NetGalley Buddy Readers discussion

In this thriller from Alex Finlay, What Have We Done is a tale about the lives we leave behind and the secrets we carry with us forever.

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, having forged a bond through the abuse and neglect they endured as residents of Savior House, a 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 accomplished―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 survive, the group will have to revisit the nightmares of their childhoods and confront their shared 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.

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.

Shruti and I are starting today, 7/9

I love this author! I hate that I haven't read this yet! SO excited to finally get to it!!

I have this one on my TBR. I thought The Night Shift was good and I own Every Last Fear, but haven't read it yet. The reviews for this one don't seem quite as promising. I'm hoping you both love it.

19 chapters / 27%

Ooh I’m hooked!

(view spoiler)[

Lots of characters to keep track of in this one.

Did they kill the bully? The guy running the home? The French lady?

Is it too obvious for the French lady who’s chasing Jenna to be Marta?

I don’t know if I could knowing sign up to marry someone who could put my kids at risk like that…

(hide spoiler)]

oh man! it IS good!!

Through Part 1 / 23 chapters / 30%

(view spoiler)[ wow! so who is doing all of this? someone who helped shoot whoever was in the hole
someone who was tied to whoever was in the hole?
or the original bully/ies? oooooh it's freaky though, how these guys are getting to them - trapped in a mine, pushed off a boat. I wonder why the murders are so systematic. Like, the girl who bumped in to Danger again, she tried AGAIN to get him in the water. Why is danger's only option water?

I hope Willow gets the chance to be a badass because I think she has some really good survival instincts (hide spoiler)]

I can't wait to read more!

Shruti morethanmylupus wrote: "19 chapters / 27%

Ooh I’m hooked! [spoiler removed]."

ooooh (view spoiler)[ Marta! I didn't even think of that but YES! that could be the answer too! But why go after the kids? for not "protecting" her? It seems like a group or someone with lots of money is after them. it sucks that they were bullied the whole time they were there and now they have someone going after them. . .again :(

and yes! who was in the hole? (hide spoiler)]

End of Part 1


Trisha wrote: "Shruti morethanmylupus wrote: "19 chapters / 27%

Ooh I’m hooked! [spoiler removed]."

yes!

(view spoiler)[ like maybe this shady corporation thing that we keep hearing about? it's gotta be someone from their past based on the discussion from the killer twins at the end of Part 1.

but also... what was this org doing sending the French lady to recruit from a group home? like the whole thing is shady.

also.. how have they ALL survived these attacks?!

(hide spoiler)]

YESSS!! (view spoiler)[ how are they all still alive?!
and the brutality of the tool the twins are using?! UGH, simply awful! (hide spoiler)]

38 chapters / 50%

(view spoiler)[
Curiouser and curiouser.

Ok so it's not the shady corporation. Why are the FBI running around asking questions unless they know about the favor Ben did for the mafia guys that Nico knows? And Nico must've been the one that gave them the info to blackmail Ben with so that's bad.

The writer .. is he really a writer? Or is he actually related to whoever is out to get these guys? Like maybe trying to find out what they did? He seems to know a lot more than he should...

(hide spoiler)]

End of part 2

(view spoiler)[
Ok so they did kill brood? Still not sure about writer guy. It being brood's kid seems too easy surely?

What happened to Ned Flanders?

Could one twin be Annie?
(hide spoiler)]

And I'm done!


Just imagine I'm a mind exploding emoji right now.

(view spoiler)[
Ok what. What? WHAT?!

I definitely did not figure out all of that. Wow. And like HOW. How could you justify doing that to girls you knew?

(hide spoiler)]

Haha... sounds like you loved it, Shruti! I'll have to keep it on my TBR!

my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Shruti morethanmylupus wrote: "38 chapters / 50%."

oh yeah (view spoiler)[ the writer is so so sketchy! I think he's keeping an eye and maybe going to set something up that's bad. he definitely knows more about the childhood and seems to be trying to make him talk about it/confess something!! (hide spoiler)]

End of Part 2

it will (view spoiler)[ break my heart if one of the twins ends up being Annie. He liked her so much and they tried to hard to find her

but I don't have any other guesses. It has to be someone tied to the house, right?

but it sounds like, when they killed Mr. Brood, they killed the wrong guy. That someone else was making them "disappear"
I wonder what was really happening to them!!

I'm glad they are together again. But what is he doing, burying that bag in a hole surrounded by holes?! why wouldn't he think they were looking for it?!

and I wonder if the holes means they found Mr. Brood's body. . . (hide spoiler)]

I've never read anything by this author. Sounds like I might need to give him a try. lol

Tasha wrote: "I've never read anything by this author. Sounds like I might need to give him a try. lol"

I love this author! I still think the first one was maybe my favorite but this one is just as good and I know others didn't love the middle book but I did!

wow, and I'm done!

(view spoiler)[ I can't believe their friend was behind it, Arty.
I was really glad he wasn't the one actually hurting the girls when they were younger but WOW! that he was helping feed this monster. And he gave him Annie. Ugh!
Sabine really did save Jenna from a possible horrible horrible fate!

I love that they stopped that twin in the end. How frightening for the hubby but he just rolled with it. Were you like me? Did your heart drop when he said the coded words! I was like NOOOOOO ONE OF THEM SURVIVED!!

I'm so glad Donnie made new tunes and Nico got his act together. I like to imagine that they kind of forgave him for his hand in all this because at least he tried to save them in the end and he wasn't like Arty, ready to hedge his bets and kill them all.

I was shocked it was Arty and the twins! Those twins were so twisted! (hide spoiler)]

wow, this one was SO good! I can't believe I didn't guess any of the twists either!!

I put the audio on hold at my elib. I'll let you know it I end up reading it. If I do, I am coming back here to read the spoilers! lol

I also have a hold on it. I apparently added it before it published. lol My library used to let us do that, but it just switched to a new system and it doesn't work the same way any more. I suspended the hold because I wasn't ready to read it. I have too many NG books to get to first!

can't wait to hear what you both think when you get around to this one!

I also really liked this one. I had never read this author before but gave it a try earlier this year. I also rated it 4 stars.

I also put an audio hold on it on Libby but will be pausing it until Sept! To read the books I own. I've read and enjoyed his other books and was disappointed to not get this from NG.

See you back here in September or so, Elyse!

Sounds good, Kristie!