Agent Keller deserves better...

FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller - introduced in „Every Last Fear“ and on top of her game in „The Night Shift“ - returns and is the only bright light in this subpar thriller.

Sarah, adorable family in tow, has just transferred to California for personal reasons when, during Parents‘ Weekend at an elite university nearby, four sets of parents wait in vain for their children - all residents of the same dorm - to show up to dinner. The university is still dealing with the fallout from another student‘s death earlier that week, so tensions are high - and with two of the missing children having high-profile parents, no time is wasted by local law enforcement. As Agent Keller joins the search, it quickly becomes obvious that a fifth student has disappeared as well. But even though there are plenty of leads, courtesy mostly of the parents‘ questionable life choices, none seem to pan out, and time is running out.

Having read and enjoyed the previous installments featuring Sarah Keller, I was excited to see that the author‘s latest book features her again. However, Sarah - smart and capable as always, with a refreshingly stable family life that’s rarely found in these types of books - was just about the only good thing about „Parents‘ Weekend“.

With five sets of soon-to-be missing students AND their parents, a myriad of characters is introduced in the first few chapters, and it gets worse when you add Sarah and her family, the recently deceased student and *her* family, as well as roommates and random acquaintances with private planes into the mix. Because of the large cast of characters and the book‘s relatively short length, you never really get to know any of them properly, and none of them are developed past tired clichés of college kids (the good girl, the loner, the jokster, the party girl, the rebel…) and their stereotypical, often self-absorbed and mostly morally corrupt parents. In short, it‘s really hard to care about any of them.

While the pacing is fast (the chapters, told from different points of view, are short), the mystery is entirely predictable and the conclusion unsatisfying.

Coming on the heels of the author‘s standalone last book, which I found to be an enjoyable summer read, „Parents’ Weekend“ sadly feels more like a hurriedly thrown together afterthought. Here’s to hoping Sarah’s next adventure will pack more of a punch again.

<i>Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

„Parents’ Weekend“ is slated to be released on May 6, 2025.</i>

What a ride! Alex Finlay delivers yet another sure-fire blockbuster with <u>Parent's Weekend.</u>

Five college students have gone missing during the SCU Parent's Weekend. At first everyone suspects that the co-eds have concocted an elaborate hoax, but as the days pass and ominous clues and video footage come to light, you can't help but conclude that these five students have indeed met with foul play.

To say more would lead to possible spoilers, but I have to say that this gripping story had as many harrowing twists and turns as any monster roller coaster ride I've ever been on in my misbegotten youth! I rarely wanted to put this book down.

Alex Finlay never disappoints: his thrillers are well researched and his characters are fully fleshed out. Motives abound, the clock is ticking, and our favourite go-to FBI agent, Sarah Keller, is back on the case. I love watching her brain whirl while she deciphers clues that have by-passed all the other investigators. Frustratingly, the local police keep trying to push Sarah Keller to the sidelines, obstructing her every step of the way.

Will Keller manage to find the trail to the missing students.... before it it too late? Tick Tock Tick Tock!

That ending was a jaw-dropper. Not because we couldn't guess the culprits behind the kids' disappearance, but because we ultimately got it ALL WRONG!!!

I'm rating this engrossing, fast-paced and very well-written thriller a solid 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Well done!
(Expected publication date is May 6, 2025.)

Another wonderful book by this author. It drew me in immediately with the suspense and I found myself connecting to all the characters. Hoping for the best that the “five “would make it home safe safely, but I thought the ending was powerful and a good way to wrap it up. Always enjoy and highly recommend his novels.

Thank you Minotaur books for the ARC! 💞

If Something Happens to Me was a miss for me but I really loved this one and had a hard time putting it down! I enjoyed the characters, and the way chapters were split up by family. Plot was great and different and loved the twist at the end!

So good! I was instantly engaged by the plot. The ending was something I didn't even think of! Very very good!

Parents Weekend revolves around 5 families, the parents of which are coming to an elite private college to visits their kids for parents weekend. The weekend kicks off with a dinner for the parents and students. However, the students of Campisi Hall never show up to the restaurant. It isn't until much later that alarms go off, as the parents simply think their kids skipped dinner for a wild party. The police become involved the next day, but there are little clues as to where the students went.

