A group of parents visit their kids college for the annual parents weekend and on the first night the kids all ditch their parents. Kids go missing and lies keep coming to light. Each chapter is told from alternating character views. It is a quick read with a couple of surprises and characters you’ll both love and hate.

I absolutely devoured this book! Told from multiple perspectives, it keeps you guessing until the end! Alex Finlay is becoming a must read for me!

Set against the backdrop of a Northern California private college, families are gathering for Parents Weekend with their kids at the college. While drinks and small talk occupy the adults, none notice that some students never arrive. Five are missing.
Five who shared the same dorm but are all from different backgrounds.

Unfortunately, the kids were not the main focus. The parents and the FBI case were instead. I understand this, but I would have liked to learn more about The Five, as the poscasters called them.

While I enjoyed the story, it was a bit difficult to follow the large cast of characters and multiple POV. Also, this book is definitely a slow burn. Switching over from eyeballs 👀 to 🎧 audiobook helped the pacing and tone, making it much easier to follow along without the confusion.

Brittany Pressley did a stellar job with all the different voices and absolutely brought the story to life.

Read if you enjoy :
♥︎ campus setting ♥︎ lies
♥︎ secrets. ♥︎ Family drama
♥︎ betrayal. ♥︎ dual timeline
♥︎ revenge

Thanks to Macmillian Audio and Saint Martin's Press for my advanced copy. My review was voluntary.

Diving into my first Alex Finley novel, this mystery proved to be a solid and engaging read, even if it didn’t entirely break new ground. The multiple points of view were a highlight, adding depth and immersion to the story, though they felt disorienting at first. Once I sorted out the characters, the narrative flowed smoothly, with Special Agent Keller’s POV emerging as the standout, brimming with charisma and intrigue.
The mystery itself, while well-constructed, leaned somewhat predictable, lacking the sharp twists some might crave. Still, the storytelling held my attention, making it an enjoyable experience overall. For those new to Finley or fans of multi-perspective mysteries, this is a worthwhile read that sets a strong foundation for exploring more of the author’s work.

Parents Weekend is another hit from Alex Finlay.

During the annual Parents Weekend at Santa Clara University in Northern California, five students go missing and the search for them becomes complicated by each new piece of information found.

This was a great fast-paced thriller. I did not realize that the FBI Agent in the book, Sarah Keller, has appeared in some of his others books, but that did not affect my enjoyment of the story and only makes me want to go read more of his work!

I loved the format of this story, with each family involved having sometimes multiple POVs. There are a lot of characters in this one, but the formatting really helped clarify who each character is and I didn't find it confusing at all.

There are lots of clues to put together in this story and I honestly didn't predict the ending until fairly late, so a big kudos to the author for that!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the digital ARC. My review is honest and voluntary.

I was excited when I saw that Alex Finlay had a new thriller coming out, since I loved 'The Night Shift', but this was not in the same league at all. The writing seemed rushed and that plot was a bit predictable and unbelievable at times.

Pros: I loved that they brought back FBI agent Sarah Keller from 'The Night Shift', with her family in tow. She's the only character that is fully developed. Being from California, I liked the setting and atmosphere, and there were plenty of characters to keep my interest.

Cons: None of the characters were that likable at all, with the exception of Felix and his mom. Most of the parents were entitled, rich, and rude, while many of the kids were the same.

I enjoyed seeing Sarah uncover the clues as to the disappearance of the kids, and she seemed to be the only one who knew what she was doing, compared to the bumbling local police department. Getting up to speed with all the social media angles, and the vernacular of that generation was entertaining, while juggling her own set of twins. She was sympathetic to each person's situation, which made them more likely to tell her the truth.
The plot and reveal at the end didn't seem that believable and the big confrontation at the end was a bit expected. I would be interested in a series just on her exploits alone! I think if the characters were more likable, I would have cared more about what happened to them.

This was such a page-turning mystery—I flew through it! I really enjoyed the format of the story and how it unfolded through different points of view. While there were quite a few characters and families involved, the author did an excellent job keeping them unique and easy to follow. Each perspective added a new layer to the mystery without ever feeling overwhelming.

The setup instantly drew my attention with college kids going missing during Parents Weekend and the following plot to figure out what was going on and why. There were some well-placed twists and turns along the way, a few of which really caught me off guard, which I always appreciate in a mystery. It wasn’t just about what happened but why, and that part kept me guessing all the way through. The pacing was great, and I liked all the side stories and seeing how everything tied in together and played out in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC!

Unfortunately this book didn’t really land with me. There were too many POVs and I never got to connect with anyone in the story. I felt every character was underdeveloped and I lost interest pretty quickly, which is sad for me to say because I really liked the concept.

