So, I like the author and did enjoy this one. I would only caution that the writing style is a bit different than I'd experienced in their other books and it took me a bit. I'm not sure that I ever really liked the *way* this one was written, but still enjoyed the story itself.

I was very, very curious about what had happened to our students.

The reason behind everything is very prosaic, but very sad.

I ended the book feeling that I liked it without loving it, but didn't regret the read.

Parents Weekend is another amazing novel by Alex Finlay. Five families gather together for parents weekend at a private college in California. As dinner comes and goes, the students still don't appear. But they're just college kids right? They'll have to turn up eventually. Except they don't. As the parents hunt for their kids, a few dark secrets of their own come out. Are the parents secrets what got their kids in trouble? Or is it something of their own doing.

These novels feature Special Agent Sarah Keller from some of Alex Finlay's previous novels. I read this in about a day. It was a really great thriller that kept me entertained. If you're a fan of Alex Finlay's other novels, you should definitely check this one out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ERC of this book.

The first three quarters of this book had my full attention. A good thriller, albeit with a lot of moving parts which can be a little confusing. The problem for me was the lead up was good, but the ending felt rushed and disappointing.
Rounding up to 3.5 Stars

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.

Alex Finlay hooked me with If Something Happens to Me so I was wildly excited for this one! The book begins with chapters introducing each family, who all have their own set of problems.... Infidelity, celebrity, secrets, and felonies. There are so many characters that it was a bit overwhelming and hard to keep everyone straight at first. Given the large cast of characters and the short length of the book, you have very little buildup for the characters, and you just jump right into the story. I will say that this was a pretty predictable thriller -- there was no huge plot twist, and you pretty much know what happened and why, but I was still engaged from the very first page. This booked was paced so well with its short, gripping chapters.

Overall, I think that if you're a thriller or Alex Finlay lover, you'll enjoy this one too!

Parents Weekend follows the disappearance of five college students when they do not show up to meet their respective families for a group dinner. Each family seems to have a secret to hide- is someone from their past responsible for the disappearance of their children, or is there more to the story?

Parents Weekend is a solid thriller. It was far more of a crime drama that I anticipated, which isn’t necessarily my favorite thing, and I did feel that the story dragged quite a bit in the middle. However, I’m glad that I finished it because the author really did bring it together with a solid ending. In addition, I found many of the lead characters to be likable and enjoyed a few surprise twists along the way.

3.5 stars rounded to 4- Especially recommended those who like an FBI themed mystery.

3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars

5 families gather on a college campus for a Parents Weekend dinner. But their students don’t show, and no one can reach them. At first, everyone thinks the students might have skipped the parents’ dinner to party, even though it seems out of character for some of them. But the families, who are all harboring their own secrets, and local law enforcement quickly realize that there is more to this story. The campus calls in Special Agent Sarah Keller to investigate… especially since another student was found dead last week. Are the incidents related? Were the students taken because of the sins of their families?


This was my first book by Alex Finley, but apparently Special Agent Sarah Keller is in some of his previous books. I really enjoyed Finley’s writing style and was immediately sucked into this story. I liked the multiple POVS and the short chapters. It felt like watching an episode of Criminal Minds which I loved!


****SPOILERS AHEAD*****
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
This was a solid 4 star read for me, but I deducted .5 stars because I wanted more of Felix at the end. I felt like we missed a lot with how he escaped the cave, his & Natasha's father's interactions at the end, etc.

I loved this book and devoured it in two days! I loved the Agent Keller. The story was well written and the plot was intricate. I figured out the killer towards the very end of the book, but it wasn't a 'gimme'. Well done!

I do normally love a Finlay thriller, but this one missed the mark. There were way too many characters, and I had a hard time keeping straight who was related to who. I also felt the twist wasn’t that surprising, as I could guess it pretty quickly once we heard about Natasha’s death and the disappearance. I was glad to see Keller back, and would definitely read more books about her.

This was a bit of a trip. A group of missing students. Parents descending on their college campus when they all go missing. And each parental unit has a secret or something they want to hide. It's a typical formula for thrilling reading. What keeps me reading though is the way Alex Finlay weaves the storylines of each character, building their personalities and the plot. While the formula is typical, this book kept me in the dark until the end.

It wasn't gruesome so it's definitely a book for anyone who enjoys a "who dunnit".

3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed Night Shift so I had high expectations going into this, which may have set me up for failure. The storyline just didn’t hit for me. It could have been a case of right author, wrong time, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what didn’t work for me as the writing was solid, and the characters were compelling. I think I honestly was the problem.

I read this one in a day and yet still only give it three stars - not because of the writing, which continues to be engaging and smooth as in Finlay's earlier novels, but because the plot itself was sort of a jumble of weirdness... I really like the way he tells a story, I just didn't particularly like this story. The ending, including the twists that weren't entirely surprises but still well presented, is where it really lost me. I liked the buildup, although I am increasingly frustrated with large casts of characters and multiple points of view - which seem to be a modern plague on novels, particularly thrillers.