To make matters more interesting, a missing student (not part of the above 5) was recently found - but unfortunately had a fatal ending. Are the 5 students connected to this missing student? The story switches between the past and present, as we learn more about the secrets that the students are hiding. But it is not only the students who are hiding secrets. Their parents also have some pretty dark secrets....

You can never really go wrong with an Alex Finlay thriller. This one did not disappoint! I really liked the plot - it was super unique and well thought out. The details built on each other to lead to a pretty wild ending. I liked that the chapters gave us insights into all the students and parents POV. I also really enjoyed the chapters involving the FBI agent - she was a great character! (if you've read Every Last Fear, it's Agent Sarah Keller back for another appearance)

I enjoyed Every Last Fear more than Parents Weekend, but this was still an enjoyable read. It could have used some more shocking twists to amp up the suspense level.

Thank you St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really good read! I first came across Finlay with his book If Something Happens to Me which gripped me immediately - this book was also a solid follow up thriller, with decent twists and turns.

I enjoy his easy writing style and differential narration which makes keeping a diverse cast of characters trackable and separate.
I wasn’t expecting the ending, even though it was my first guess originally, and all the different storylines with the parents felt like side quests alongside the main plot. It made for good guessing!

Overall, a quick and enjoyable thriller that still made me go “oh!” when the twist was revealed.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: May 06, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

Craving the best thriller of your life besties?!?! Per usual with Alex Finlay’s books, we are pulled into this book with lots of page turn after page turn of fast paced action or some kind of twist and turn. I sat at the edge of my seat holding on for dear life tying to connect dots here friends! This will have you questioning and putting clues together to find out where everybody went and what happened. Point those fingers y’all. The story flowed through and together flawlessly, I loved all of our characters and what each of them brought to the storyline and the table. This book was fantastic up until that very last page. Easy 5 for me. It had me thinking about it long after I finished it. I cannot wait to see what is up next for Alex and this is absolutely a book to put on that TBR for its May 06!

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as St. Martins Press ; Minotaur Books

Another great book by Alex Finlay. I loved how there was a twist or lead every few chapters - definitely didn’t allow time for boredom. There are a lot of different characters, and even though each chapter was labeled with the character’s name so the reader would know whose perspective was given, it was still hard to keep up with who was who - I appreciated that within the first paragraph or two of the chapter, there were details that reminded me this chapter is the judge, the surgeon, the secretary, etc. I did hate that one of the characters died, as I found it unnecessary. The ending also seemed rushed, but overall I enjoyed the story.

Kept me guessing, and I liked the multiple perspectives of each family. I didn’t love the twist of the perps but it made sense.

3.5 Sarah Keller and Alex Finlay, why yes stars

Alex Finlay is an author I automatically want to read, especially when the book features FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller.

This one centers around that oh-so-important weekend for freshmen and their parents, called Parents Weekend. Parents can see how their young adult children are settling into college, and students can show off their university, maybe taking in a football game.

However, it isn't the weekend any parents expect when the students don’t show up for the kickoff dinner (all five of them from Campisi Hall!). Is their disappearance connected to the recent tragic death of another student?

Did the students end up at a fraternity party? Or is something else going on? As the campus police and FBI get involved, we learn much more about what is happening at this small college in California.

As the book and investigation continue, we learn about the five students—Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—and their parents. Are the parents somehow responsible? There is an interesting mix of theories and possibilities! It took a while to set it all up, but I enjoyed figuring out the mystery this time. Different points of view added to the complexity of the story.

I rooted for Agent Keller to figure it all out and save the kids while staying safe herself.

I find Alex Finley books immensely engaging and enjoyable for the duration of the read, but absolutely forgettable upon conclusion.

Because of this, I did not recognize the dogged and beleaguered FBI agent Keller as a returning character from Every Last Fear. This is a bit of a shame because she's such an enjoyable and well-drawn character, but also good news for me because I get to return to the earlier book and enjoy her all over again.

Parents Weekend will keep you turning the pages. There are a lot of red herrings which makes the ultimate reveal at the end slightly anticlimactic, but who cares? You'll read it, you'll like it, and you'll be back for more.

