I was so excited to see that I got approved for this arc from NetGalley 😍 I’m a huge Alex Finlay fan, so I read this one immediately! I’m obsessed with multiple points of view, so this checked all the boxes for me ✔️ It kept me on the edge of my seat and was super fast paced. Such a quick & excellent read. Alex Finlay doesn’t miss 👏🏼

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a thriller! This was packed full of characters, making it tricky to follow in the beginning. Once everyone is introduced, you’re left with a thrilling case with an unexpected ending. Will definitely recommend to anyone looking for a quick read. I could not put this down!

Finlay is an auto-read for me, so I was excited to see a new title of his on Netgalley! I love his way of writing a captivating crime-thriller while also writing such strong female leads. "Captain Badass" doesn't even begin to cover what Keller is capable of!

I'm a sucker for any kind of college/elite (or maybe pretentious) family story, so this one didn't disappoint! That being said, I felt like there were some holes in the plotline and the characters could have been more developed. For example, I LOVE the idea of the college students going missing, but would like to have read more of their backstories and connections if it was the focal point the plot. Without this, the ending felt underwhelming and a bit difficult to believe. The parents were also underdeveloped, making it difficult to keep track of who was who and how they were all connected - especially when there was a lot trait overlap like law and affairs.

While it wasn't my favorite, I still enjoyed the storyline and think a little bit of fleshing out would go a long way. I still love Finlay's writing and look forward to anything else he writes. Thanks so much for the ARC!

Ever since Alex Finlay wowed readers with his first thriller published under his pseudonym in 2021, he's been unstoppable. Parents Weekend, his newest novel due for publication in early 2025, continues this winning streak.

The story involves the disappearance of five college students and is told from multiple POVs. One of the central characters, FBI agent Sarah Keller, makes a reappearance from Every Last Fear. This is a fast paced and tensely plotted novel with a classic Alex Finlay twisty ending. Highly recommend.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Finlay has written a fast paced thriller with a surprise ending I didn't see coming. Families are converging on UC Santa Cruz for Parent's Weekend as the story opens. Five families, whose children are members of the same freshman capstone group, are set to meet for dinner. The parents are there but their children are not. Soon, everyone realizes the kids have not just blown them off but have likely come to harm. Every possible law enforcement agency converges to help look for them, including FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller.

The families themselves are studies in dysfunction. Infidelity, alcoholism, child death have all taken a toll. In contrast, Keller's family is a model of respect. and love. Indeed, she is involved in this case only because she has temporarily taken a posting in California to help care for her dying father-in-law. Her husband cares for the couple's twins while Sarah pursues her high-flying FBI career.

I am rating this 4 stars but really it's 3.5. The plot is action packed and suspenseful but the character development is minimal which is a shame because they are interesting people and I would like to know more about them and their backstories.

PARENTS WEEKEND by Alex Finlay
⭐️ rating: 8/10

read if you like:
🏫 college dramas
🤷🏻‍♀️ missing people
🕵🏻 detective procedurals

summary:
Alex Finlay is a MUST buy for me and one of my favorite authors, and I was over the moon when I got picked to read his newest book, PARENTS WEEKEND. It follows five friends whose parents show up for Parents Weekend at their college in Northern California, only to find their kids missing and nowhere to be found. With another students death a few weeks prior, the campus is on edge, and the campus police call in reinforcements to help them discover where the kids have gone. They are the children of a school administrator. A high-level government official. A judge. A plastic surgeon. What do they have in common? How do they even know each other? And where did they go?

I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book. I loved the storytelling from all 4 families and the FBI agent, and loved the alternating POV’s. I also loved each of their backstories, and how deep and complicated their characters were developed. The dynamics between the college, FBI and local police were also interesting and fun to follow, and felt realistic. However the ending…..was an emotional letdown. I can’t say much more without giving it away, but it feels anticlimactic after the entire story is built up, AND it has a tragic twist that really crushed me. I wanted to really like this more, because I LOVED it up until the end, but I just walked away feeling sad and unsettled. I still recommend reading it — maybe you’ll get more out of the ending than I did? I just wanted the same level of suspense to carry forward and it felt like it didn’t.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for letting me read an advanced copy by one of my favorite authors. This book releases on May 6 and I do recommend checking it out!

I enjoyed this fast paced thriller and thought the author did a good job of touching on topics such as grief, friendships and family secrets. The chapters were quick and I found myself quickly finishing it.

The setting takes place at Santa Clarita College with parents weekend on campus. When five students don’t show up to a parent’s night gathering it begins as parents think it must be a joke. They quickly realize this is no joke, and so begins the weekend…..

This book is told in multiple points of view, parents, students, FBI…..there are a lot of characters and moving parts and at times I felt lost. The characters at times felt very confusing to me. I still enjoyed the book and thought it was a page turner.

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

Alex Finlay is now one of my auto-authors. I am pretty confident I have read all of Alex Finlay's book and I can't wait for the next one, already. Five college students go missing during parent's weekend at a small California college. The question becomes are the disappearances because of the sins of the parents or the sins of their children? Alex Finlay creates a twisted, gripping thriller told through the viewpoints of the five families.

