3.5 stars, rounded down
Parents Weekend is a fast paced, trite mystery filled with a bunch of despicable characters. It’s perfect for when you don’t want to have to put your thinking cap on.
As the title makes obvious, it’s Parents Weekend at a private Northern California college. The story flicks between the families of five freshmen and the FBI Agent helping with the case. On the first night, there is a sponsored dinner. But none of the five kids ever show up. FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller has just moved to the area for a hardship assignment - her father-in-law is dying of cancer. She is immediately assigned to help with the case as one of the mothers is the Assistant Secretary of State and a father is a judge who has just handled a high profile court case that had him receiving threats.
The story is entertaining and high-octane fun. Character development is thin to non-existent. It’s all about the suspense and action. There are so many red herrings, I lost count. The who behind the whodunit was pretty obvious, although Finlay at least put together a decent explanation for why it all went down. It’s the kind of read I’ll have forgotten a week after finishing. Go into this with the right expectations and it’s enjoyable.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press- Minotaur Books for an advance copy of this book.

5 college freshman are set to meet their parents for a group dinner. The parents, all with their own baggage and drama, show up to the dinner, while the students never make it.

I flew through this! The short chapters, multiple POV, and cliffhangers really made this story fly by. I loved how each family had their own POV, and while it was confusing at first who everyone was, I didn’t focus so much on keeping everyone straight and that allowed me to get into the story where eventually I knew who everyone was. The characters were mostly unlikeable, and that fit the storyline as well. There were parts of this that gave me the icks (check TWs) but overall another great thriller from this author!

Parents Weekend is a very quick read! I was able to read it in 2 sittings. The chapters are short which makes you want to keep reading. There are a lot of characters so you have to keep track of who is who. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC. Parents Weekend publishes on May 6th, 2025.

Review for “ Parents' Weekend by Alex Finlay”

1. Plot Uniquenes : 4.5/5
2. Pacing and Coherence : 4/5
3. Emotional and Interllexrual Engagekent : 4/5
4. Twists and turns : 4/5
5. Protagonist Character Development : 4/5
6. support character development : 4/5
7. Setting and atmosphere : 4/5
8. Chapter Organization : 5/5
9. Conclusion and tied loose ends : 4/5
10. Overall rating of book : 4/5

The dreaded weekend for college freshmen........when parents arrive en masse: the kids have discovered autonomy while mom and dad are still holding on to their apron strings. It results in the usual head butting, rolling of eyes and expectations to conform to old rules of the house.
   This weekend, however, holds much more excitement. There's been a drowning of a student, disappearance for four friends, parents' marital secrets exposed, bullying, political power plays. It's all here.
    The standout character is Keller, a FBI agent newly moved to the town and called to the job before her bags were hardly unpacked. She and her family were the calming force to the story line. The reader finally breathes when the focus is on them.
    It's a sit down and don't move book........

Alex Finlay can do no wrong. This one takes us on a suspenseful adventure on a college campus when five students disappear during Parents Weekend. I loved the multiple points of view and the fact that I was guessing up until the last page. A true page turner than I could not put down!

This is a good beach read. Easy to read just not easy to guess. The ending was a bit abrupt. It was also missing some key information I would have liked to have known.

Five families get together to celebrate their kids parents nights at a small private college. The parents go wild. Then five of the residents don't show up for dinner. Night is falling and people are panicking. Stay tuned to see how it unfolds!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this Arc

I read this in 4 days! I could not put this, to be honest. This book has two extremely unlikeable parents but it centered around 5 college students, a female FBI agent, another budding female interested in crime, and a few other side characters. I like that this book switches POV between the 5 families, it really helps with the pacing and suspense of the book. I also appreciate that this book was not at all predictable, just when I thought I had figured it out, BAM,,, new twist!

I do not want to give too much away to other people who have not read this. THere is sooooo much going on in this book with all familes, each college student and even the side characters and it all relates to the plot of the book and the college students. I also like how Finlay explained the ending of the book for each character. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Highly recommended thriller/suspense book by Alex Finlay!

Thanks to Alex Finlay, Netgalley and St Martins Press Minotaur Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review,

Available: 5/6/2025

3.5 stars. It’s Parents Weekend and the students living in Campisi Hall have a secret. As each group of parents arrive, we learn about all the family issues from their POVs. An alert goes out to all the students notifying them that a student has died, causing the students of Campisi Hall concern. At the Parents Dinner, all of the children are a no-show. Some parents begin to worry, others are not alarmed. As more time passes, law enforcement is called to determine what happened to the students.