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay is a fast-paced, suspenseful thriller that keeps readers guessing until the very end. Finlay expertly weaves together multiple perspectives and timelines, creating a gripping narrative full of unexpected twists. It's a compelling page-turner that balances emotional depth with edge-of-your-seat tension.

I was enticed by the premise - five college freshmen disappear during parent's weekend. Is it foul play or is it a prank? However, it was hard for me to get really hooked into this one.

There are a ton of characters - and this is told from multiple points of view. In my opinion, there are just way too many points of view. Since there are so many different stories being told, none of the characters are really developed strongly (except FBI agent Keller who had appeared in a previous book by this author.) The characters end up being a caricature and I didn't feel connected to any of the them.

It's a decent mystery. There is an attempt at suspense, but since the characters aren't well-developed, I really didn't feel like that suspenseful. I'm disappointed since I feel that this would have been a great story if we had followed only one or two characters.

This is a simple writing style that I know many readers enjoy. It didn't click for me.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you, NetGalley, Alex Finlay, and Minotaur Books for this eARC!

I really enjoy reading Alex Finlay's books. They always have such great suspense and plot. I especially enjoyed the characters created in this one.

This was a solid thriller read. I really loved the premise - that is what drew me to the book initially.
The initial twist was a little bit predictable but the story to get there was mysterious and well done. Overall a well done thriller read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this AARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely loved this next installment of Alex Finlay's. The rampant list of suspects keeps you guessing til the end, love a good college thriller, and enjoyed the epilogue of "where are they now?" at the end. I'll always read this author's books cover to cover as fast as I can!

I thought I’d read Alex Finlay before, but according to my Goodreads profile, Parents Weekend is actually my first book by this author. After finishing it, I can definitely see why Finlay has such a loyal following. This thriller was more about the journey than the ending — which is probably for the best, because the ending felt a little predictable and, honestly, a bit of a letdown.

The story follows five sets of parents who travel to California for Parents Weekend, eager to spend time with their college freshman kids. All the students are part of the same capstone project, and plans are made for all the families to meet up for dinner. But when the time comes, the students never show.

FBI agent Sarah Keller (a recurring character in Finlay’s books) just happens to be in the right place at the right time and quickly becomes involved in solving the mystery of the students' disappearance.

Like I mentioned, I really enjoyed the journey — even if it took a little effort to keep all the characters straight, especially since almost every character has their own POV. In the end, the story fell a bit flat for me, but it was still an entertaining read that kept me engaged. I think fans of slow-burn thrillers will find it worth their time.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, 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.

When five college students don't show up to dinner at their school's 'Parent's Weekend,' their well-to-do families become concerned that this is more than just a case of playing hooky.

This was a good fast-paced read. I had both audio and ebook, but there is a pretty large cast of characters, so I found the ebook much easier to follow to occasionally flip back if I needed. I enjoyed how the story involved FBI agent Keller from some of the author's previous work (though this book is still a standalone) and she was my favourite character storyline. The tension built pretty well, and I had no idea what was going on. It was entertaining, with no real 'wow/twist' moment, but enjoyable and unpredictable. If you enjoy a good whodunit with a large cast, this would be a great book for you.

I loved that this didn’t go as I expected, with a lot of great twists (and bad people) along the way. Taking place over a weekend, things happen really fast and you’re rushed along at a fast pace needing to find out what happens next. A perfect classic thriller-y mystery with a dash of police procedural.

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay is exactly what you want it to be. Page turning, propulsive, and just enough character development to keep you interested. The real winner of the story were Agent Keller, McCray, and a sidekick intern. Write me more books featuring them!

When a group of college kids goes missing, the search for answers begins. This was a book with a lot of different characters and personalities. I enjoyed following the clues until the culprit was finally revealed.

Parents Weekend sounded like the setup for a tense, twisty thriller. Five college students never show up for a campus event for their parents, and everyone is left wondering if they’re just kids being kids, or if something more sinister is taking place. And while the story had potential and kept me curious enough to keep reading, it fell a bit flat for me. The writing felt a little rough and lacked description, and the characters didn’t have much depth or growth and I wasn’t all that interested in any of them. I also didn’t find it all that thrilling, more of a basic mystery with very little suspense and a lackluster “plot twist”. Overall, not awful, but not great. One of those books that I’ll forget about in the next week.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had the opportunity to read Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay, and it was a fantastic, fast-paced thriller. The story follows the mysterious disappearance of five college students just as their parents arrive for Parents Weekend. The plot kept me hooked from the start, and I found the character development easy to follow and well-executed.

I really enjoyed Finlay’s writing style—his pacing was spot on, and there were moments of humor woven in that added a nice touch to the suspense. This was a well-developed, engaging read, and I’m definitely looking forward to picking up more of his work in the future.