I love a thriller that keeps me guessing until the last page. Alex Finlay does a great job with character development and a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I was worried it would be geared more towards the younger/student crowd, but it didn't go that direction at all. There is some college drama that ensues and unfolds but there were a lot of other factors that kept me hooked. We get a deep dive into the secrets that families try to keep hidden and the intricacies of relationships and personal family issues that are interwoven without even knowing.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Alex Finlay for the eARC of Parents Weekend in exchange for an honest review. Publication Date for Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay is set for 06 May 2025...add this one to your tbr right now!

My second Alex Finley book but not my last. This one keeps going from the first page until the last. There is a huge cast of characters which felt confusing at first but was ultimately pretty easy to keep track of. Many red herrings, back story subplots, and twists that kept this story going strong. My only issue is that I figured out who was behind the disappearance of the students early on and didn't feel any surprise on that front. It was still an engaging and fun read though.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Solid 4 stars for keeping me guessing. I just found a little too much going on in this book.

Although I liked the storyline from all the other characters, especially the FBI agent, I found there to be alot of fluff in this book.

A really fast read about a group of college kids going missing. Good characters, especially Agent Keller. I enjoyed this!

This was a good read that hooked me from the beginning. I’ve read another Agent Sarah Keller book of Finlay’s, but this one stands alone perfectly.

The story is compelling, and there are some good twists. Overall a worthwhile read.

Alex Finley’s newest novel, Parents Weekend, follows the parents of five missing college students. Were the students kidnapped because of their parents’ sins?

I read this in 2 days. This author never disappoints. Trust me, pick this one up. I’ll be waiting on the next one.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

A great twisty thriller, that semi struggles in the end. Told from the viewpoint of different characters and their families gives a well rounded story and plot. However there are lots of side stories that sometimes feel like the author was trying too hard to with the red herrings. When all is said and done it was a gripping thriller with a decent twist!

Not bad! I appreciated the different side characters and plot twists, but was a little disappointed with the ending. I wished we got more time with The Five as they’re called in the book, but overall a solid thriller with short, easy to read chapters, from different perspectives!

I have read most of Alex Finlay books- and have enjoyed them enough that I don’t even read the description before immediately hitting request on NwretGalley. Luckily, I was quickly approved- this book follows the typical Finlay progression. Short chapters from multiple POVs, including recurring FBI agent Sarah Keller. I finished this book in less than 24 hours and it was a great distraction (I am writing this review on 11/5/24! Needed a distraction today)- I didn’t guess the twist/villian which is always good sign.

This book dives deep into the hidden secrets and complicated lives of a few families, each of whom is dealing with personal issues they’d rather keep under wraps. As the kids head off to college, they start finding their own paths, but a mysterious death pulls everyone back into each other’s lives in unexpected ways. With numerous interwoven storylines, secrets, and layers of drama, the plot thickens around a newly transferred FBI agent who’s assigned to investigate. Her warm relationship with her husband adds a nice touch to the narrative, and she forms strong bonds with others as she works to unravel the case.

The story is full of twists and turns, leading up to a surprising and explosive ending that will keep readers hooked. Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this fast-paced, engaging read!

I always enjoy books by Alex Finlay and Parents Weekend is no exception. I’d say this one is 4.5 rounded up to 5.

It was fast paced and I never got bored. I was happy to see Agent Keller back. She’s always fun as well as her husband Bob.

There were quite a few characters to keep track of, but as I went on, I started being able to keep them straight.

The twists were predictable. I have to admit. But it didn’t make me enjoy the book any less.

The end felt rushed, but I enjoyed the wrap up. No questions were left open. I appreciated that.

It was a nice thriller that was fast-paced and easy to read. Was it the twistiest thriller I’ve ever read? No. But Alex writes well, and I always enjoy his books.

Also, I have to praise the way he handled the very brief mention of politics and religion. It was basically one sentence each, but it was so refreshing considering it seems almost impossible to read a book after 2016 where you can’t tell exactly what the author's views on politics and religion are, even when it doesn’t further the plot.

Alex mentioned politics in the most nonbiased way I have seen in a book in a long time, and gosh, I appreciated it so much. Again, it was just a sentence, but I just wanted to say how much of a relief it was not to have the author's views shoved down my throat

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC

This book kept me up reading all night. It kept me engaged in the story the whole way through and I was sad to have it end. I had read this author before and like his books but this one really hit the nail on the head.

Five families come together to celebrate Parent’s Weekend at their children’s college. The only problem? None of the students don’t show up to the welcome dinner. At first, it’s written off as young adults being careless and forgetful, but when no one is able to make contact with any of the students for hours, the seriousness of the situation hits. Soon the parents and the police have to dig into their children’s lives to figure out who could be responsible for their disappearances and why.

It's a pretty basic premise and the story is told from multiple points of view as everyone comes to grips with the situation. I’d probably have cared more if the parents weren’t almost all affluent and obnoxious. The detective is the most relatable and likable adult in the entire book. The students aren’t too bad, but the author chose to have fate favor the unlikeable which didn’t sit well with me. That’s not a spoiler, other readers may well feel differently about their personalities.

Parts of the ending were surprising to me which is always a good thing! I really enjoy this author’s work but this one wasn’t quite on the same level. It just didn’t have that extra ‘bang’ that I expected. Is it wrong that I hoped for more violence? Maybe it's because there wasn't too much thrilling or suspenseful really, just plenty of drama. It’s still a great book and I recommend it for anyone whether you’re a fan of his or not.