What Have We Done

Product Information

Twenty five years ago, something dark was happening at Savior House, a group home for orphans in Chestertown, Pennsylvania, and several girls went missing. That is, until five teens—Jenna, Donnie, Nico, Arty, and Ben—found a way to put a stop to it. But now, in the present, someone seems to seeking revenge on those five. Ben has been murdered, and attempts have been made on the lives of the other four. Will they be able to figure out who’s hunting them down, and why, before it’s too late? The book overall is entertaining and I listened to the audiobook in less than a day. It's fast paced and kept me interested throughout. That's about as good as it gets though. The characters aren't well developed and when I got to the end and saw how it all fit together I thought "Is that really it?" Although the cat-and-mouse excitement in the present day was gripping, I just didn't feel like I got enough from the past to appreciate the motive of the bad guy(s) or even to understand the motivations of the characters. As I said earlier, there is a lot of violence. Part of that violence comes at the end of a “penetrating captive bolt” also known as a cowpuncher. It’s a device used to kill cows by punching a steel rod into their brains. This is the weapon of choice for one of the hired killers. She does not use it on brains, but on legs. Whether this is realistic to be used on humans without immediate death is not something I know and I’m not sure I want to Google that. She faces the second stall, opens the door slowly, the pulsing beat of the music still vibrating through the walls.

For me, my own recovery has followed a very specific structure - at each stage, informed by the books in my canon. The first stage was physical recovery from my wounds, and stabilizing my physical condition. During this time, I first became acquainted with Shays' Odysseus in America. That basically gave me a map for what to expect in my own homecoming journey. Twenty-five years ago 5 teenagers buried a secret in the grounds of Saviour House – a foster home for homeless teenagers – a place that was supposed to be a safe haven for children who were orphans or wards of the State but was not quite so. After all these years one of them is murdered and there have been attempts on the lives of the remaining four. It seems that someone knows what they did all those years ago. So, the story starts with a bunch of people all firing a gun into one corpse and thinking, "What have we done?!?"Many combatants involved in these campaigns feel that they were conducted under false premises, and were additionally tainted by ignoble domestic and geopolitical political motivations, and ultimately question the meaning and validity of the mission.

This sounds intense and exciting, but I did not care enough about the characters to be invested in their fate. Transitions from the present to past time was abrupt, without warning, and could be confusing. For me, this book now ranks in my canon of seminal works about the combat experience, and the experience of veteran homecoming. I consider this to rank with Odysseus in America, War and the Soul, and Stoic Warriors. Building on his Pulitzer-prize winning series about moral injury, this book is the most comprehensive and profound exploration of the 21st century recognition of an ancient phenomenon. Thank goodness that David Wood, a long time combat correspondent, based on a career of seeing soldiers in combat, recognized the phenomenon in our post 9/11 veterans. I saw David speak at UConn, and speaking to him afterwards, we realized that he was embedded with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit when I was with them in 1993-1994. He gets it, truly. This is a compelling read elegantly written and presented with great compassion. The first chapter starts out with a dark scene and later revealed what they have kept hidden in the pits of their stomach. The killer wants revenge for this act and has succeeded to some extent.We follow them as they start to reconnect and put together what is happening to them, all while on the run, trying to stay two steps ahead from their would-be killers. Wood explores this concept of moral injury through the eyes of army and marine fighters he embedded with; clinicians who seek to define and treat the injury; pastors and chaplains home and abroad who have attempted to help and comfort these soldiers; and his own personal moral injury experiences as a war journalist. It is a fascinating angle and one I’d never really considered, strangely. That wars, particularly the amoebic 21st century wars without clear objectives and make Geneva convention stipulations seem quaint, are ripping apart our young soldiers moral strength. They betray their most important inner moral codes and forever feel shame. It seems obvious but this book goes into the details of why and how it’s not quite so simple. Because what do we do? Which brings me to the title. The audiobook is a classic example of a well-paced, intriguing thriller that is truly enhanced by excellent narration." - AudioFile

Overall: pacing and progression of the story kept my attention intact! I liked the main mystery and I enjoyed how the author successfully wrapped things up! Tonight, after the show, you all have a choice to make,” Tom says. He spins around and fixes his gaze on Donnie. “It’s him or me.”

Of course I can play.” He climbs into his shirt and jeans flung on the floor. Grabbing the handle to his guitar case, he charges out of the cabin. If you are like me, and you loved “Every Last Fear” 5 ⭐️ And “The Night Shift” 4 ⭐️, you probably auto-requested this book, like I did, without even reading the synopsis.