What I Liked:

Agent Keller, who’s appeared in some of Alex Finlay’s other books is the best part of this story. Confident and empathetic, she’s an easy character to root for. I hope we get to see her and her lovely family again in future books.

Short chapters make it easy to get pulled into the mystery and become immersed in the story.

The setup of the mystery occurring on a parents weekend was a clever one. 5 students going missing at the same time is rare, and the reason why kept me flipping the pages.


What I Disliked:

Too many characters. We never spent much time with one family, or set of characters to really be pulled into their inner lives and care about what was happening to them.


Final Thoughts:

A fun ride, perfect for those who enjoy popcorn thrillers with lots of twists and turns. Alex Finlay is always a must read for me.

*Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.*

Loved this twisty thriller. Just when I thought I had it figured out, it threw me for a loop. I loved the throwback characters and mention of previous plot lines. This was a great, quick read.

As always Alex Finlay delivers an entertaining, well thought out and fast paced mystery. FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift is back, and I hope we will continue to see more of her in future books.

Five set of parents are gathered to meet their children at their university's parent weekend. However, the kids do not show up. Irritation about their irresponsibility soon changes to concern and panic when the parents are hit with the realization that the students are actually missing, not just out partying.
We follow the families as their secrets are unravelling, and the school shows its cynical undercurrent.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC

I enjoyed the journey of reading this book (spoilers coming), but it didn’t have the same satisfaction as most thrillers do with the resolution at the end. It was just very, very sad. I get that that’s reality sometimes, but when I pick up a book in this category, “bummed” isn’t something I want to feel hours after finishing it. I like this author’s writing and will look for more of his work in the future, but I can’t recommend this one.

I was really excited to read this one. I've read three of Finlay's other books, rated them all at 4/5 stars. This one is a sad 2 star book. Not interesting premise, certainly not an exciting conclusion. So many characters, so few of whom you root for. A skippable book.

Alex Finlay is my go to author for a quick, can’t put down thriller! His newest definitely fit that bill; I finished in 24 hours! It’s Parents Weekend at Santa Clara University, but things go awry when four students don’t show up for dinner with their parents on the first night...
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Special Agent Sarah Keller is back (LOVE her, she’s in a couple of his other books) and she’s teamed up with Jay McCray, head of campus security to try to find these kids. I really enjoyed his character too and thought they made a great team.
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Unfortunately, I felt that the story fell short on plot. I was missing the twists that Alex usually delivers on. I think more time could have been spent on the students and their relationships, because when the ending was revealed I almost didn’t care. 🫣
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Keller’s police work was the best part of the book; I hope we get more of her in the future! While short on depth, I do think this would be a great beach read. A million thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read early!

Keeping track of four families (spouses and children) is the trick to enjoying “Parents Weekend.” There’s the divorced Roosevelts (son Blane), the Maldonados (daughter Stella), Alice Goffman and her son Felix, the Akanas (daughter Libby), plus the Belovs, whose daughter Natasha was just found drowned in a beach cave. Another student, Mark, did not have any parents attending the weekend. All of them are at a private, expensive Northern California college for their first Parents Weekend. The other important family is the Kellers, who are relocating nearby. Sarah Keller, previously in two earlier Finlay novels, is an FBI agent.

A critical part of the family weekend is the parent/student dinner and when none of the kids show up, it becomes more and more obvious that 5 teenagers have vanished. Sarah Keller is brand new to the local FBI office, so she gets the call to investigate. Finlay creates a thriller with a main character, Keller, who is smart, realistic, intelligent, and dogged. She loves her job and she loves her family. The plot is all about family relationships when a crisis occurs. I hope to see more of Sarah in future novels! 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO The only eye colors were Alice’s and Felix’s dark blue ones.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Although Santa Clara University has a beautiful setting.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Wow! This is an incredible book with lots of twists and turns; you won't figure it out before the end. Nothing is predictable about this book. When you read the description, just know that this book will deliver. I give it 4 stars because, yes, it is a little over. the top.Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the complimentary digital ARC. This review was not coerced in any way and is my own opinion.

I liked so much about this book - the setting, the characters, and the story development. The only thing I could say I didn't like was a very large set of characters that were too hard to keep track of.

The story centers around parents' weekend at Santa Clara University. Kids go missing, and the story for the most part revolves around the parents left wondering where their children are. There a few high profile parents, one with a security detail and one who is a judge, creating a potential revenge theory. A skilled FBI woman ("G woman" just like X-files) is able to quickly piece together clues to find out what happened and begin pursuit. The ending is a thrill of a ride and very well done.

While the premise of this book was really interesting, and many of the characters as well, it sometimes felt like there were too many storylines in play to get too invested in any of them. Each subplot was captivating, but felt a bit rushed. Definitely wouldn't have minded the book being a bit longer in order to dig a little deeper into each family.

No, just no. This was just terrible. It was big on style but short on substance. This is what I would call a popcorn thriller, but not in a good way. I did not enjoy it. It got bogged down with too many characters and not enough information. The ending felt rushed, and a lot of the plot felt unfinished. The book was only 235 pages on my tablet, and it showed. There were no reasons given for how these actions and crimes played out. 

