A small private college is hosting parents weekend. A group of five friends have their families visit together and when the kids don’t show up for the dinner they had planned, they start to worry. What is really going on with The Five ? Could their dysfunctional families have something to do with their disappearances ?

Engaging, fast paced, thriller ! Was excited to read more from this author as I loved “If Something Happens to Me.”

I will say with the audio it was hard to follow along in the beginning with all of the different characters. It came together at the end though with some helpful notes !

Lots of twisted connections and red herrings, enjoyed the detective perspective.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 5/6/25.

3.5⭐️

If there’s one thing I can count on when it comes to Alex Finlay’s audiobooks, it’s the fact that I can devour them in one day! Parents’ Weekend is packed full with characters. It was a bit overwhelming at first and I worried I wasn’t going to be able to keep track. There are 5 main character students, 1-2 parents for each, and agent Sarah Keller. The reader is shown each POV as the mystery comes together. I enjoyed it but found it difficult to connect with all the characters since there were so many. Sarah Keller was hands down my favorite!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date May 06 2025

Proud parents gather for a weekend to celebrate their children’s first year on campus at a small private North Carolina college. But when a group of five students fail to show up for the dinner, following the suspicious drowning death of their classmate, all of their parents begin to panic. As a search ensues to find the five— Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella— each of the parents’ past activities will be called into question.

Whelp. This book is not for me, and has left me utterly confused as to my feelings on this author’s books. My favorite part of this story revolved around FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, I have not read either of the previous books that featured her, so most likely I will try one more time with Every Last Fear.

Here is where I struggle with his books— they feature way too many characters. While some thrillers have large casts of characters, Locust Lane, for example, they usually introduce them, and then slowly build up each character throughout the length of the book. In Finlay’s books, we are introduced to numerous characters, with little space in between, and then they sort of…fall flat. They all feel very two-dimensional. When this happens, I find myself unable to connect to any of them on any kind of emotional level, and therefore struggle to connect with the story. This was particularly so with the college students who felt very surface-level in their development. The only character who had true depth was Sarah.

I also find Finlay’s books to start strong and then just go completely over the top, plot-wise. I felt similarly with What Have You Done. Characters who feel at a distance and a plot line that feels unreasonable lead to a not-great reading experience. Unfortunately, the audiobook, narrated by the fabulous Brittany Pressley, only served to enhance the elements I already struggled with, and even when I eventually paired it with the physical book, I still felt a) confused and 2) completely disengaged.

Read if you like:
▪️dark academia
▪️domestic suspense
▪️family melodrama
▪️teens behaving badly
▪️ensemble casts
▪️plot-heavy stories

📆 Pubs: May 6, 2025

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy.

3.5 stars rating for me!
Agent Keller, an FBI agent is brought in to help on the case of 5 missing college students.
Their parents, all from different backgrounds, desperately want to find their children.
I won't say that there wasn't a little tragedy, because there certainly was some.
Lots of mystery and peril are involved in this book.
Characters were semi-developed. I did have trouble connecting with some of them.
I did have a little trouble with the multiple POV's on different timelines - I found it a bit frustrating at times. It also made it a little difficult to decipher which young adult belonged to which family.
I do think that maybe a YA audience could connect to the story a little better than I did. I typically don't mind YA books, but this wasn't my cup of tea.
Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this ARC!

I enjoyed this book overall but had a hard time keeping all of the characters in line. It switched frequently with the short chapters and it was quite a lot of characters to keep track of. I do love short chapters though so that was a positive but it made it hard to fully develop so many characters. I loved agent Keller and I’ve heard of the other books that she has been in and I’m interested in picking those up!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC/ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Imagine being a parent of a college aged student and attending the college's parents' weekend only for your child to not show up to the event. Multiply that times five families and you have Parents Weekend. This book starts off with the disappearance of an older student right at the start of parent's weekend and from there, it is a crazy ride. Told from multiple perspectives, this book has great character development. Brittany Presley was a fantastic narrator and she kept me invested in these lives from start to finish. I really enjoyed this audiobook! Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy!

It’s Parents Weekend at college, but all 5 of the students missed the group dinner. Because some of the parents are high-profile, the FBI is called in to help find the kids.

High paced thriller with multiple POV between the parents, kids, and FBI agent. There are A TON of characters — sometimes it was a bit hard to keep up with which parent belonged to which kid and who was who, but overall the author did a great job of developing the characters uniqueness.

There’s no shortage of action at really any point of the story line, which made this a perfect quick read - would be great for beach trips coming up!

I also loved the narrator, Brittany Pressley and how she manages to separate characters by using different voices, accents, etc.

