Every parent knows that sending their child to college is a time of excitement, anticipation and empty nesting. Five families will experience a new type of experience when visiting their children at college for the first time. Parents weekend will never be the same at Santa Clara University.

Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix and Stella are about to have their lives change forever. The five fail to show up at Campisi Hall to meet their parents. At first, there isn’t panic at the lack of attendance at dinner. Then the minutes tick by which leads to calls to the police. As search parties begin, the media comes out in full force. When the FBI calls in agent Sarah Feller, questions begin to form about the part each parent may play in the disappearance of the students. What fate lies for each of the five?

Parents Weekend is the latest release from Alex Finlay. Let me start by stating I love a good thriller, and each book I have read by Finlay has fit the bill perfectly. Well….until Parents Weekend. While the first part of the book drew me in with the premise of what was to come, the second half of the book left a lot to be desired.

The characters involved in the story are overwhelming. With each person comes a detail connecting them to the students’ disappearance. At the same time, the details were lackluster and failed to offer substance to the plot. There was a lot of ‘fluff’ without the ‘bones’ to back it up. When paired with a dual timeline – Parents Weekend failed to deliver an ‘on the edge of your seat’ ending that I expect from a good thriller.

I really enjoyed this new one by Alex Finlay. Definitely kept me guessing until the end! Five college freshmen are a part of a capstone group and it's Parents Weekend at their university, so they invite all 5 of their families to get together for a dinner. The parents all show up to this dinner, but the kids never do. At first, they kind of shrug it off like it's just kids being kids, but when hours go by and they still don't show up, they start to panic and finally go to the police. Definitely recommend checking it out for a fast-paced mystery thriller!

Alex brings you back to meet with FBI agent Sarah Keller and a twisted story of missing college kids over parents weekend! It’s an edge of your sweat thriller that will leave you up late trying to figure out what happened and who did it!

Huge shout out to Netgalley, Minotaur Books & Alex for the eARC! I loved this!

What To Expect:
⭐ Family Drama and complicated relationships
⭐ Academia
⭐ College Kids Finding Trouble
⭐ Parents weekend at college
⭐ Multiple storylines all tied to one overarching story
⭐ A slew of main and sub characters who bring a lot of color to the story
⭐ The return of Special FBI Agent Sarah Keller from Alex's previous stories!


My Thoughts:
absolute STRONG follow up to “If Something Happens To Me”. Alex hits it out of the park with this storyline, characters and multiple story views telling one story. The premise is awesome and I was still trying to figure out who was involved and HOW! The END!!!! All I have to say is when you think you have it fully figured out YOU DO NOT! Something Alex is incredible at doing.

There are a slew of characters involved in this story. Some you will love, some you will immediately cringe at and some you just loathe. You pick villains very very quickly in this story. Some you may even incorrectly view that way and some that you won’t but should! Overall, you will find deeply rooted a story of families. A story of families who all have things they are going through, that unless you dig deep you won’t understand the layers of crap they are all dealing with not just as a group but as individuals.

As far as writing it’s as enthralling as the last story Alex released. An edge of your seat, fast page turning story that leaves you up late reading. I read this in a few hours because I just couldn’t put it down. There is one main overarching story, but within that are multiple viewpoints from different families but also along the same time frame. Mixed in to it all is the actual case, the individuals involved in the investigation and their stories intertwined. You definitely have to keep your focus, on who is speaking the main character points at each time.

All in all it is well written, well organized and the characters are all well developed! I didn’t feel any gaps were missing. Can’t wait for the next one!

Synopsis:
In the glow of their children’s exciting first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids—five residents of Campisi Hall—never show up at dinner.

At first, everyone thinks that they’re just being college students, irresponsibly forgetting about the gathering or skipping out to go to a party. But as the hours click by and another night falls with not so much as a text from the students, panic ensues. Soon, the campus police call in reinforcements. Search parties are formed. Reporters swarm the small enclave. Rumors swirl and questions arise.

Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—The Five, as the podcasters, bloggers, and TikTok sleuths call them—come from five very different families. What led them out on that fateful night? Could it be the sins of their mothers and fathers come to cause them peril or a threat to the friend group from within?

Told through multiple points of view in past and present—and marking the return of FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift—Parents Weekend explores the weight of expectation, family dysfunction, and those exhilarating first days we all remember in the dorms when our friends become our family.

When one student dies before parents weekend and five go missing during. The parents of the college student are on full panic mode, but they are college students who may just be partying. When they don’t show up, the cops and FBI get involved. One wrong action put this horrible weekend in to play. This is a thriller set in California and around parents weekend where the parents come in to see how their kids are doing away from home for the first time away at college.