This was a fun read! I went into it blind, having only read one other Alex Finlay. I wasn’t expecting it to be a police procedural, but enjoyed Agent Keller’s investigative work. There were a ton of leads and I had no idea what to expect. There were some bits of information that felt out of place, but eventually tied in. The chapters were short, so it was super easy to binge. I wasn’t able to predict this one and I feel like the end was a bit rushed, but otherwise enjoyed!

Alex Finlay does it again! Parents Weekend has all the twists and turns that you would expect in a thriller. It starts with the death of a student at SCU in California. The body is found in a cave along the ocean and it is believed the person became trapped and drowned. This all occurs right before parents weekend at the university. A group of parents plan a dinner with their students and as the parents gather for dinner through the night the students never show up. At first the parents think they were blown off for a party, but as time passes and the parents don't get calls or texts they begin to become concerned. They eventually reach out to campus police, who in turns brings in the FBI and special Agent Sarah Keller.

The story jumps from the different families points of views and keeps you on your toes the whole time. You will think you know who is behind everything and then that is debunked. It is an easy and quick read, which I love. Fast paced, short chapters, but it hooks you and you don't want to put it down. Highly recommend! I've read all but one Alex Finlay book and they continue to keep getting better. Do yourself a favor and read this one!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #ParentsWeekend

Sometimes I just need a quick thriller that I can binge read with twists and wtf moments. I’ve actually been craving those lately and in a bit of a slump with my suspense reads. Until this one: which I read in 2 sittings.

Think kids behaving badly . And parents behaving badly.
Parents weekend at University and all the secrets are coming out with obnoxious kids and shitty parents. And it’s all about to come out… esp since students start going missing.

I love when an ending surprises me; esp since it could have been multiple different protagonists.

Alex Finlay is always a good read.
4.5

Alex Finlay’s Parents Weekend plunges readers into a nightmare scenario: five college freshmen vanish during the opening festivities of their first Parents Weekend at an elite Northern California school. At first, their absence seems like typical college behavior—maybe they’re at a party or just forgot about dinner. But as the hours pass and another night falls with no word, panic spreads. Campus police escalate their search, the media swarms, and long-buried family secrets rise to the surface.

Told through multiple perspectives in past and present, the novel explores not just the mystery of the missing students but also the tangled relationships between privilege, parental pressure, and youthful recklessness. Each of the missing students—Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—comes from a family harboring secrets. The question isn’t just what happened that night, but whether the sins of their parents have caught up to them.

One of the highlights of the book is the return of FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller, a fan-favorite from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift. This time, she’s more grounded, balancing her demanding career with raising her nine-year-old twins alongside her husband. Her presence adds a sharp investigative edge to the narrative, making her an anchor in the midst of the unfolding chaos.

Finlay excels at crafting suspense, and the book’s short chapters, shifting timelines, and multiple viewpoints create an addictive pace. The first half is especially strong, setting up an intricate web of deceit and tension. However, the second half slows down, losing some of its momentum. The sheer number of characters, while manageable, makes it harder to form deep connections, and as a result, the emotional stakes don’t always hit as hard as they should.

Still, the mystery is gripping, packed with twists that make it difficult to predict where the story is headed. Just when you think you have it figured out, another revelation throws you off course. And while the wealthy, dysfunctional parents might make for eye-rolling moments, the novel offers a fresh angle on privilege and the weight of expectation.

Overall, Parents Weekend is a solid thriller—tense, unpredictable, and filled with enough secrets to keep you turning pages. It might not reach the adrenaline highs of Finlay’s best work, but it’s still an engaging ride. Fans of his previous books will want to pick this one up, and newcomers will find plenty to enjoy.

Sometimes plans take an abrupt turn in life. It happened to proud parents when they booked a trip from different parts of the US to be with their freshman kids at Santa Clara University. They went from feeling excited to agitated and nervous when they learned that five friends – their sons and daughters -- were now missing.

They could have just been on a camping trip away from their moms and dads but the high-powered, wealthy parents suspected differently. An FBI agent from DC was involved tracking down all sorts of clues.

The chapters were short and easy to follow with tons of family drama and current concerns over social media.

I really enjoyed Alex Finlay’s last book, “If Something Happens To Me” which kept me on my toes. This one was at a slower pace. I wasn't as engaged. I think this would be more entertaining for younger readers who love mysteries and college settings.

My thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of May 6, 2025.

4.2 stars - Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an ARC of 'Parents Weekend'. I was really looking forward to reading this, especially since I've heard great things about Alex Finlay!