Finlay has had a few misses for me recently. I loved The Night Shift, and we see the same character, FBI agent Keller, in this one, so I thought I'd give this one a chance. He failed miserably. There were too many potholes, and I didn't like any of the characters. I liked the short, punchy chapters from different points of view—that's my favourite format—but it meant not getting fully fleshed-out, well-rounded characters.

The writing was very basic and amateurish and there was no plot twist. I usually complain about it when the details are too many but Finlay doesn't give me enough. My mind is boggled at all the four and five-star reviews of this one. I was left feeling very disappointed and Finlay is selling out in my opinion. He’s cranking books out without any thought behind them. I am done with him now, I have given him plenty of chances after enjoying The Night Shift.

‘From the bestselling author of If Something Happens to Me, comes one of the year’s most anticipated thrillers.

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.’

Parents Weekend is told from several different perspectives. And while there’s a deluge of infidelity and a handful of characters who end up dead-dead, this read like a YA thriller. Especially with the smurf masks, college students and Scooby Doo van.

I think my 17 yo daughter would really enjoy this book. It was just a tad on the juvenile side for my tastes and I found character depth sorely lacking.

Still a huge Finlay fan though!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for this arc in exchange for review.

Pub Date 5.6.2025.

This novel is captivating from the start to the finish!

A small private school in Northern California is stunned when parents arrive for Parents Weekend and five families are changed forever.
Known as "the five"; Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix and Stella are missing and no one seems to know where they are. This story is told from multiple POV's and (I admit I always make a note card when there are several) there is a family POV for each family, as well as the five. So pay attention because it can get tricky!

Each family has secrets and lies, the characters are intriguing ..Parents Weekend delivers a page turner that questions where loyalty ends & secrets begin. I don't want to giveaway too much but I really loved connected with the characters & their families.

I do feel like this was more of a detective style read vs thriller.

Alex Finlay does not disappoint!
Thank you to Net Galley & St. Martins Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: May 6, 2025

PS - I laughed so hard reading part of the acknowledgement where the author says to send the inaccuracies to David Ellis.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Alex Finley and St Martin’s press for the ARC and opportunity to review this book.

I’m a big fan of Alex Finley and Parent’s Weekend did not disappoint! It was a fast paced page turner. I didn’t see many of the twists coming and the ending twist was a complete surprise.

It kept my attention from the beginning right to the end. I really liked how the author wrapped up everyone’s storyline at the end. The character development was great.

It would have been a 5 star read but I felt it just needed a little more in terms of the missing kids. The author gave us snippets of them while they were missing, but I feel there could have been more to that aspect that would have put it in the 5 star category.

Overall a great read!

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This would be a great beach or vacation rate! The introduction of this book introducing me to the various characters and families definitely pulled me in and made me very excited to read the book. I ended up reading the book in one sitting! However, I did become more disappointed as the book continued. While at no point was I ready to put the book down because the face pace did keep me engaged- I did become less interested in the content, and felt like specific plot points and issues along the way or not flushed out enough that there seem to be a lack of details and it felt rushed to get to the next plot point. Thank you to the author publisher and NetGalley for this opportunity to read this book and for a fun afternoon!

Well heeled parents, for the most part, descend on a high end college in California for a weekend with the kids. What could go wrong?, you say.
Everything! Murder, attempted murder, 5 missing teenager's, exes, famous people, all weave a story of hubris and mayhem. Fun read, hard to put down.

Parents Weekend
By: Alex Finlay
Pub Date:
Publisher: Minotaur Books
This novel is riveting and as a parent, my heart was pounding. You should be able to send your children off to college and know they are safe. Life does not always go as planned.
A small private school in Northern California is rocked when parents come for Parents Weekend and five families are changed forever.
The Five-Libby, Blane, mark, Felix and Stella are missing and no one seems to know where they are. You have to pay attention as there are multiple points of view as panic sets in.
Will the parents find their children? Are they kidnapped? I don’t want to spoil any of this but that ENDING had me SHOCKED!

Parent’s Weekend by Alex Finlay hosts a large number of characters including the return of FBI agent, Sarah Keller. It was great getting to catch up with her and her family. At first, I was a bit confused by the relationships and who belonged to who but once I got a hold of that, I whipped through this book. Finlay always knows how to set a scene and create the most chaotic disruptions to these poor character’s worlds. This is a plot driven novel and a very fun one.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read. It read more like a detective novel than a true thriller, since you're not seeing most of the actual action.
I enjoyed the shifting perspectives, and thought that the characters and plot were well developed.

Alex Finlay does not dissapoint!

This is a very entertaining thriller with a huge host of characters. I wondered if it would be hard to keep track of the characters, but Finlay did a great job describing them and I felt I'd met each family and had a distinct impression of them. Parents Weekend will be familiar to any reader who has or had a child in college. It's a time for unexpected connections and a chance to see your child in a new habitat. That makes for a perfect setting for a mystery.
I found some of the twists and turns to be defying reality and I wished it felt more "real." But as an escape from one's own life, it is very successful.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book and for transporting me out of my own reality.