This is my 2nd Finlay book and absolutely loved it. The entire time I was kept guessing who the kidnapper was didn't piece it together until Keller did. With as many characters there were, I appreciated the chapters/views being labeled.

When their kids all no-show to a scheduled dinner, during Parents' Weekend at a small, elite college, it's a race in time to figure out where they are. Although the twist was fairly obvious from the beginning chapters, I still really enjoyed this multi-perspective book that dealt with family secrets.

I’ve read a couple other books by this author that I’ve enjoyed more. There were a lot of characters with a lot going on that had nothing to do with the central story of the missing college kids. It held my interest, I just think there are better thrillers out there.

Thanks to Net Galley for the advance copy in exchange for this review.

3.5 stars

Alex Finlay's thrillers are always compulsively readable and an enjoyable ride from start to finish. While Parents Weekend was not at the same level as Every Last Fear and The Night Shift to me, but I thought it was an ambitious novel that felt somewhat satisfying. It's a lot to cover each parent and kid, and I feel like I got a good understanding of all 10+ characters but I do wish he settled on just the children OR made the book longer. I wanted more development between the kids and how they met, I feel like freshman year friendships are such a rich space to write about and that there was more potential. It would've made the mystery more satisfying/interesting to me, and I thought the initial murder victim was incredibly underwritten. I've always enjoyed the author's writing, I think he's really good at character development and was able to juggle all the characters but I just wanted more. This was a fast and enjoyable read, I could not put the book down once I had ~100 pages left.

Five families arrive at a small private college in Northern California to spend the weekend with children for Parents Weekend. Dinner is the first event, but their kids never show up.

The story is told through multiple points of view, the parents of each student, and FBI agent Keller. I enjoyed reading all the sides and the "who could have" and trying to figure out the "why". Pacing was great and the the story-line flowed well, a page turner. The ending just came up a little lacking for me.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. I will adding more Alex Finlay books to my TBR.

3.5* rounded up to 4*

This story was told through multiple POVs and I liked that. Sometimes I don't just because it can get a be convoluted but the author executed this well. I really liked the FBI agent Keller as a character. I wish I was as badass as her. The reason it only got 3 stars is that it dragged out a bit and I felt bored during some portions, but overall still a great read.

I read this within a day!! Even though it's told from five different families, it's easy to keep up and understand. So intense and intriguing! Didn't see the twists especially at the end. Highly recommend this one!!


Thank you #NetGalley for this #ARC

I enjoyed reading this fast-paced thriller about 5 college students who all vanish on the same night that they were supposed to meet their parents for their college’s parents weekend. We have 5 sets of parents dealing with the mystery of why their kids no-showed, and how to find them now (enter Special Agent Sarah Keller). Each chapter alternates between different families, students, and Agent Keller. There’s A LOT of characters in this book, but I found it easy to keep track of each family and their baggage they bring to the table (kudos to the author!).

If you’re comparing this book to all other thrillers out there, I’d give it a 3.5. However, I feel like the overall content and age of the missing students can definitely put this into the YA category, where I’d say it’s more of a 4-star book. For fans of Karen McManus, you should definitely put this book on your radar—however, expect less romance and hooking up.

Overall, this is a fast-paced read, lots of family drama, and not overly violent or sexual book. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this upcoming novel in exchange for my honest review.

I've been an Alex Finlay fan since Every Last Fear and was excited to get the eGalley for Parents Weekend. It pains me to give it only 3 stars, but this story was disappointing.

What I love most about Finlay's other books are the nuanced, well-rounded characters. I get emotionally invested and care about what happens to them, all while being whisked along by clever plotting and fast pacing. But this book was lacking in character development. Maybe there were just too many of them. I spent half the time trying to separate the characters in my mind and remember who was who. That's how unremarkable they all are. Too many POVs, and I never really cared about any of them. Beyond that, the police work seemed shoddy at best, and the ending was both predictable and unbelievable.

I will still eagerly await this author's next book and move it right to the top of my reading list. This just wasn't my favorite.

I'm usually a rabid fan of Mr. Finlay's work, but this one wasn't my favorite. To be clear, I enjoyed it, but not as much as his other books.

The Parent’s Weekend centers on a group of five college students that go missing during Parents Weekend, leaving behind frantic families and a campus in turmoil. The multiple points of view and the layering of past and present events added depth and complexity to the mystery.

What I enjoyed most about it was its exploration of family dysfunction and the weight of expectations placed on young adults. Each of the five families involved brings a different kind of tension to the table, and their relationships with their children are fascinating. Finlay does a good job of fleshing out the various family dynamics, and the way he shows how the kids’ disappearance unravels these connections is well done. There’s a lot of emotional drama mixed in with the suspense, and it works to keep you invested in each character's journey.

However, while the plot is solid, it feels like it drags a bit in the middle. There are multiple perspectives, which can be effective in building tension, but it also makes the narrative feel a bit fragmented at times. Some of the character motivations and backstories felt a bit underdeveloped, leaving me wanting more depth from certain individuals—especially the college students themselves. The eventual reveal of what happened to them is decently satisfying, but I did see it coming a little earlier than I would’ve liked.

