After loving Finlay’s last release, If Something Happens to Me, combined with an intriguing book description, I had high expectations for this Parents Weekend.

Following four different families of missing college students and the FBI agent in charge of their case, Parents Weekend has the makings of a great thriller. It starts off strong but unfortunately I felt like it was too predictable. Maybe it was too many POV’s that cluttered the plot-line? Or it was missing a shocking twist that I’ve come to love with thrillers?

It’s an engaging and bingeable read, but don’t expect to be wowed.

🎧 Brittany Pressley is the thriller QUEEN. I probably would’ve enjoyed this less if she hadn’t narrated it.

Man oh man this was such a fast paced thriller!!!! I gotta say I always love a multi pov book and this one didn’t disappoint. I also loved having the fbi agent on the case get a pov too. She was such a great addition to the book and loved her personality. If you like bingeable thriller this is for you! Finished it in like a day so that tells you something. Missing college students and the whole time I’m wondering what the heck could have happened to them! It definitely had me racing to the end to find out what happens. Had some emotional moments but the author did a great job making realistic parents and kids in the novel. So thanks to NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this book early! Also gotta dive further into Alex’s past books to binge those!

What can put a big smile on my face while I wash grimy windows and scrub soap scum off the shower? Listening to Brittany Pressley read me the latest Alex Finlay release.

I am a bit more enthusiastic about this one than many, but I just had the best day while listening to this book. Here are five reasons why:

📚This is Finlay's fifth title to be published and might be my favorite since I was totally stymied by Every Last Fear.

👮‍♀️Sarah Keller is back! It was a delight to see our favorite FBI agent back in action. She makes a transfer out to San Francisco with Bob and the twins just in time for the parent's weekend action.

🎣The Prologue had me hooked and I was listening every minute I could today.

📝I loved the way Finlay told the story with the family names at the beginning of their chapters. Even in audio format, the plot was easy to follow and engaging.

📨Alex Finlay ends the book with a charming and enlightening Reader's Note. For me, the last star was added right there.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Not my favorite of Finlay's. The premise and beginning hooked me. The story moved quickly and held me. But then the ending was just kind of, blah - predictable. I kept waiting for a surprise twist.

Brittany Pressley is a delight of a narrator!

This was fun. But I was quite underwhelmed in the thriller aspect. I wasn’t that worried about things. Didn’t feel on the edge of my seat at all

3.75 ⭐️. Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay has an intriguing premise that immediately grabbed my attention—five college students vanish during what should be a celebratory weekend with their families. The setup is eerie and filled with potential, especially as the story dives into the mystery of what really happened that night.

I really liked the layered storytelling through multiple POVs and timelines and the mix of family secrets, suspense, and college dynamics made for an interesting read.

That said, the pacing felt slow at times, and it took a while for things to really pick up. While I was definitely invested in the story, I found myself wishing for a little more urgency and momentum. Still, the twists and character dynamics kept me reading, and the ending paid off.

Overall, a solid mystery with a unique setup, but a bit more drag than thrill in parts. If you're a fan of slow-burn suspense with a focus on family drama, this might be your kind of read.

“The Five” disappear all around the same time on Parents Weekend. Their parents are waiting for them at the kickoff dinner. When one doesn’t show, then two then all five, it quickly becomes an FBI matter. Search parties are not the only thing forming. Drama, questions and the past also come to the surface.

It’s interesting how much the parents seem to have hidden! Just when I thought I had everything figured out, more backstories kept coming to light. Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Macmillan Audio for this ARC.

#ParentsWeekend #NetGalley

Five families gather for dinner and cocktails during parent's weekend at their children's private college. They are making small talk while noticing that not even one of their children has shown up as planned to join them. The parent's get it; they were once students. Things come up, things get in the way, but for all five of them to be no shows????? hmm It will take a few hours but eventually the parents will begin to worry, then panic, and finally call the police. Agent Keller is called in to investigate....


First off, there are a lot of characters in this book! A lot. The characters range from the parents to the missing students, to the other characters who are interviewed or doing the interviewing. There are also multiple POV's Whew! I soon found my footing and was pulled into the mystery.

While I did find this book to be fast paced and entertaining, it missed the mark a bit for me. I have loved the previous books that I have read by this author. I had high hopes for this book and while Parents Weekend was enjoyable it was lacking a little bit of OOMPH that would have earned a higher rating.

I had both the book and the audiobook. The narrator of the audiobook did a great job brining the characters to life. Others are enjoying this book more than I did, so please read their reviews as well.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I listened to an ALC of this one on NetGalley and I want to start this review by saying I loved the narrator. I always love her work but for all the different POVs in this book, I think she did a great job keeping everything exciting throughout the story.

However, it was the many POVs that I didn’t love from a storytelling perspective. I found that there were too many different things happening at once to keep it all straight. 5 missing college students, parents of each student, random other POVs, it was too much in my opinion.