Parents Weekend is a twisty, emotionally charged thriller that draws readers—and listeners—into a night of celebration turned mystery at a private college in Northern California. Alex Finlay does what he does best: weaving suspense with layered characters and family drama, all while keeping the plot moving at a brisk pace.

The story centers on five college freshmen—dubbed "The Five"—who vanish on the evening of Parents Weekend, leaving behind a group of increasingly panicked families. What starts as a missed dinner spirals into a media frenzy, complete with podcasters, internet sleuths, and dark suspicions. Told in multiple perspectives, including flashbacks and present-day events, Finlay explores not only the mystery of the disappearance, but the complex dynamics within and between the students’ families. The book also marks the return of FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller, a fan-favorite from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift, adding a familiar thread for long-time readers of Finlay’s work.

But what truly elevates this audiobook experience is Brittany Pressley’s brilliant narration. She brings her signature gift of distinguishing characters through nuanced vocal shifts, making each perspective feel distinct and alive. Whether voicing a panicked parent or a guarded FBI agent, she infuses the characters with emotion and clarity. She's long been one of my favorite narrators, and this performance just reaffirms why. Her talent adds a deeper layer of engagement and keeps the tension palpable even in quieter, more reflective moments.

If there’s any critique, it’s that the book occasionally tries to juggle too many threads, and not all emotional beats land as strongly as the mystery elements. Some character arcs feel more fleshed out than others, and a few twists, while satisfying, may stretch believability just a bit.

Still, Parents Weekend delivers a compelling mystery with strong emotional undercurrents and a keen sense of pace. For fans of character-driven thrillers with a college-campus setting—and especially for audiobook lovers—this one’s well worth the listen.

Final Verdict: A gripping listen made even better by Pressley’s outstanding narration. A solid 3.75 stars.

Large cast of characters. Fast paced. Addictive read!!

Its parents weekend and it starts with 5 students disappearing. You also have a few high profile parents and a death that happened the week before!! An intriguing storyline that hooked me right away.

I was pretty surprised when this was one was done because it was super quick and short. I listened to the audiobook and I did like the narration very much. I felt like there could have been a lot more fleshed out int his one and it wasn’t my favorite of his (although I was pleased to see agent Keller again). Parents weekend has come and before it can even get started a student who was missing is found dead. If that wasn’t bad enough 5 other students go missing the night of the big parents weekend dinner. One of those students has a mother with connections to Washington so a search is started almost immediately. Agent Keller has just moved on a temporary assignment so her husband can care for his aging father and she is quickly called out to the case. This one did move quickly, but I wanted more from the characters. I didn’t like any of them very much, but I did feel there was potential with them. Overall I gave this one 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars because it was a quick read.

A gripping, character-rich suspense novel — Parents Weekend keeps you on edge from start to finish.

With a large ensemble cast, including both students and parents, the story weaves together multiple perspectives, creating a layered and dynamic narrative. The audiobook version was especially helpful in keeping track of the many characters, thanks to the excellent narration and distinct voice work — each character truly came to life.

One standout for me was Keller — a compelling and well-drawn character with clear potential for further development. I’d love to see them return in future installments or even a spin-off.

Overall, Parents Weekend is a suspenseful, well-paced read with a strong cast and an engaging plot. Highly recommended, especially in audio format.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC. This is my honest review.

At first I said nah I have no complaints, then I stopped and considered it further and realized I did have a few. So - here we go!

Parents Weekend has a fun thriller premise - five college students are set to meet up with their parents and none of the kids show. Given the families involved, it seems it could be something nefarious and the FBI is called in to lead the search.

Now! That is fun. And if you don’t overthink it, the book remains fun (I am sticking with my solid, I had fun, three-star rating).

However - there was a lottttt going on. SO many side plots, SO many characters, SO many cheating parents (mild spoiler sry), SO many (five!!) POVs. It was a bit hard to keep straight on audio, but perhaps it would be easier when reading a physical or digital copy?

Again, I had a fun time, it was a quick listen, it kept me engaged, and I wanted to know what happened. A solid three stars from me! Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Net Galley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Suspenseful detective mystery!

It's parents' weekend at Santa Clara University but the weekend quickly falls off the itinerary when 5 of the students can't be found. Can Special Agent Keller stay one step ahead of the case and find the students before it's too late?

I listened to the audiobook and it was great. I do wish it had been multiple narrators but that's hard to do when the book is in 3rd person narration. Regardless, the narrator did a great job distinguishing characters. There were many different characters to keep track of and her narration made it easy to follow along.

For a detective mystery, this book was fast-paced and gripping. I listened to it in 1 day as the story had my full attention and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. The writing style was one of my favorites. I enjoyed how well the writing flowed and it was not overly detailed.

Thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan audio, and Alex Finlay for the ALC and chance to give my honest opinion!

A very crazy parents weekend is ahead in this book. Multiple points of view and a lot of secrets. I enjoyed the setting and the concept behind the book. Didn’t love the characters. It’s sort of a thrill but by the end it really isn’t. Decent narration. An easy listen.

This is a relatively short thriller. There are a lot of characters because there are several kidnapped children and when looking for motive there was a lot about the parents. It was interesting and suspenseful and it was fun to see someone investigating who I knew from an earlier book.
Usually when I'm finishing a thriller it's a satisfying feeling, but there was mainly sadness at the end of this, for a lot of reasons. Thanks to NetGalley I got to listen to the audiobook, and the narration was good but I found the voices odd.

3.75 stars

It's the titular weekend of parental infiltration at a fancy private university in Northern California, and it's a memorable one!

There are many characters in this book, but Finlay successfully provides enough insight into most of them to help readers understand who is connected to what characteristics, life events, and other characters. Though the entire school experiences this big event, five students and their parents engage in a different kind of torture than just forced proximity to each other at a delicate time. The Five, as these five students are dubbed, scare their parents when they simultaneously miss a planned group meal. With their resources and senses of entitlement at the forefront, along with a newly transferred FBI agent just arriving in town (easily the best character in the book), these parents go all in on trying to recover their kids and on digging into why so many of them could be in some way responsible for these unimaginable circumstances. What follows is a mostly engaging plot and interesting set of outcomes.

I've read most of Finlay's books, and my thoughts have ranged from extremely engaging to near DNFing. This one falls on the correct side of center, as long as readers can tolerate the socioeconomic status and proclivities that come with it in most of these characters.

Overall, this is an engaging read from Finlay whose work I will continue to devour (with the greatest ongoing mystery being how I'll feel about it). I'll add that since I've now read this twice - once as an ebook and once as an audiobook - I can strongly recommend the latter version when and where accessible. It added a lot to my enjoyment of the experience.

4.5 stars! This was exactly what I expect from Alex Finlay. Gripping, engaging and always added drama. Fantastic!

The twist was a teeny tiny bit predictable and the thrill was slightly less intense than others but the writing was on point as always. There were a lot of characters, so it took a bit of time to make sure I knew who was who and it meant the build was a bit slow to start while we got introduced to everyone. But overall, there isn't much I would change and I definitely recommend anything Alex Finlay writes!

The narration was also great, which is always a bonus! And the end of the listeners note made me laugh! I love when authors throw in little nods or jokes!

Parents Weekend is an action packed and fast paced read. The short snippy chapters, the multiple POV’s and the gripping storyline make for an unputdownable ride. Although I won't lie, sometimes it was a little difficult to keep track of all the characters in this novel and I found myself having to backtrack. Which is one reason I couldn't truly get invested in them, I didn't find myself getting attached so it was hard to care for them completely.

I loved discovering more about each family throughout each chapter. The mystery/thrill aspect was a little underwhelming for me, I was truly expecting something twistier that delivered a more explosive ending. Was it still a fun and enjoyable time, it definitely was.

Overall, this is an easy, fast, bingeable read that kept me invested. No it didn't have crazy twists and turns or finish with a crazy ending, but it was still entertaining and I think it'll appeal to a lot!

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillanaudio, @minotaurbooks & Alex Finlay for my gifted ARC & ALC in exchange for an honest review.

OUTLIER ALERT:
This parent was not the right parent/reader for "Parents Weekend".

Although I am an Alex Finlay fan and the book's "Why didn't 5 college students show up for dinner?" premise was intriguing, this book was not for me.

WHY?

I prefer books with fewer well-developed characters and no more than two timelines.

I also am not a fan of books with plot holes.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Brittany Pressley.

Brittany Presley's narration was frequently grating, and IMHO, the book would have benefited from multiple narrators.

I enjoyed the author's comments, insights, and acknowledgments offered at the end of the book.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay is a high-stakes thriller that hooks you from the first chapter and doesn’t let go. Set during a tense college parents’ weekend, the story spirals into chaos when a murder shocks the campus—and secrets start unraveling fast. Finlay masterfully weaves multiple perspectives and timelines, keeping the suspense high and the chapters flying by.

The characters are engaging and flawed in a way that makes them feel authentic, and the plot is full of sharp turns that will keep readers on their toes. A few moments stretch believability, but they’re easy to forgive thanks to the sheer entertainment factor.

An adrenaline-fueled read perfect for fans of twisty thrillers with a touch of emotional complexity. Buckle up—this one’s a ride.