Five college freshmen don't show up to the family weekend dinner and it immediately seems like foul play. EVERY PARENT'S NIGHTMARE! A highly-ranked political official's son is among them, so the case is escalated to the FBI. The cast of characters is HUGE. I had to take notes. I think that's what dings my rating a bit; I never felt invested in any of the characters because my energy was going into keeping all of the backstories straight. The mystery is full of dead end leads which slowed the momentum of the story for me.

Apparently this is a part of a series, but I didn't know that until reading other reviews, so safe to say it works just fine as a stand alone book. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley for early access to this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.
This is an enjoyable mystery. At a small private college in Northern California, five families have decided to have dinner together. This is to celebrate Parent's Weekend. When the time comes the parents show up, but not the kids. Where are they? What has happened to them? Soon the police and FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller are called in. It was fun to read and find out what happened to these young adults. I recommend this book if you like mysteries centered around schools.

I really enjoyed this book! It kept me guessing and wanting to figure out who actually did what! Perfect beach read for the summer, highly recommend!

PARENTS WEEKEND isn't going quite as anyone expected at prestigious Santa Clara University. Just before it begins, a coed named Natasha Belov who was reported missing is found dead in one of the local sea caves. And some of the students at Campisi Hall believe they know what happened to her.

Still, they are planning to join their parents for dinner on Friday night, but none of them show up. This leads to the FBI being called in. Special Agent Sarah Keller is the one who answers the call. She's temporarily assigned to the office since she, her husband, and her twins are spending some time in California with her husband's father who is dying.

With one of the missing being the son of an Assistant Secretary of State who is under death threats, the situation could be political. As the situation develops, we learn more about the sets of parents who all have conflicts of their own to deal with from unreliable exes to stalkers. And we learn more about the students who all have a variety of secrets of their own.

This was an engaging story told from multiple viewpoints. I especially liked seeing Keller again. I enjoyed the suspense and the revelations about the students and their parents.

it is parents weekend at college, five families gather for dinner but their children never show up. what has happened to them? good story

Thank you SMP and Macmillan for review copies.

This one was not a win for me. Excellent as always narration from favorite Brittany Pressley so I want to say the audiobook is just fine in terms of narration and production.

But this plot was just all over the place and never worked for me at all and I say that as a fan of previous Alex Finlay books. I think this is a case of too many characters/POVs, truly unlikable and underdeveloped characters, and never getting into a sense of suspense, dread, or real mystery vibe. The only part that was a big win for me was the return of FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller, she is the only character that I felt at all interested in and that's because she is well developed, a returning character.

This was a twisty thriller. I appreciated the academic setting but just too many characters that I almost lost interest. This was just an okay popcorn thriller. I had quite a hard time trying to decipher which family went with which college kid it was just kind of a blend. I did enjoy the narrator but it was just hard to follow on audio. I did an immersive read and it just did not work for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read this book
3 star

I loved this!! I think this is my favorite of Alex Finlay’s books since THE NIGHT SHIFT and it was fun to reunite with Agent Keller! While I guessed some of the mystery, there were several twists that surprised me and I loved the layers and different family perspectives. The atmosphere was also perfect between the academic college setting and the darkness of the caves nearby. Such a great thriller!

3.5 Five college students are missing over parents weekend. I really liked how the chapters were headed by the family names and shed laugh t on how they may be relevant to the missing five. this was a fast entertaining read. The conclusion gets convoluted with too many distractions that limits the potential clever ending. Not a deep dive into character development but enjoyable as a surface read. I like the strong female FBI agent and will seek her out in other books by this author.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

2-Star Review: A Parent’s Weekend by Alex Finlay

While A Parent’s Weekend was enjoyable in moments, it ultimately fell short of the gripping tension and layered twists I’ve come to expect from Alex Finlay. The pacing felt uneven, and the suspense never quite reached the intensity of his previous novels. For longtime fans, it may come across as more of a detour than a destination. A decent read, but lacking the punch Finlay usually delivers.

I couldn't gave this one 5 stars though it was a page turner, but, yeah, there's a but....it needed more. The characters were more one dimensional, hard to relate to one way or another. I had been looking forward to reading this one for some time and was a little disappointed. Would I recommend it? Probably, for anyone who wants a quick read and has a few hours to burn.