I can appreciate that this is the author’s style. Creating suspense and building the story with so many different people’s accounts of the events all converging to a single conclusion. I think for an audiobook, it would have been better to have more narrators and from a storytelling perspective it would have been better to have fewer POVs.

All in all, I’d definitely read more from this author and I already knew I loved this narrator so I will be listening to more of her work.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I like that he had the idea for this book from going to a parent's weekend at his child's school. It seemed like he knew what he was talking about. I was confused at the beginning because there are just so many characters that are being introduced. I was listening to it and I couldn't keep them all straight. It did become less confusing as the story went on. I would say it was an okay thriller. It wasn't a surprising twist, but it was a good story overall.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the advanced audio copy of Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay.

This worked really well for me. There was a great amount of drama, who can you trust, what is going on, all of the stuff I like. The multi-pov also worked for me. While it took a minute to get an understanding of each family and their "intricacies" I was easily able to follow the storyline. I loved the interconnectedness and the messy each character brought to the table. I love Special Agent Keller and found her endearing throughout.

I am so glad to have done this as an audibook because Brittany Pressley is so talented. Loved her narration.

4/5 for me!

This was a solid read. I especially enjoyed the author working in modern day references, like slang and TikTok in a way that made sense...looking at you Say You'll Remember me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

3.5 ⭐️
I love Alex Finlay, but this was not his best work, in my opinion.
The story begins with students and parents preparing for parents weekend at a private university in California. When 5 of the students never make it to dinner, worry starts to set in, and the hunt for the missing young adults begins.
I was excited to read this. The premise, location, and mystery seemed awesome, however, there were far too many characters. Finlay could have cut them in half, and it would have been more manageable to read. I didn’t care about the characters because I didn’t get to know them.
Thank you netgalley for this arc! I enjoyed this read.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for my gifted ALC! And thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted ARC!

Alex Finlay is an easy auto read author for me. He never misses. Every one of his books is a page turner. Filled with well developed characters and brilliantly crafted twists and turns. Parents Weekend was no exception. This is the type of book you can easily fit in two sittings, because it’s just that good. I loved seeing Agent Keller again, because she is such a badass. I hope we get to encounter her in another novel in the future. 😍

Parents Weekend was a suspenseful mystery. Parents are at their children’s colleges for parents weekend. When a group of students do not show up panic ensues.

3.5⭐️
Different POV’s a bit confusing and a little hard to follow for the first half of the book. Wish the narrator did slightly Different voices to help differentiate that being said she was still nice to listen too.
The overall concept was really interesting and the ending was excellent. The way all the clues came together, I wasn’t not expecting the outcome. I also like how we got to see what happens with each family.

Wow, I flew through this book! With its academic setting, short chapters, and compelling mystery, "Parents Weekend" was an unputdownable popcorn thriller. I enjoyed Finlay's last book, but I think I liked this one more. It was a quick read, and I finished it in just a few sittings. My only real complaint is the number of characters. There were a lot of families involved, and it was hard to keep track of who was who. With so many characters, I didn't really feel a strong connection to any of them, but I did enjoy all of the family drama. I also really liked the FBI agent, Keller, and the campus security officer, McCray, who were working together to find the missing college students. Their investigation was intriguing, and while there wasn't a huge plot twist, the story still held my attention the entire time. Overall, a bingeworthy story that I couldn't put down.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Brittany Pressley. I've listened to so many of her audiobooks, and I thought this was one of her best performances. She really nailed the emotions, accents, and voices of the many characters of all different ages, genders, and backgrounds. She did a great job building suspense and keeping me engaged in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This was good, but not great. I feel like Alex Finlay is usually middle of the road for me, and unfortunately this was no exception. I liked Keller's character, but I didn't love the predictability and I definitely wasn't a fan of the jokes about police manipulating perps. Overall, this was just okay.

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pub Date: 5/6
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I will read absolutely anything Alex Finlay writes. I just love his work, and I feel like every book has such a different and great premise while maintaining that thriller / mystery vibe.
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Parent's Weekend hooked my right from the prologue. I had to figure out what was going on. It was steady to fast paced and kept me on my toes the entire time. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, Finlay comes with a curveball and throws you on a different path. The ending has a lot of different pieces to it, and I love not only that he did this, but how it was explained; it made the book wrap up perfectly.
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This story is told in multiple POV's. It starts out by family and then at times it will go to individuals. It definitely will help to have a physical copy of the book in order to get down every character. And speaking of characters, I really liked all of the characters, even the morally gray, questionably bad ones.
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I listened to this one via audiobook and it was narrated by the Queen - Brittany Pressley. As per usual - she did a phenomenal job with the narration and giving certain characters certain voices. I was so happy to have a copy of the eARC while listening to this story because there are a ton of characters in this one and having both really helped me differentiate who was who.
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Overall, really enjoyed this one, cannot wait for the next one! Mystery/thriller fans, you need to check this one out! It's fun, it will keep you on the edge of your seat and you will constantly be wondering just what happened until the very end! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Alex Finlay, MacMillan Audio and St. Martins Press for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review.