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ajpotz's review
2.75
Graphic: Death, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Pedophilia, Trafficking, and Sexual assault
Minor: Cancer and Car accident
fanboyriot's review against another edition
- 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
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
ksamaine95's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Child abuse, Gore, Grief, Addiction, Stalking, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, Bullying, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.0
“In the dark, the gentle boy utters the words none of them will ever forget: 'What have we done?'”
I'm a big fan of Alex Finlay's writing, and I've been looking forward to read his newest story. It's true that I was a bit worried when I saw the lowish rating, and I decided to go in with low expectations just in case... I shouldn't have worried though, because once again I ended up having an excellent time with his writing. I do understand why What Have We Done has a lower rating though, because it does have a different feel compared to his previous books. It's a story that won't work for everyone, but if you like your thrillers on the action-packed, dark and exhilarating side this is the book for you. It took me a little while to properly warm up to the plot, but once I did I was completely hooked. This is one of those books where it's just best to sit back and enjoy the ride... Things can be said about the credibility of it all and the plot being over the top, but it sure provides one heck of an entertaining ride. I loved learning more about the past as well as the present, and the multiple POV structure worked really well to add tension to the plot. What Have We Done will get pretty dark and twisted along the way, so make sure to brace yourself for a wild ride... There were also a couple twists I didn't see coming, which is always a bonus. All in all, while not my favorite Alex Finlay, I still had a blast reading this story.
Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Violence, Stalking, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Torture, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Trafficking
spaghettii's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Bullying, Addiction, Alcohol, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Violence, Alcoholism, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Torture, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, and Gore
aileron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Child death, Pedophilia, Death, Murder, Violence, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Alcoholism, and Gun violence
Moderate: Bullying, Police brutality, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment and Death of parent
bekah1210's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Addiction, Abandonment, Bullying, Death, Torture, and Gun violence
Minor: Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Child death, Grief, Child abuse, and Drug use
savvyrosereads's review
- 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
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
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Addiction, Torture, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Grief and Trafficking
kaylasbookgram's review
- 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
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.
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
- 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
Graphic: Trafficking, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Addiction, Torture, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Murder, Gun violence, Child death, Bullying, and Adult/minor relationship