I loved The Night Shift by Alex Finlay so I was really excited to receive an ARC of his new novel! I was immediately sucked into the story and found myself intrigued and wanting to know the characters and what was going to happen. I did really enjoy the dual POVs with each chapter. However, the first chapters were a bit tough to navigate because each chapter was introducing new characters, sometimes with multiple characters in each chapter. So I found myself trying to keep track of each character throughout the book and would sometimes end up confused! With that being said, I did truly enjoy the concept and the story line. Alex did a good job of keeping me on my toes and wanting to get to the end to figure out what happened. I read this in less than 2 days, so I definitely enjoyed the plot and storyline. I didn't predict the end of the story and I did really enjoy the quick chapters. I would definitely recommend reading this book if you like quick thrillers + dual POVs! Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

As a fan of Alex Finlay, I was super excited about receiving this book. I could not put it down. I love the addition of Sarah Keller. I think she's my favorite part of his books now. I thought the characters were diverse and had good development. It was a bit predictable but over all, I really enjoyed it

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! This was my first Alex Finlay and certainly won’t be my last. This was a true 5-star read for me and hit the ground running from the very beginning. I appreciated the short chapters from different POV which helped build to story while also furthering the plot. A true nail biter until the very end!

3.5 star read for me

This was a fast paced entertaining read however there are a lot of characters, each chapter is a different character so keeping them straight can be a little challenging who belongs to who.

It's parents weekend and 5 college students don't show for the dinner with their parents, all go missing at the same time. This comes at a difficult time as news had broke that same day of the death of another student. Now the parents wonder why all 5 are missing and went off grid at the same time. Does this have anything to do with the fact that two of them are the kids of a high-profile judge and the assistant Secretary of State where one has already been kidnapped in the past? Or is this just typical student behavior surrounding parties and fraternity pledges are they guilty of something or just not wanting to be around their parents?

The parents seem to have more drama then the college students and it comes out as it's race against time to find the 5 college students. It seems they all have something to hide.

It was okay for me, I didn't feel that you got to know any of the characters really so there wasn't a connection there and the ending felt abrupt.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and the author for this ARC in exchange for me review

Alex Finlay does it again. I will read anything this author writes.

This has twists and turns and i was not expecting the end. I really loved that it keeps you engaged.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley for my latest eArc read and thriller! Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay was a fast-paced thriller told from multiple points of view over the course of a weekend at a California university. Five students with complicated family backgrounds miss a Friday night dinner to kick off the weekend, and the mystery and story unravel from there. I finished this book quickly and it kept me engaged the whole time, although I wish we had gotten some more POV parts from certain characters. I loved the detective and would honestly read more books that feature her! Most of the parents however were simply bad and unlikeable people and I didn't have much interest in what came of their outcomes. This read did not disappoint although I found the ending a little rushed and would've liked some more loose ends to be tied up. I think I'm 50/50 on if I'll read another Alex Finlay, but Parents Weekend was certainly worth the time.

Alex is one of my auto buy authors, I read everything he writes. This was a great read, and it kept me on the toes, I enjoyed the way the author wrote the characters and how the story felt relatable.

It’s parents weekend, and the parents of the friend group have a dinner planned with each other and the kids. When none of the kids show up, they figure they are just messing with them. When they aren’t able to get in touch with them after though, the parents begin to fret. The five come from incredibly different backgrounds, who could have kidnapped them all? And why?


Love me a good Alex Finlay novel! This one was a bit hard to follow in the start as we have 5 kids, and 5 parents to keep track of, but once I got into the story I was good. Some of the twists in this one really got me…and made me mad that they got me! I really wanted to believe in some folks! I flew through this one and enjoyed every second!

Thank you to @minotaurbooks for my gifted copy of this book!

I am an Alex Finlay fan, and this book did not disappoint. It was a great plot filled with interesting characters. Looking forward to the next book!

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was an engaging and suspenseful thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. When five college students go missing during Parents' Weekend, FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller dives into a web of family secrets and hidden agendas, making for an exciting and unpredictable ride; the twists and turns kept me guessing, and the complex characters added so much depth to the story.

