the very shady group home (all of whom have somehow done exceptionally well for themselves). We also get the viewpoint of the big bad's hired assassins. The plot dragged a bit in places and there were some details we didn't need and were probably supposed to be red herrings, but it didn't slow me down enough to feel inclined to stop reading.
Bottom line? Finlay, as always, delivered a thriller that I absolutely couldn't put down.
A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Bottom line? Finlay, as always, delivered a thriller that I absolutely couldn't put down.
A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Suicide, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Gun violence, and Drug abuse
savvyrosereads's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Out March 7, 2023 [Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC as part of a giveaway win!]
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Jenna, Donnie, and Nico are all adults leading very different lives—but they remain tied together thanks to their actions in an abusive group home when they were teenagers…and those choices may now be back to haunt them.
Finlay’s previous novel The Night Shift was a top thriller for me in 2022, so I was really looking forward to this one, and unfortunately I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped or expected. I’ll start off with the good: this was super fast-paced and had a ton of action, with short chapters that made it easy to keep flying through. Finlay is an engaging writer and that remained true here—the characters were fairly interesting and the prose was crisp and easy to read. Overall, while I wasn’t enthralled, it was a relatively fun read, especially towards the end.
On the other hand, I found the plot to ultimately be pretty lacking—it was hard to follow in the first half, and once it clicked into place it ended up feeling very predictable. There were also some plot holes that I won’t get into due to spoilers, but I found it hard to suspend my disbelief enough to get past them.
All of this said, I’m also not much of a spy/action thriller fan, and that is how I’d primarily characterize this novel. If you’re a fan of those vibes, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this a LOT more than I did!
Recommended if you like: spy thrillers; action movies; sins-of-the-past trope (no idea if this is a thing but it’s what I call it)
CW: Blood/violence/death/torture/murder; mentions of pedophilia/trafficking; addiction (including drugs, alcohol, and gambling); grief/loss of loved one
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Jenna, Donnie, and Nico are all adults leading very different lives—but they remain tied together thanks to their actions in an abusive group home when they were teenagers…and those choices may now be back to haunt them.
Finlay’s previous novel The Night Shift was a top thriller for me in 2022, so I was really looking forward to this one, and unfortunately I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped or expected. I’ll start off with the good: this was super fast-paced and had a ton of action, with short chapters that made it easy to keep flying through. Finlay is an engaging writer and that remained true here—the characters were fairly interesting and the prose was crisp and easy to read. Overall, while I wasn’t enthralled, it was a relatively fun read, especially towards the end.
On the other hand, I found the plot to ultimately be pretty lacking—it was hard to follow in the first half, and once it clicked into place it ended up feeling very predictable. There were also some plot holes that I won’t get into due to spoilers, but I found it hard to suspend my disbelief enough to get past them.
All of this said, I’m also not much of a spy/action thriller fan, and that is how I’d primarily characterize this novel. If you’re a fan of those vibes, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this a LOT more than I did!
Recommended if you like: spy thrillers; action movies; sins-of-the-past trope (no idea if this is a thing but it’s what I call it)
CW: Blood/violence/death/torture/murder; mentions of pedophilia/trafficking; addiction (including drugs, alcohol, and gambling); grief/loss of loved one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Addiction, Torture, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Grief and Trafficking
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
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