It was a quick read and an engaging one, but definitely not my favorite of his novels. I did really like seeing Agent Keller back though, and hope she and her delightful husband Bob will continue to appear in Finlay's novels - I love their dynamic and enjoy them as characters. They are a nice steady foil for all of the dysfunction of the murders and other horribles involved in the books.

2.5 stars for me, just wasn’t as exciting as i wanted. not a bad book by any means and i wouldn’t convince anyone not to read it, just wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it

FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller is back!!

When Five freshman from Santa Clara University do not show up to the University’s Parent’s weekend dinner, is it a coincidence or is there something more sinister happening?

Blane, Stella, Felix, Libby and Mark had all spoken to their parents earlier that day to finalize plans for dinner, but by dinner time, all five were unreachable and nowhere to be found. Typically, the parents and campus police would not be overly concerned about their students not showing up. They would have figured they were side tracked by a party or friends, but earlier in the week, a student was found dead.

When Sarah Keller asked for a temporary transfer to the Northern California office so that she could be with you husband Bob and the twins to take care of Bob’s ailing father. But in true Special Agent Keller fashion, she is asked to investigate the missing five students.

There is a large cast of characters that we follow through this fast-paced journey. It seems that every family has plenty of secrets. From infidelity to betrayal and tragic losses, which hints at a deeper connection to the disappearances.

I absolutely love Alex Finlay’s fast-paced, action-packed writing style, but this one was a little bit too much of a cozy thriller. I felt that there your so many families, faculty, police officers and FBI agents, that I kept needing to pause to remember who that was. Overall, this one was a 4 star read for me, I did enjoy the book and the unstoppable Agent Keller. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and the author, Alex Finley for sharing this digital reviewers copy with me.

Alex Finlay has done it again. I didn’t figure this one out until a few pages before the reveal. The amount of rabbit holes that lead nowhere was infuriating but in a good way. The several POVs right off the bat was a little bit of a struggle to make sense of until I became more familiar with the characters. I felt like I needed a board with red yarn to connect all of the dots and keep people straight. Overall, this was a good thriller and well done for needing to follow so many characters and backstories. I only wish for more details- I want to know more about the different experiences of the students before it got to this point. If you want to check out this book, it will be released on May 6, 2025!

I enjoyed the one book I've read off Alex Finlay’s books and was excited to get an ARC of his newest book. At a small, prestigious private college, it is parents weekend. Four families are meeting at a dinner for students in a capstone project, but the students never show up for dinner, and a fifth student, also part of the project, is missing as well. What follows is the parents’ search for their missing kids and the journey to finding them.

This book had a lot of twists and turns, and I appreciated the reappearance of FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller from previous books.

Parents Weekend was the perfect fun thriller! I read this in a day and enjoyed every minute of it! I was sucked in from the start and loved seeing how it played out!!

This was such a quick and suspenseful read. I read it in one sitting. Definitely recommend. I love Alex Finlay.

Crazy to say that this was my very first book read by Alex Finlay! I've been meaning to pick one of his books up for quite some time and I decided why not start with his newest upcoming release.

I read this on the beach in the Dominican and it was the a good beachy mystery. There are TONS of characters, we meet 4-5 families and have POV from the parents and teens, so be prepared to be super overwhelmed by characters at the start that is for sure, it takes a while to get them down.

This story revolves around a bunch of missing teens and one who was found dead. It's very heavy on the investigation aspect and discovering peoples secrets from their past.

I enjoyed the first half of the book but unfortunately was pretty darn disappointed on how it played out and how it ended.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay due to be published May 6, 2025.

Five families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend, but their children don’t show – none of them. At first, they’re just thinking they are irresponsible, but then they start to worry. Is it the sins of their mothers and fathers that have them in trouble or themselves?
I had read three books previously by Alex Finlay so I was looking forward to this one – it was as good as the other two! The first part was mostly backstory introducing you to all the families. Then came the “meat” of the book – the who, what, where, when, and mainly why. Lots of twists that kept me interested until the satisfying ending!
#NetGalley #AlexFinlay #StMartinsPress #ParentsWeekend

After discovering Alex Finlay last year and my mom and I both loving his books, I was very excited to receive the arc for his latest thriller. While still short and entertaining, this is definitely not my favorite of his books. The first half felt a bit overwhelming with the amount of characters and POVs — balancing not only the 5 students who go missing but each of their parents’ backstories as well — and a bit underwhelming with the plot progression. The second half, however, massively picked up and felt like a really good episode of Criminal Minds. The final twists weren’t super crazy but still satisfying! I’ll happily pick up Finlay’s future books.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the arc.