I've loved everything Alex Finlay has written! Parents Weekend is no exception. It has multiple POVs, so it can be confusing at first, but it comes together nicely. Five stars!

FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller is back in Alex Finlay's new gripping thriller, Parents Weekend. Keller is called in when five freshmen fail to meet their parents to kick off -- you guessed it, parent's weekend. Finlay is one of the few authors I don't care what they write about; I'm reading it. However, he missed the mark by having too many characters. I don't know the actual number, but it felt like twenty too many. That's a lot of threads to string together in the end, but he pulls it off.

Thanks to Minotaur Books for the advanced copy of Parents Weekend via NetGalley.

This book just didn't connect with me the way previous Finlay books have. I found the mystery lacking. I found almost all of the red herrings obvious, and the final reveals as the only logical resolutions for the story. Disappointing, as I've been a big fan of most of Finlay's work up to this point.

"Parents Weekend" by Alex Finlay is a fairly entertaining read. I have seen it described as a thriller but I would categorize it as more suspense, Five college seniors fail to arrive at a joint family dinner and college authorities work with FBI Agent Sarah Keller to track them down. My biggest complaint about this book is the sheer number of characters. We get shallow glimpses of most, and only a slightly deeper peek into others. Keller is a decent character, though her personal issues seem out of place with the rest of the story. This could be a good beach read.

3 stars. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

Thank you to St Marten's Press for my copy of PARENTS WEEKEND.

This one just didn't do it for me. I really enjoyed Finlay's first book but the rest have been duds for me. I do not recommend this one unless you like a ton of unlikable characters and settings.

Still in the process of reading this book so I will update the review once completed.

The first half has started out very intriguing and i’m excited to see what the twists will be

There were a lot of characters - which was a little intimidating in the beginning - but I really did like all of them and think that if any of them were not there you would miss them. It helped that most of the story ran through Agent Keller.

It was a unique story and a little predictable but I enjoyed it. I love when the ending is close to something I have figured out instead of some "twist" that doesn't make sense. Alex's writing has a way of sucking you in and not wanting to put the book down.

4 stars

This is my first read by Alex Finlay, and it did not disappoint.

It took me a few chapters to get into this one because there are multiple point of views. but it all came together and eventually made perfect sense.

As 5 college kids go missing, it’s a race for time as their parents struggle to find where they are and why they are missing. The multiple point of views really allowed the reader to see the many character behaviors and get an insight on why these kids are missing. Overall I liked the story and am excited to read previous books by this author. It was a good story and I enjoyed it.

I switched between the audio and book version of this book. The narrator did a great job with the multiple characters in the audio version.

***Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan audio for and ARC copy for an honest review***

Hmmm this was not totally what I was expecting. If you’re looking for a quick, short, popcorn thriller kind of book you may be interested in this one. However keep in mind there are several characters and due to the novel’s short length it’s hard to give life to all of them. I wouldn’t even say this was a thriller because there’s no twist ending.

Every time I’m in the mood for an easy thriller read, Alex Finlay fits the bill. Something about his writing just flows right off the page and keeps me engaged right from the start. Short chapters and an exciting plot kept me turning pages throughout his latest book.

My only criticism for this one was that there were a lot of characters to keep straight. We had six students who go missing, each with parents who are of course worried about them. We also have a FBI investigator who is looking for them and her entire family including children, a father in law and sister in law. At times, I could forget who was who and it took me a minute to remember who the shady characters were.

Overall, a super easy and fun read from Alex Finlay! Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press and Minotaur Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. This gripping thriller unfolds during Parents Weekend at a Northern California college, where five students mysteriously vanish. This leaves their families and turmoil and prompts a high-stakes investigation led by FBI Agent Sarah Keller. The novel's fast-paced narrative and multiple perspectives keep the suspense high, though the frequent shifts between characters can occasionally disrupt the flow. While some character development felt surface-level, I was still engaged the whole time. Overall, it's an entertaining read that delves into family dynamics and secrets, making it a great read for fans of thrillers.

Thank you for this advance copy of PARENTS WEEKEND by Alex Finlay. What a fast-paced, unique, thrilling read!

Alex Finlay does no wrong! His thrillers do not let you down and Parents Weekend is no exception. 5 college students are missing and one is already dead. In typical Finlay fashion, this novel is told from MULTIPLE POV's- be prepared to take notes to keep track of everything. You have to pay attention to be sure you don't miss any details. The short chapters keeps your attention and you don't want to put it down! A quick read that wraps up nicely. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

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

Parents Weekend is the new book from Alex Finlay. I've read and enjoyed his previous titles and I knew I was going to enjoy Parents Weekend.
Why? Well...first is the lead character - FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller. She's brilliant and is always a step ahead. I really enjoy how she finds the next steps.

The plot is a good one - five college kids are missing - and one is already dead. And another reason to hunker down - the book is told from multiple view points - and it's hard to put the book down. And of course some are lying, leaving out pieces of their accounts and more... Piecing everything in time is Keller's goal.

Alex Finlay keeps the suspense up on every page. Parents Weekend reads like a movie.

I’ve read all of Finlay‘s books and I’ve enjoyed every single one so I was excited to read Parents Weekend.

I really liked the premise of this one, particularly because I have two kids in college. It’s a fascinating time in life when you are just kind of thrown together with people from all different backgrounds. The focus on these five different families and what secrets they might be hiding was very intriguing. Tension mounts throughout the story until the very end. It had all the things I love in thrillers - twists and turns, kept me guessing, lots of possible suspects.

Parents Weekend is getting a lot of buzz and it’s well deserved!

I really loved a few of Alex Finlay's earlier books but lately they've not been grabbing me in the same way. I usually don't mind being thrown straight into a book (actually I usually prefer it) but this one felt like I put my foot on a treadmill that was going 15mph and I had been thrown off the end over a cliff. I really struggled to get into it and then keep track of everything and everyone. I really hope Finlay's books circle back to the style he was using in his earlier books because those were definitely more my style.

The beginning was quite hard to get into, the amount of characters was difficult to keep straight. I did think the story would focus more on the students and not the parents, however it was an ok read with nice short chapters.

I love a good thriller. I mainly read romances so it's fun to switch it up. This was a great thriller to pick up. It's the story of 5 families navigating what happens with their kids go missing at parents weekend at their college.

When the book started there were so many characters to keep straight. I found it a little overwhelming but once the book got going, I was following along well. I really enjoyed FBI Agent Keller. She was brought in to find out what happened. I enjoyed the twists and turns and I was so curious to find out what happened too. I thought included the lost kids narrative every so often was a good move too because it makes you more curious what is going on. A solid thriller.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

✌🏼for Tuesday
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Happy Tuesday! I’m drowning in content to post so I’m hoping on to post a double review today! Here are my thoughts !
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Parents Weekend- this was unfortunately my least favorite Finlay, which is a shame because I enjoyed his last one (forever nostalgic for the 90s). This one was full of too many characters and just the worst parents. I felt like they weren’t truly concerned about where their children were. I didn’t really care for or connect to any of them. The premise of children going missing at a college parents weekend was fun but it got bogged down with WAY too many characters. I really couldn’t keep track of them all. All in all, this one was a bit of a snooze fest. I gave it 2 stars.
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QOTD- what is your current read?! I’m working on book 3 of the crescent city series and One Golden Summer- I’m loving both 😍
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I have a very mixed relationship with this author - I've given his previous books both one and five stars - so I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. It ended up being middle of the road for me. It was a thrilling, fast read but nothing super memorable.