Alex Finlay is easily one of the best writers of this time. His stories this one included always grab my attention from the very first page. Parents Weekend has multiple points of view just like his other stories in the past. However, I feel like there was possible more POV's than usual. Parents Weekend takes place in California at a smaller university where you guessed it the parents are there for a weekend with their freshman kids. What could possibly go wrong? This story revolves around a group of five freshman students who mysteriously disappear on the night they are supposed to be meeting their parents for dinner. Unsure of where to turn they bring in FBI Special Agent Keller- from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift. Through out the story we are lead through the different POV's from the parents perspectives and lives past and present. I think with all the different perspectives it sometimes got confusing but come the end I really appreciated how much detail was put into telling their different stories. You could definitely relate to what they were going through or at least understand the day to day struggles. With each chapter I wanted more and the one thing I love most about his stories is I can never figure out the "who done it" he keeps you guessing till the very end. Which makes him the BEST!

Alex Finlay is one of the best thriller writers working today. "Parents Weekend" is an entertaining, lightning-paced thriller that floats between characters and perspectives while always keeping the reader engaged and wondering where he'll take us next. Those who liked his previous books will feel right at home here. Those who are new to him will enjoy starting with this one and then working their way back through his other books.

I enjoyed the different perspectives presented here, felt the terror from the diverse set of parents, the frustration the lead investigator balanced with her struggle to want to be with her family (nice to see Agent Keller again after enjoying her role in his book "The Night Shift"), the optimism Intern Annie (great character!) experienced as she found her calling, and the challenges of navigating college life–when you're not grown up yet, but the decisions you make will set you on a path to your future (for better or worse).

Like Finlay's other books, "Parents Weekend" works remarkably well by taking multiple points of view and storylines and lining them up together as one unified story despite its individual parts. If you've read books formatted like that from other authors and found them hard to follow, try Finlay's books. He writes the story's characters without ever losing sight of the plot, without overwhelming the reader, and continually grounding us in the characters' journeys so we're never lost. He makes it look easy, but it must be extremely hard to do.

Some thriller authors write a book like they're playing the piano. It flows well and is entertaining with a single instrument. But Finlay's books are richer than most thrillers. He's more like the conductor of an orchestra, ensuring all the pieces fit together with a fuller sound that is still very easy to enjoy. I highly recommend "Parents Weekend" to anyone looking for the full experience of a high-velocity read from the thriller maestro.

I enjoy this author, with quick to consume material. This story wasn’t my favorite. There was far too many characters to keep up with, meaning not much character development and not much connection to any.

In the glow of their children’s exciting first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids—five residents of Campisi Hall—never show up at dinner.

At first, everyone thinks that they’re just being college students, irresponsibly forgetting about the gathering or skipping out to go to a party. But as the hours click by and another night falls with not so much as a text from the students, panic ensues. Soon, the campus police call in reinforcements. Search parties are formed. Reporters swarm the small enclave. Rumors swirl and questions arise. Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—The Five, as the podcasters, bloggers, and TikTok sleuths call them—come from five very different families. What led them out on that fateful night?

I enjoyed this one a lot. It was predictable (most are, once you've read a bunch of them), but the writing and the pacing were excellent, so I can forgive that. I felt like there were too many characters to keep track of. Overall, though, this was a quick enjoyable read that had me turning pages from the beginning. 4.5⭐

I received an advanced complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

I'm a fan of Alex Finlay and absolutely loved his prior novel, If Something Happens to Me. Unfortunately, Parents' Weekend, fell flat for me. I felt so over with SO MANY CHARACTERS and didn't really feel connected to any of the them throughout the duration of the novel. When 5 students don't meet their parents for the scheduled "Parent's Night" dinner at their college, the FBI, campus police and the parents need to find their children (hopefully safe). I feel like this really lacked an action packed plot, was somewhat predictable and I just found myself skimming the last 25% to finish. Although this one fell short for me, I encourage those who enjoy a lighter suspense to give it a shot.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for offering this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

It's Parents' Weekend at a small college in California. But a group of 5 students never show up for dinner with their parents. The parents have a good time getting to know each other and return to their lodgings. But one by one, none of them are able to get in touch with their children. Panic ensue and the police are called. Where are the students? Has something happened? Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

3.5 Alex F was a new-to-me author as of last year. I really loved his previous books and was looking forward To his new release. I would say this was my least favourite of his but still an enjoyable read. I was surprised by and appreciated that I could keep so many characters straight College campus stories aren’t always my thing so maybe that has something to do with my lack of excitement over this novel.

I’m starting to realize that Alex Finlay is not for me. There are always way too many characters and storylines for my inattentive brain to follow. Yes he has some great twists and turns, and this book is no different; however it just takes too long for him to get there in my opinion

A Finlay story always delivers dark characters, darker secrets, a WOW twist or three, and an explosive ending. Parents Weekend is no exception, and while I had a difficult time liking any of the characters or their back stories, liking characters is never a requirement in a thriller, and the twisty revelations make this new Finlay story exciting and memorable.

4.5⭐️

Five families are set to come together for Parents Weekend at a small private college in Norther California. The families are set to meet the night before the big event for dinner and cocktails, but the students never show up. At first, the parent's think their kids are being reckless and irresponsible college students. But since most of the kids are from rich and important families who all have something to hide, it becomes clear that something bigger is at play.

I really liked this! I always love a group of college kids with a secret, especially the way their friendship either strengthens or crumbles when that secret might be revealed. I liked that The Five are from a variety of backgrounds but that in a lot of cases their parents put a target on their backs. The fact that at the beginning the only connection The Five had was being paired together for a capstone group made the investigation more interesting.