When I started, I was immediately struck by the sheer number of characters and families introduced in the first few chapters. With five different families, each with complex backgrounds—many involving cheating, unethical behavior, or scandal—it became a lot to keep track of. I found myself having to jot down notes just to remember who was who! For the first half of the book, I referred to my "cheat sheet" constantly, which made the reading experience feel more like a task than a leisure activity.

That said, the story itself was incredibly captivating and engaging. It had a bit of a Lucinda Berry vibe, touching on themes of trauma, mental health, and tragedy. Once the influx of new characters slowed down (around 70% through), I was fully immersed in the plot and couldn't put the book down. The twists were exciting, and I couldn’t wait to see how everything would unfold.

Overall, it was a gripping read with lots of twists, though I do feel it could have benefited from fewer characters. Still, a great book!

I’m gonna be honest, I struggled to get into this book. I mean it had its moments, but it truly didn’t captivate me. I didn’t think any of the characters were really relatable and that made me really not care about their fate. I did finish it, but I would give it three stars. I have loved other books by this author. Thank you NetGalley, Alex Finlay, and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Parents Weekend is a fast paced twisty campus thriller that keeps you turning pages. The multiple POVs, short chapters and Finlay’s writing makes it an easy binge.
However I was a bit underwhelmed and with so many characters, it was hard to keep them all straight.
While entertaining, it lacks the impact of his best work. A solid read for mystery fans but not a standout

Thank you St. Martins Press for an advance readers copy in exchange for my honest review!
Release date: 05/06/2025!

Excellent fast paced mystery! Five sets of parents gather at a California college to celebrate their kids. Unknowingly these five sets of parents have planned a dinner that their children will not be showing up to, due to no fault of their own. At first the parents just chalk it up to typical college antics and aren’t worried. Soon they realize their worst fears are coming true as the situation ends up being much more dire than they thought. I loved to see agent Kellers return from Findlay’s previous novels with her twins and husband who is a saint. This novel grabs you from start to finish, not to be missed.

Parents Weekend is definitely a popcorn thriller—short, quick chapters keep the story moving, making it a super fast read (I finished it in three sittings). The entire book takes place over three days, so the pacing is nonstop, which worked well for keeping me engaged.

Like most of Alex Finlay’s books, this one has a large cast and multiple POVs, but I didn’t find it hard to follow since each chapter is clearly labeled with the family it focuses on. That said, I know some readers might struggle with keeping track of everyone.

Finlay and I have a complicated relationship—I keep saying I’m done reading his books, but then he brings back FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller, and I just can’t quit. She’s back in Parents Weekend, and as usual, she’s fantastic. I love her and her husband, Bob, and it was a treat to meet her father-in-law and sister-in-law in this one. Honestly, sometimes I wish the book would just focus on Sarah’s investigation and cut out all the other POVs. That said, I did enjoy Annie and McCray, who work at the school's police department (both part of the “local counsel,” as Sarah would say).

While I loved Sarah’s sections, the book overall felt too short. The ending was rushed—even though the crime was technically solved, it all wrapped up a little too abruptly. There were a lot of moving pieces and red herrings, which kept things entertaining, but also meant that some details (like how and why certain crimes happened) felt vague or underdeveloped.

If you’re looking for a quick, entertaining thriller that’s more about plot than deep character development, this is a solid choice. It would make a great beach read or something to pick up at the airport. If you prefer more complexity or a slow-burn mystery, this one might not be for you. 3.5 stars rounded down

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The perfect after work read. I looked forward to picking this up each evening. There’s a large list of characters but it was still easy to follow. The perfect amount of action and story building. It’s twisty in a casual way without shock value. I would love to see a follow up book with more from Agent Keller. This book is a great vacation or weekend read.

Thank you to the publisher, Net Galley, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Reading Parents Weekend is like binge watching a fast paced, suspense filled movie! This fast paced book with short chapters keeps you reading, on the edge of your seat, to figure out what happens next.
Parents Weekend takes place at a small private college in Northern California. It follows five first year students and their families on Parents Weekend. Panic ensues when the five students of Campisi Hall don’t show up for the weekend’s opening dinner and hours pass with no word of them, The campus police call in reinforcements and what follows is a tale told from many points of view both past and present. The authorities explore how the five became friends and whether their own stories or their families past could be related to their disappearance.
I enjoyed the fast paced suspense of Parents Weekend. My only small criticism was wanting more development towards the end of the story. I would definitely recommend this book! Reading Parents Weekend has encouraged me to read Alex Finlay’s previous books.

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