Taken in the Cold by Roger Stelljes Blog Tour for Booktoure

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Taken in the Cold by Roger Stelljes Synopsis: "Make sure you wrap up warm for school, honey. A blizzard is on the way." Ten-year-old Teddy rolls his eyes at his mother. But then he hears a bang... By the time police arrive, Teddy's mother is dead. His open school backpack is strewn across the hallway. And Teddy is nowhere to be found.   When gunshots ring out from an exclusive family home on the edge of Northern Pine Lake,  Agent Tori Hunter  races through the gathering snowstorm to discover that  ten-year-old Teddy Marist has disappeared . His mother and her new boyfriend are dead in the family kitchen, breakfast still cooking on the stove. And racing to track down Teddy's father,  Tori finds he is missing too.   Local police are certain this is a simple case of a jealous ex-husband turned violent over his recent divorce. But interviewing everyone she can about Teddy's father, Tori's gut has her questioning if he would really kidnap his own child?  An...

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay




Title: What Have We Done
Author: Alex Finlay    
Genre: General Fiction, Mystery Thriller
Format: Kindle
No. of Pages: 368
Date of Publication: March 07, 2023

Description: In this “top-notch mystery thriller” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) from Alex Finlay, What Have We Done is a tale about the lives we leave behind and the secrets we carry with us forever.

One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2023:• BookPage • BookBub • E! News • Go BookMart • Goodreads • PopSugar  The Every Girl • She Reads • Beyond the Bookends

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.

My Thoughts: I have read or listened to every Alex Finlay book so far. His debut book "Every Last Fear. Is a must read as it was amazing. With that being said, I highly recommend What Have We Done.

In normal Alex Finlay fashion, What Have We Done leads with gruesome murder and then takes you through the events that led up to it and after it. Alex Finlay takes you through the past and present of the individual(s) involved.

At first it was a bit hard to follow all the different characters' perspectives because it was not very clear as to how all of the characters were connected but once you are about 1/4 of the way in, it becomes a lot clearer. When that happens, it makes it much easier to get into the book.

I enjoyed most of the characters in the book but there was in particular that I really struggled with until the very end. It was also this characters supporting characters that I struggled with. I'm not sure if it is because of the individual's lifestyle and career choice or if it was the narrator for me. 

The female assassin is one of my favorite characters. You can truly understand where she is coming from and why she is making the choices that she is. You can really feel the strong sense of family bond both marital and friend family throughout the book.

The story itself is written well. It has a lot of twists and turns. The story around Savior House is one of my favorites, which is really the center of the entire book in my opinion. 

Trigger warnings: orphanage, sexual predator, child murder

Rating: 4 out of 5 because I struggled with the connection between all of the characters at first. Also, because I struggled with one of the characters until near the end. This is a definite recommendation though for me because if you like a good mystery thriller then this is a book that will keep you guessing and going "what?!" until the very end.

Many thanks to St.Martin Press/Minotaur Books and Netgalley for this review copy. This is my honest opinion.

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