Parents Weekend was ok. The first 6(?) chapters were each introducing a new family and new characters. Get your pencils ready!
The issue with too many characters in one short book is they aren’t given the time and depth needed to differentiate from each other. The missing students and some of the fancy rich parents along with side characters all blended together.
I really liked the FBI agent Keller, who is a recurring character from a couple of his other books. This is clear because she’s the most real person in the whole thing.

The action and resolution were SO quick. Like, not much suspense at all. One sentence and it was over. I just found it to be such a jarring ending to the mystery I was left wondering what just happened. And why.

This one is definitely fast paced and short if you’re looking for a little pop-corn mystery or just a palette cleanser.. but I can’t say I liked it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

I enjoyed the separate timelines joining in at the end for the big reveal. The FBI agent was perfect..strong logical detective that used everything in her arsenal to figure it out. The ending was a bit shocking especially when the killer was revealed and what played out after but books with that sort of jaw dropping turn of events stick with you.

This book is like the slow-burn romance of the thriller world—pulling you in inch by inch, keeping you on the hook, and then BOOM, you're hit with a twists!

What I really loved was how engaged I felt in the mystery-solving process alongside Agent Keller. Not all crime mysteries make you feel like you’re in the investigator’s shoes, but Finlay nailed that. Now, let’s talk drawbacks—there were a LOT of characters. I mean, I didn’t have trouble keeping track of them, but holy smokes, the cast was massive. And while I could follow the action, I never really connected with any of the characters, so I didn’t feel that burning desire to know what happened to them. As for the suspense? It didn’t quite keep me on the edge of my seat until the last couple of chapters, but once the twists came, they came HARD.

Overall, though? A solidly well-written mystery that kept me turning pages. If you're looking for a book that draws you in slowly but surely, give this one a shot!

Requested this as I enjoy Alex Finlay's books but this one missed the mark. This should have been a quick read with the short chapters and changing characters but I was not being pulled in.

Five students from a college capstone group go missing on parents weekend at their college. After days missing, FBI Agent Keller works with the campus security to unfold the connection between the mysterious vanishing of the Five students and a recent campus death.

It takes 70, albeit short, chapters to go through what happened. While I did enjoy the ending, it wasn't worth getting through the rest of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC!

Quick, and entertaining from the beginning, but mostly forgettable. There were a lot of characters and it took a bit to keep the families straight. And a lot of drama with all the families, distracting from the fact that the 5 students were missing. I think the ending was a little too quick and there weren't really any major twists.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I had to DNF after about a quarter way in. The book introduced way too many characters and backstories in the beginning which made it hard to keep track. Also there wasn't a hook to keep me interested in the "mystery" and it didn't feel like a mystery. I just wasn't interested to keep on reading.

The first parents' weekend for college freshmen should be fun and exciting, but this weekend is different. Upon arrival, the body of a missing freshman is found, and her parents have shown up for answers. Four other freshmen are set to meet their parents for dinner, but they never arrive. As the campus and local police along with the FBI, are looking for the missing children, a new FBI agent slowly fits the clues together for an unexpected ending.

This was a good thriller that kept me guessing. The storyline flowed easily, and the editing was effective. There were several times throughout the story when I was surprised by what was occurring. The lead up to the ending was interesting, and the actual culpnt was unexpected and could not be guessed throughout the story.

Finlay always has and always will be an auto read for me. Unfortunately, I did not quite enjoy this one as much as I hoped. I felt like it was very rushed, and it just was not pulling me in like his books usually do. I will still continue to read and buy his books; this one just was not a favorite of mine.

Alex Finlay's Parent's Weekend promises an engaging thriller, especially for fans of his previous works. However, while the book starts with an intriguing premise, it ultimately struggles to maintain clarity amidst a multitude of characters, which may leave readers feeling overwhelmed.

The story kicks off with a gripping opening that sets the stage for a suspenseful narrative. However, as the plot unfolds, the sheer number of characters introduced can be disorienting. For readers who appreciate a more streamlined cast, this aspect may detract from the overall enjoyment of the story. I personally found it difficult to keep up with everyone.

One standout character is FBI agent Keller, who brings a sense of depth and determination to the narrative. Fans of Finlay may recognize her from previous novels, and her presence adds a familiar touch to the story.

As a fan of Alex Finlay, it’s disappointing when a highly anticipated read doesn’t quite deliver, but it’s a reminder that not every book will resonate with every reader.. There seems to be a number of readers who loved this book so I encourage you to give it a try. It could just be that I wasn't the right reader for it.

On a more positive note - the cover art for this book is beautiful.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.