Actually a 3.5. This wasn’t my favorite Alex Finley book but still a fun and easy mystery that keeps you entertained.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200705251

This was such a good thriller! A whole bunch of teens at a private college campus stop responding to their parents. The mystery isn’t trying to figure out why. It was captivating, it was thrilling, and it was terrifying. Alex Finlay Is an auto read for me!

Thank you St. Marten's Press, NetGalley, and Alex Finlay for the advanced copy of this book!

Overall, another decent read by Alex Finlay. Parents Weekend is about a group of parents heading to their kids college for, you guessed it, parents weekend, where they are scheduled to meet up at an small dinner hosted by the dorm their child is assigned to. When all 5 kids don't show up for the dinner, their parents become worried that it isn't just a case of 'they got drunk and lost track of time'. Special Agent Keller (who you meet a few times in a few of Finlay's other books) is assigned to the case and works tirelessly to interview anyone that may have come into contact with the kids the night of the dinner. Without giving the rest away, I have to say I figured out what happened to the kids fairly early on in the book and wish it wasn't so predictable. It was also very hard to keep track of the long list of characters, which family was associated with which student, etc.

As a parent of recent college students and a fan of Alex Finlay’s previous novels, I eagerly expected to be enthralled by his latest endeavor. However, it was not to be! The college students turned out to be a distinctly uninteresting group who find themselves in unexpected situations and the parents run the gamut from an important government official with an entourage of bodyguards to a single parent of a scholarship student. This reader found the plot rather insipid and actually struggled to finish the book. I expected more from Alex Finlay and I thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

I normally enjoy books by this author, but this plot didn’t hook me. I felt there were too many POV’s with frequent switching and that the plot didn’t get interesting until the very end.

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! Wow! Great read! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I have kids and it gave me chills! It had great suspense, intriguing, action, murder, fantastic mystery, kidnapping, a great who done it and a few crazy twists! The story was very interesting! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Loved it. Great story. Great characters. Plot made sense and didn't feel fake. I really enjoyed this book.

thank you net galley for this arc i really enjoy book by this author. this was no different easy,solid read, about 5 friends who are in danger from an unknown source. each family has there own problum. it was really good to have agent sarah keller back . plenty of unreliable clues. really good

This is a solid thriller from Finlay that I really enjoyed. I saw another reviewer say that they wished the reveal was a bit more sinister, and I kindof agree. I really enjoy Keller's point of view and her family dynamic. It's very heartwarming.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Where to begin? I am a huge Alex Finlay fan and was thrilled to get a eARC for his latest. Sarah Keller has been in three books at various times through her career. In this book she is dealing with a cross country move and being low man at this fbi office. My favorite thing about Alex Finlay books is the character development that happens as the story progresses. Multiple different perspectives that come together to tell an impressive story. Also Sarah’s husband Bob is the supportive man we all need, especially in the day and age. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Another solid read by Alex Finlay - this time bringing back the character of Agent Keller to solve the disappearance of 5 college students during parents weekend.

The beginning was hard to follow for a bit as so many characters were introduced and it felt a bit jarring. However, over time I was able to get a grasp on who everyone was and orient myself.

Definitely numerous false starts and tbh I felt like the bad guy was a little bit it of the blue in someways - not mentioned much and then bam 💥

No matter what, it kept me engaged and I while I didn’t read it at a blistering pace, I definitely felt Keller and her fam were the best part

“Parents Weekend” by Alex Finlay is a fun and entertaining thriller that’s hard to put down. The story revolves around five college students and their parents planning to have dinner and cocktails to celebrate Parents Weekend. The kids never show up and the parents have no communication from them. As fear for their safety sets in, they also find out a student was found dead the very same week.
The mystery unfolds through multiple points of view including a fantastic female FBI agent, the parents, campus security and the students themselves. Lots of intrigue follows which makes for a very fun and quick read. I recommend to all who enjoy this genre!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a winner. Each chapter is action packed. This is an easy read that flows well but keeps you wanting more.

the premise of this book sounded great but i wasnt entirely a fan of the execution of it. there were entirely too many povs to really focus on caring about any of them and made it kind of hard to remember who was who.

im thinking that since i havent read any of alex’s previous books that its possible if i had done a previous sarah keller novel i would have enjoyed it better??? i dont know, but this wasnt my favorite read thats for sure

Stuck between a 3.5/4

Five students and their parents are preparing for Parents Weekend at a small college in Northern California. The plan is dinner and cocktails but the kids never show. At first the parents think the kids ditched them for a party or even forgot about the dinner completely but as the hours and a full day passes with no communication from any of the students, fear sets in. The police, the FBI, search parties and reporters swarm the area. Rumors are abuzz on the local campus and online. The media calls them #theFive. The story unfolds through multiple points of view and flips between past and present. It's a race against time to rescue the students, figure out how they are all connected, and what happened the night they went missing.


I liked it. It kept me engaged and entertained. For a thriller I felt it was lacking the red herrings, twists and turns, and shocks that typically are in this genre. The conclusion had me thinking "that's it?". There is a large cast of characters as well which led to confusion at first because I couldn't separate which student belonged to which family. It started to become more cohesive mid way through and the pace picked up once the investigation started. I love Keller, the main FBI investigator and her family, her POV was my favorite. I wouldn't have minded if the whole book was told from her perspective with small chapters from the students thrown throughout. My favorite from this author is The Night Shift and I'd place this one in second.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. Look for this book to hit shelves May 2025

I adored the story's tempo, brief chapters, and variety of points of view. Anyone who enjoys a good thriller should read this book; it was a true page-turner. In order for us to learn more about the characters, I almost wish it had been longer.

Thank you for the ARC. I enjoyed reading this book, especially how it jumps into the problem and slowly unravels the story through each family. Everything i thought I knew what was going on, Finlay threw a curve at the reader and the story took another turn. Really made for an exciting college weekend for elite college kids.

This read was a huge victory for me. During the wildly famous Parents Weekend, five prominent freshmen go missing, and one is discovered dead. What connections exist between them all? To find out, our favourite FBI agent, Sarah Keller, is assigned to the investigation. There is a lot of action in each chapter, and I always finished wanting more. Even though the plot revolves around a lot of different characters, I had no trouble following them all. I was surprised by the ending, as is common with Alex Finlay's books. When the audiobook version is released next spring, I can't wait to listen to it because this was such a great read. I am very grateful to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with a complimentary copy in exchange for my candid review. I highly recommend you put this one on your TBR! 


**I will be adding this to my Instagram wrap ups for the month of November**

This is my first Alex Finlay book and I really liked it.

5 collages kids from Northern California were suppose to meet up with their parents for dinner during parents weekend, but they never show up….what could have happened to them?

It was fast paced and kept my attention , it definitely hooked me from the beginning. It was hard to keep track of all the characters since there was a bunch of different character lines which can be confusing for some!
I liked how everything came together in the end.



Thank you NetGalley and St.Martins Press for the ARC review!

I am such a big fan of Alex Finlay and all of his works! I was so glad to see the return of Sarah Keller and her husband Bob. Parents Weekend was a hell of a ride that I devoured in one weekend.