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay was a great read. 5 kids, 5 sets of parents all come together for a parents weekend at a private school. The parents are excited and looking forward to time with their kids, but they each have their own agendas or issues they are grappling with before they even arrive at parents weekend. The Five (as the kids are referred to), seem to be ordinary students, but it soon becomes clear something is very, very wrong. As each family tries to figure out what happened to their child, enter FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller. Keller has appeared in previous books by Finlay. As Keller tries to navigate her way through the student's and parent's lives, she is faced with more questions than answers. Will she be able to separate what's relevant and what's not in time to find The Five? There are many characters, and Finlay provides back stories for all through past and present details. There are times I wanted the writer to get back to the main storyline, but the book still held my interest, and I would recommend to my friends.

#NetGalley #ParentsWeekend

This was not my favorite book but my lest favorite though. I would say hard middle. It felt rushed but also unfinished and felt more like for the attention span of a child. I did like the characters and the mystery but it just didn't end well in my opinion.

I really enjoyed all the different back stories of the families and all the drama they brought to the table. The beginning of the book caught my attention right away and found it was a major page turned. However I feel like the middle part of the book fell flat and the ending climax didn’t thrill me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I really enjoyed this book, it kept me wanting more. That being said, I feel like it was a bit YA, the writing felt juvenile, but the story was interesting. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but once I got that all figured out, it was a fun read.

Okay is this one of my new favorite thrillers?! OMG. I loved it!! I literally cancelled plans to stay home and read it. Loved the ending!

A nice little book of suspense about five college students going missing during parents weekend. Told through each parents reaction and their own secrets interspersed with Agent Keller and her attempt to find out what has happened. A nice conclusion on the why and the circumstances leading up to this abduction.
Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley & publisher for this e-arc of Parents' Weekend by Alex Finlay.

This is a thriller mystery novel. 4*.

Synopsis:
"During Parents' Weekend at a small Northern California college, five students from Campisi Hall—Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—fail to show up for a planned dinner with their families. What starts as frustration over youthful irresponsibility soon turns into panic as hours pass without a word from the group. As search parties form and the campus becomes a media circus, dark secrets begin to surface, hinting at dangers tied to the students' bonds and their families' hidden pasts. Told through alternating timelines and multiple perspectives, Parents’ Weekend delves into the complex lives of five families grappling with the mysterious disappearance of their children. FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller returns to unravel the truth, confronting buried sins and the pressures of family expectations while uncovering what really happened on that fateful night."

Things I liked:
• Characters
• Not knowing what was going on
• Pace

Things I disliked (if you can call it that):
• There are too many family stories to follow
• To many side suspects
• Sentimental aspects

Easy read if you like mystery-thriller-type book I would recommend it.

I loved reading this book which featured dysfunctional families filled with drama and suspense. The plot twists kept me on the edge of my seat, constantly guessing what would happen next. The characters were complex and flawed that I both loved and hated. As the mystery unraveled and secrets were revealed, I found myself invested in the outcome for each character. The way the author intertwined each family’s story and connected the dots between them was well done. The pacing was perfect, with just the right amount of suspense and intrigue to keep me turning the pages until I finished it the same day I started it.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a thrilling read. It’s a rollercoaster of a story that will keep you guessing until the very end.

The perfect "popcorn read" for your next long plane ride or beach trip — Finlay makes sure that the pages of "Parents Weekend" fly by at a quick pace. It's open house weekend for parents visiting their students at a California university. Each arrives with their own complications, yet eager to set those aside and spend time with their children. When the five kids don't show up to the planned family dinner, however, suspicious quickly arise and things get messy as the hunt for the missing students ensues.

There are a lot of characters in this novel, and giving room for all of them means that none of them are quite as deeply fleshed out nor benefit from the character growth that I might want. Not all thrillers need to be lofty works of literature, though, and this one more than does its part on intrigue instead. Finlay includes a number of red herrings and plausible culprits that will keep readers engaged and guessing. The plot is a little convoluted at times, but still entertaining. My only complaint with this novel is that the ending fell quite flat for me, as we trudged through an extended epilogue with a chapter dedicated to wrapping up each of the five families. This dragged on for me, and I felt myself wanting to set it down as soon as I'd discovered the guilty party.

A big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy for honest review. I'm a Finlay fan and will continue to seek out his books in the future.

This wasn’t my favorite Alex Findlay book but I did love it. I enjoyed the characters and really liked the twists and turns. I didn’t see it coming