Another strong story by Alex Finlay…he never disappoints. Normally when a story has so many POV’s, I struggle to keep up. But Parents Weekend flowed beautifully, with every single piece fitting together.
Everyone comes into parents weekend at college loaded with baggage. But whose baggage leads to the disappearance of the students?

I really enjoyed Finlay's newest book. It was PACKED full of well fleshed-out characters (like, I could picture some of these moms & dads) and though you might not care for some of them, they were plenty interesting. And, wow, were there twists around each & every corner (or family)! But not too many that you can't "keep up". This was a very suspenseful read but there was lots of familial drama as well. Four fabulous stars!

This book has officially moved Alex Finlay to my "auto-buy" list! This thrilling, action packed story sucked me in from the first page and was full of twists and surprises.

At the beginning of Parents Weekend, five students mysteriously vanish just after another student is discovered dead. Stella is a fiery character whose parents are already anxious upon their arrival. Blane is a free-spirited individual with a high-profile mother accompanied by a full security detail. Felix is the kind and sensitive son of a single mother employed at the college. Mark is a jokester who conceals the fact that his father is not a great role model. Libby is a well-behaved girl striving to ease her parents' burden following the tragic death of her brother. All the parents harbor secrets that lead us to question whether they could be connected to their children's disappearance. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Very much enjoyed this thriller from Finlay. Each chapter is told from a different family’s perspective as they search for their missing college student which helps build out the plot. You’d think that all of the different subplots that the adult storylines bring might muddle things, but they all are relevant to the disappearances in some way. Agent Keller, who is apparently a recurring character though I don’t remember her, is an excellent protagonist because she brings the reader along as she is uncovering things rather than leaving us in the dark.

I was pleasantly surprised that while some of the conclusion was predictable, there were a couple of twists to enjoy. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

This was my first Alex Finlay book and it will not be my last! I absolutely loved how the book took on perspectives from each of the families and really took the reader through a journey of learning about each students background and upbringing. This book had twists and turns at every corner and just when you think you have the ending figured out -SURPRISE! You don't. Which to me makes a great thriller. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and loved the characters, plot, and conclusion. Great read!! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

This one sucked me in and held me close. I am happy to say that I did not see the twists coming, and I enjoyed the story throughout.
I do think that with so many characters and points of view it can be confusing at times. I especially had trouble keeping Stella and Libby separate in my mind. Overall, though, I liked the different perspectives given.
There were multiple storylines tied together. Each student and family had baggage and issues needing to be dealt with in order to find out what happened to The Five.
Special Agent Keller and her storyline was my favorite overall. No spoilers, but I'm disappointed with how things turned out for one student towards the end :(
Thanks to Net Galley for the book to review.

I have read every one of this authors books and I thoroughly enjoy the plot twists, multiple points of view and character building. This was one of my favorites by him. Fast paced and left you wanting more of those characters and sympathizing with the under dog.

Alex Finlay is the master of unpredictable thrillers and Parents Weekend doesn’t disappoint. In his most captivating and memorable book to date, five students suddenly disappear at the start of Parents Weekend, right after another student is found dead.

Stella is the spitfire whose parents are already on edge when they arrive. Blane is the free spirit whose high profile mom travels with a full security team Felix is the sweet and sensitive son of a single mom who works at the college. Mark is a jokester who tries to hide the fact that his father isn’t the best role model. Libby is a good girl who wants to make her parents’ lives easier after the tragic loss of her brother.
And all of the parents have secrets that make us wonder if they might be the reason that their children can’t be found….

Thank you to NetGalley for keeping me up all night with Alex Finlay’s Parents Weekend.

If you’re looking for something fast paced and action packed, I highly recommend this. I could not put it down. There are so many moving parts, but in a good way. It kept my attention and I just had to keep reading.

I loved Annie, the intern and I was grateful she was included in the ending. Ugh, and Bob. Everyone deserves a Bob in their life.

I was nervous about keeping up with all of the characters and their story lines. But, overall I feel like I got used to it and it became easier as I got further into the book. I just felt like the ending let me down a little bit. I was expecting something a little bit more complex and the ending was slightly predictable in my opinion. An aspect of the ending that I really appreciated is that we got to see a glimpse of the characters lives after all the tragedy they endured.

The characters and their families are detailed in descriptive chapters, interwoven in interesting and surprising ways. The twists kept coming and I was so invested in the characters that I was concerned for them!! Great book!

2.25

Setting: California
Rep: BIPOC side character(s)

This was super fucking basic. Annoyingly so. Not a twist to be found, and although it was a quick read that I pretty much finished in one sitting, I struggled to care about anyone in it. This felt like a really amateur debut.

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!