Genre: Suspense Thriller
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: March 7, 2023
Order Link: Amazon
Special thanks to the publisher for an arc of this book.
Review published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine
In one of the year's most anticipated thrillers #1 New York Times bestseller Sarah Pekkanen calls "Alex Finlay's best yet," What Have We Done is a tale about the lives we leave behind and the secrets we carry with us forever.
"What Have We Done is both an edge-of-your seat thriller and a gut-wrenching coming-of-age story. And it cements Alex Finlay as one of the new leading voices in thrillers today."
Review:
I've heard it said you can never outrun your past. Sooner or later, it will come for you - as the three main characters in Finlay's What Have We Done learn. What do they have in common? Twenty-five years ago, all three were orphans, living in a group home called Savior House that existed as a so called safe place for parentless children. However, the safe haven it should have been came into question when several kids went missing without a trace over time. Before the imminent closure of the home, a bonded group of three - Jenna, Nico and Donnie along with two others - enter the dark woods surrounding Savior House to bury a deep, dark secret, each swearing to never speak of it again. The home soon closed and the children are sent to different areas of the country to live with foster families, leaving their past and each other behind. In present day, each one lives a somewhat productive if problematic life . . . until the day their secret past escapes and catches up to them. Now one person is dead, and the others reunite to figure out who knows their secret . . . and why are they stalking them?
What Have We Done is a tension laden thriller, most of which is narrated by three characters: Jenna, a housewife with unusual deadly skills; Nico, a reality television show producer with some dangerous connections; and Donnie, a famous rock star fighting a losing battle with an addiction. Interspersed among the chapters narrated by these three characters, the villain's voice is also heard. A brisk pace drives this highly readable story forward through a twisty plot line that kept this reader turning pages. Alternating timelines allow readers to dial in on events in both the past and present as they attempt to put the pieces together to figure out the identity of a killer before time runs out. I found some of the past renderings to be even more intriguing than the present.
The action in What Have We Done is literally non-stop and brimming with a multitude of unique plot twists. Finlay's utilization of shorter chapters and alternating points of view are highly effective in keeping readers slightly off kilter as they race toward the climax. There comes a point where the plot line becomes a bit over the top, calling on readers to suspend belief and allow their imagination to carry them away to fiction/fantasy land. I'm actually okay with that as I believe most of us can use a little escapism fiction in our lives from time to time - especially when it holds you hostage from start to finish.
Alex Finlay has become one of my favorite authors when I'm looking for a complex crime thriller to get lost in for an evening. I almost always find myself totally immersed in his books, frantically turning pages seeking answers. While What Have We Done isn't my favorite offering from this author, it is a highly entertaining, addictive thriller that most will find hard to put down. I look forward to what's coming next from Finlay as he's become one of the must-read voices in crime fiction today. I highly recommend What Have We Done to fans of suspense thrillers and crime fiction.
Synopsis:
A stay-at-home mom with a past.
A has-been rock star with a habit.
A reality TV producer with a debt.
Three disparate lives.
One deadly secret.
Twenty five years ago, Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were the best of friends, a bond forged as residents of Savior House, an abusive group home for parentless teens. When the home was shut down—after the disappearance of several kids—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.
To save their lives, the group will have to revisit the nightmares of their childhoods and confront their past—a past that holds the secret to why someone wants them dead.
It’s a reunion none of them asked for . . . or wanted. But it may be the only way to save all their lives.
A has-been rock star with a habit.
A reality TV producer with a debt.
Three disparate lives.
One deadly secret.
Twenty five years ago, Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were the best of friends, a bond forged as residents of Savior House, an abusive group home for parentless teens. When the home was shut down—after the disappearance of several kids—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.
To save their lives, the group will have to revisit the nightmares of their childhoods and confront their past—a past that holds the secret to why someone wants them dead.
It’s a reunion none of them asked for . . . or wanted. But it may be the only way to save all their lives.
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