Another issue for me was the pacing. The first half of the book is a slow burn, which I didn’t mind too much, but there were moments when I felt like it could’ve picked up the pace a bit. The back-and-forth between past and present timelines is a nice touch, but it sometimes felt like the story was more about setting up the mystery than diving into the heart of it. The ending made sense, but it fell a little flat for me. It was good but not great.

Overall, The Parent’s Weekend is a solid thriller, but it doesn’t always deliver the level of suspense I was hoping for. It’s not a perfect read, but it’s definitely a gripping one, and it kept me engaged enough to recommend it for those who enjoy a bit of mystery with their family drama.

The Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay is a gripping, fast-paced thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The plot revolves around a murder mystery that unfolds during a university’s parents weekend, with multiple twists that keep you guessing. Finlay’s sharp writing and well-crafted characters make the story engaging, and the suspense builds perfectly throughout. While the pacing is mostly tight, there are a couple of slower moments that detract just a bit from the overall tension. Despite that, it’s an incredibly satisfying read that’s hard to put down. A strong 4.5-star thriller!

This is my first book by Alex Finlay it won't be my last. It in my top 5 books for 2024. I loved the storyline and different point of views over the characters. I would give this 5 out of 5 stars

3.5 stars. I wanted to really like this one, but from the beginning there was a lot going on. It was difficult to keep track of all the characters (5 missing students, their parents, etc). It took me longer to finish this book because I just couldn’t get that into it. Still a good mystery with twists and turns though!
Thank you to NetGalley, publishers, and author for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

After reading Parents Weekend, I think I'm officially done reading Alex Finlay books. He started out as such a good popcorn read author, but his books have gotten unpolished with nonsensical stories. Parents Weekend continues this trend with too many characters, a story that is so surface and silly, it really was a waste of time after what seemed like a promising description.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book was interesting, 5 college kids go missing suddenly during parents weekend.

What I liked: 1) lots of twists and turns that kept me reading and on the edge of my seat 2) FBI agent Sarah Keller is a great character who is likeable, smart, and feels genuine. We also get to know about her family, she is a well rounded character .

What I didn’t like 1) A lot of the plot points were silly/hard to believe. Honestly though, if you go into this book thinking of it as pure entertainment that may not be a problem.

All in all, a solid if a bit silly mystery/suspense novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with an eARC of this book to read and review.

2/5 Stars

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay had the potential to be a gripping thriller, but it ultimately fell flat for me. The story revolves around a shocking murder during a college’s Parents Weekend, and while the premise seemed intriguing, the execution left a lot to be desired.

The pacing was painfully slow, with the narrative dragging through unnecessary details that didn’t add much to the plot. The characters were underdeveloped, making it hard to connect with or care about them. They felt more like plot devices than real people, which undermined the emotional impact of the story.

It was also clear that the book drew heavy inspiration from the real-life Idaho student murders, particularly with the social media frenzy and flood of amateur tips playing a big role in the investigation. While this could have been an interesting angle, it felt forced and overly reliant on the true-crime trend, rather than offering anything fresh or original.

That said, if you’re looking for a Lifetime movie in book form or a fun, quick read to breeze through, this could be a good pick. But if you’re expecting a heavy hitter in the thriller department with depth and nuance, you might want to look elsewhere. It just didn’t pack the punch I was hoping for.

I don’t want to leave a bad review, but this book really just didn’t do it for me unfortunately. First of all, there were WAY too many characters to keep track of. 5 different kids with 5 different families and sub plots, it was too much. Having to try to keep track really took me away from the story. There was too much going on in each of the chapters, and I didn’t feel as though it tied together. Too many moving parts, not enough glue to make the story whole.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

Alex Finlay has always been a must read for me, but this one wasn’t my favorite. I felt the suspicions around each family were overdone, while the actual mystery was solved quickly at the end. There were some plot holes and some of the characters felt shallow. I will still read Finlay’s novels!

This book was about 5 students that go missing on parent’s weekend. It was just ok for me. It was missing heart stopping drama, kind of dragging at times. The author did a good job of developing the parent characters in the book. I really got a sense of who they were.

Thanks to Netgalley for this eArc for my honest review

PARENTS WEEKEND

This was a great thriller read! I got to read this thanks to the publisher, Alex Finlay and #netgalley. The book follows several college students after a scandal on campus, all leading up to all the parents visiting campus. There are several characters and the book goes back and forth between the students and their parents point of view. All of the stories tie into each other and it really is interesting to watch it all start to make sense as the book continues. The only thing I will say is while I loved the characters and their families and stories, sometimes it was hard to remember who was who and what had happened to who with the constantly changing perspectives. I finished this within a day, so a relatively short and easy read. All the characters have very interesting and differing lives and it was enjoyable to watch them all come together in the end. I absolutely was not expecting the true story of what happened and putting everything together the way it was so it for sure keeps you guessing. If you enjoy mysteries and thrillers, you need to check this out, and see if you are as surprised as me!