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

I absolutely could not put this book down and finished in 24 hours. I loved the multiple POVs. It doesn’t take away from the story or confuse you either. The twist at the end was not as exciting as it could have been, but still overall great.

A college student dies an accidental death while parents are visiting during parent’s weekend. In a seemingly separate incidence, five students are missing without explanation. Are they playing a prank, guilty of foul play, or in some kind of danger? As is common in this genre, the hero saves the day in a thrill packed ending. A nice finish, but not enough to save the story for this reader.

This book was okay as far as it goes, but there were a couple of issues. I was puzzled by two separate sets of parents experiencing similar episodes of cheating followed by the violent deaths of their respective ex-lovers. Why repeat the same storyline with only slightly different shades of grey? Or how about the suicide attempt on the Golden Gate Bridge wherein the threatening jumper, while on top of the bridge, tosses a belonging onto the nearby grass. Hunh??

I have liked other books by this author, but was disappointed in this one.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book, like I do all of Alex Finlay's books. The characters are well written and I love Special Agent Sarah Keller and her husband - so glad she was back in the one. The multiple viewpoints keep the book moving along and the mystery is exciting but not gratuitous. Highly recommend!

First and foremost I have to say thank you to Alex Finlay, NetGalley and Macmillian Publishing for this awesome book. Alex Finlay books are all must reads for me. I’m working my way through them. Parents Weekend was in my top 2 books read. I totally felt each and every characters pain and fear through this book. At first I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep all of the characters straight but Mr. Finlay did a great job of character development. I can’t wait to see what he has coming next.

It’s Parent’s Weekend at a small private college in Northern California, and five families gather for dinner to celebrate their children’s first year. What begins as a festive gathering quickly turns into a tense mystery when their children do not show up at all; every parent’s worst nightmare. Not to mention - a student had just been found dead and the police have no suspects. Search parties are formed and Special Agent Sarah Keller is put on the case. Family secrets unfold throughout the story and some questionable people are revealed. What happened to the kids and will they return home safely?

I really enjoyed this thriller. The plot had me guessing and wanting to read more in order to figure out what happened to the students. Agent Keller was such a great character. I really enjoyed how she tackled the case. I also did not expect the twist in this story and I really enjoyed that. Although they were crucial, the only thing I did not enjoy so much was having too many POVs. There are POVs from the parent and kids. Overall, I really enjoyed this read. It would be a great thriller for young adults as well.

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

The best thing about this book for me was the short chapters and multiple perspectives. I love both of those things in a thriller but I do feel like this read more on the YA side of a thriller.

I wanted more depth, more explanation and more character development.

But I will say if you have a teenager who wants to read a thriller or you are just starting out on your thriller journey then this would be a wonderful read for you.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advance copy for an honest review.

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.

At first, everyone thinks that they’re just being college students, irresponsibly forgetting about the gathering or skipping out to go to a party. But as the hours click by and another night falls with not so much as a text from the students, panic ensues. Soon, the campus police call in reinforcements. Search parties are formed. Reporters swarm the small enclave. Rumors swirl and questions arise.

Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—The Five, as the podcasters, bloggers, and TikTok sleuths call them—come from five very different families. What led them out on that fateful night? Could it be the sins of their mothers and fathers come to cause them peril or a threat to the friend group from within?

I was glad that FBI Agent Sarah Feller was back in this one.
There were way too many characters but I was able to keep track of all of them. I didn't have a strong connection to the characters so I didn't really care what happened to them. So I really wasn't on the edge of my seat are feel the suspense.

I loved the first half but I thought that the second half was too slow. This one is every parent's nightmare. Five families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for parents weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids, five residents of Campisi Hall never show up at dinner. What happened to them?

The story was told through multiple points of view in past and present. I was on the edge of my seat at the end there was lots of action which I loved. I loved the short chapters. This was not a predictable read for me. I was not able to solve the mystery. I did enjoy the the conclusion. There were some twist and turns too.

This was a buddy read with Jayme and DeAnn! Check out their reviews.

I want to thank Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, for the copy of this book an exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I love all of Finlay's novels and this one was no exception. I especially enjoy the concise chapters that are easy to follow. I blazed though this book and thoroughly enjoyed it!