I loved that we got to see Agent Keller again and that she's still just as reckless as she's always been. Ultimately the story revolved around how far a parent will go to protect their kids, Keller included. My biggest complaint about this book was the stereotype of the Russian mob character. All around this was the definition of a popcorn thriller which is what I've come to expect with Alex Finlay!

Thanks Netgalley and Minotaur for providing this ARC to me!

What I liked:
This book follows the disappearance of five students from a small liberal arts college during Parents' Weekend. For me, the best sections feature FBI agent Sarah Keller (a character in two previous Finlay novels) as she investigates what happened, looking into the personal lives of students and their parents and finding all sorts of secrets and surprises. I love Keller's tenacious intelligence, as well as her efforts (not always successful) to balance her family and work life. In this book, Keller and her husband have moved with their twins to California to be close to her husband's sick father, and the pictures of their cozy family life, in the midst of Sarah's work on the case, were just delicious to me. I also like the campus aspects of the book, the students learning how to navigate college life, with humorous depictions of fraternity antics and college angst.
What I disliked:
The book follows the families of each of the five missing students, in addition to Agent Keller and her family. The set-up for all of these points of view was a bit long, and I struggled at first to remember all the characters. The twist at the end also fell a little flat for me.
Overall: After making it through the somewhat dull opening chapters, I really enjoyed the tension of figuring out what happened to the students, as well as the depiction of Agent Sarah Keller's investigation.
The book will be published on May 6. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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In true Alex Finlay fashion, beware of the amount of characters and story lines to follow. I loved the first couple releases by this author but have found myself DNFing the last few. They seem more YA. I think I will call it quits with this author.

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay is such a fun read and a page turner! I am generally not crazy about books with multiple points of view, but in this case once you get into the story, I found it easy to keep track of everyone. I liked the ending a lot and probably should have been able to figure it out earlier but did not! The story wrapped up nicely and did not leave any loose ends or questions which I appreciate!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

During parents' weekend, a group of students go missing. There are mysteries that are uncovered that are equally mysterious as the whereabouts of the group of students.

I really enjoyed this book! It felt like a Law and Order episode in book form. The multiple POVs were hard for me to handle at first, but I got used to it. I loved so many characters: Sarah and Bob, Annie, even the coroner.

3.25 Stars 🌟

Another "first time author for me". Getting this ARC made me curious so I decided to jump right in. The story itself is told in an unusual manner. We jump time frames and shuffle back and forth between POV's - and there are a lot of them.

The story basically revolves around 5 college students so (there' are the first 5 POV's) Then it is Parents Weekend, so we get their POV's and of course, the back stories of each set of parents. It is actually a little confusing and it did take me a while to learn who was who and who "belonged" to whom.

The story takes off when the 5 kids disappear. Are they just being typical college kids and blowing off a dinner? Or is there really something wrong? Then, add in the fact that 2 of the parent sets have active threats against them because of their occupations..........

Yep, quite crazy.

For the most part, this was a fast and easy read/listen. Unfortunately, plausibility isn't really high up there but if you can suspend that - then you should have a deal. Luckily the chapters are pretty short so it's easy to fly through this one. The ending....well, it's a doozie.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Bookstore giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone. This book will be out for publication on May 06, 2025.

This is a food book with a lot of characters and a fair amount of angst from a small group of college kids with interesting family stories and complicated families. It’s nice to be reunited with FBI Special Agent, Sarah Keller, in this book that keeps you thinking until the end.

A pretty by the book thriller that goes through multiple POVs. I think had it been just the agents POV the book would've been stronger; all the dead leads and they neglected to look at one major glaring red flag pretty quick, good plane or beach read.

Alex Finlay is one of my must-read authors. Parents' Weekend has a wonderful cast of characters. A group of five college students goes missing during parents' weekend. FBI agent Sarah Keller, a familiar character from two previous Finlay novels, is assigned to the case. Agent Keller is clever and observant, and she has a huge heart both for the players in the case and for her family, who is actively involved in this book. There is also a smart and quirky college student/intern who plays a fun and important role throughout this book.

It turns out that each missing college student's family has a secret, scandal, or interesting story that comes out during the search for the students. These backstories, although possibly farfetched (what diverse group of friends could possibly each bring so much baggage, drama, and excitement?) are absolutely my favorite part of the book. In fact, when the backstories had all been told, and the book's focus shifted solely to the investigation, my interest dropped off just a bit.

As with all of Alex Finlay's writing, I wanted to read the book quickly to find out what would happen next, but I wanted to slow down and savor each sentence so that the story wouldn't have to end. I can't wait for the next book by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, Alex Finlay, and publisher St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Parents weekend at a fancy college goes awry when 1 student winds up dead and 5 others go missing.

***

Oh Alex Finlay, I may have to give up on you. These books get thinner and thinner with plot. The reader is hit with one red herring after the other, when the actual reason the kids go missing is made pretty obvious about 25% of the way in. While the pace is fast and easy, it was also just predictable and lacked depth.

So the plot is thin, what about the characters? First, there are way too many POVs throw in. There is ZERO character development and you spend so little time with each charcter that you truly do not care what happens to any of them. Second, Finlay should really avoid the POV of any teenager / young adult. It was painful reading their POVs when clearly Finlay has no idea how a teenager or young adult would talk or feel these days, even if they are making TikToks.

All in all, when the plot is thin and the characters lack depth and are not any fun or interesting, you cannot expect the reader to enjoy the book at all. I would definitely skip this one.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for this honest review.