5 kids go missing during a weekend at college when all the parents come for a visit.
This was fast-paced enough with multi-POV and drama with each group of parents/kids, but overall the story was just blah. No character depth and some parts were pretty predictable. Lots of red herrings that fell flat. I also really dislike when authors allude to pop culture references for no reason - there were dozens of these references and I found them mildly annoying. I got this from NetGalley as an ARC and won’t be recommending this one unfortunately.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy of Parents Weeked by Alex Finlay. This story had me hooked from the very start, the prologue held so much loaded terror I just had to know how it was going to turn out! As you may know, I am a total sucker for a good multi narrator story, and this one absolutely killed it! The unique back stories and turmoil that each family was going through aside from their children being missing added a nice layer to the story. It really kept me guessing who was behind the disappearance of the five, they all had their own baggage. The ending did not dissapoint, and the last few family chapters surrounding graduation day tugged and my momma heartstrings! Happy publication day @alexfinlayauthor you did it again with another stellar Agent Sarah Keller story! 4.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow, another win by author Alex Finlay! He has been one of my favorite thriller authors and with this release, he is continuing that trend.

The story starts as 4 set of parents are on their way to Parents Weekend for first year students at Santa Clara University in California. The weekend is off to bad start, one student is dead, five others are missing, never making it to dinner with the parents, and all the parents have secrets that may be connected to the disappearances.

The main special agent, Sarah Keller, who readers will recognized from the author's other works, investigates the disappearances and uncovers more secrets than anyone expected.

Alex Finlay is FANTASTIC at moving the story along and switching between POVs seamlessly. I was entertained from start to finish and can't wait for the next book by this author.

Thank you, NetGalley and Minotaur Books, for the early digital copy of Alex Finlay's latest books. I have read four of the author's previous thrillers and enjoyed them all, with one exception. This book combines a suspenseful psychological mystery with a police investigation and search for five missing students from an elite private college in northern California. There was much to admire in this thriller. It was a quick, fast-paced read with an easy-to-read, straightforward narrative and intriguing premise. The conclusion provided pulse-pounding action.

Although the plot was well-thought-out, with clues and twists, a reference list to all the characters would have been helpful. I would have appreciated a list naming the five students connected to their parents ' names, and a short description of family relationships. I was confused at times, and wished I had taken notes,

When five students (3 Males and 2 Females) failed to attend a special parents' dinner presented by the college, at first, their absence was thought to be due to teenage thoughtlessness and selfishness. Had they gone partying and drinking and forgotten their parents' visit? After a couple of days, they were still missing and couldn't be reached by their cell phones, and concerns began to mount that something terrible may have happened to them. A female student had been found dead the previous week. Had they done it to punish the parents for their faults and shortcomings? Had other students taken revenge for something the group did at the school? The worry grew, and social media was abuzz with rumours and speculation.

FSI Agent and the campus police are pursuing the possibility of a kidnapping with possible harm to the teenagers. One mother holds a high-level government position, and her now-missing son had been kidnapped unsuccessfully when he was ten years old. Is this terrorist payback for present government's actions? Most parents are well-off, but one of the missing students is on scholarship. If it were an abduction, why would all five be targeted? There have been no ransom demands. The detectives lack suspects, motives, and few clues to what may have happened to them.

Other reviewers gave the book higher ratings and didn't find the names confusing, so I recommend this puzzling mystery. Publication is today. May 06/2025

With a huge cast of characters, I have to say that I had to actually take notes as I started reading the book just to keep all of the college students and their family members straight. That made for a slow start for me, but once I got into the story, I raced to find out what was really happening. With multiple points of view, this book represents all of the parents present as well as their children, the college students who go missing at the beginning of the book. The fact that the students have little in common was a compelling mystery and the fact that repeat character Sarah Keller appears as an FBI agent again made the book a real winner for me. I enjoyed the methodical investigation that Sarah undertook, even in the face of her own child being among the missing. I even enjoyed the juvenile points of view of the college kids who chimed in with a viewpoint that I could only get from them. The short chapters were perfect to keep the action moving along at a fast pace. I don’t think that I got to know any of the characters as well as I would have liked to, but the characterization was done well and helped me to understand their actions and reactions throughout the story. This is a welcome addition to the author’s thrillers and I thoroughly enjoyed my trip down memory lane with the college students as well as imagining my own reaction had I been the parent of one of the missing.
Disclaimer: I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

The blurb for this story really piqued my interest and having read this author before I was intrigued.

Five families get together to celebrate their children’s college freshman parents weekend. Five students from very different backgrounds are supposed to join their families for dinner, but their parents are having so much fun they don’t realize the kids aren’t showing up. When they do they’ve been gone a long time and and are actually missing…the search begins…

What happened?
Why?

Fast paced told in dual time lines, this story was enjoyable although not always easy to understand . As There were a lot of characters to follow.

However, the intensity, the build up of whodunnit made it an enjoyable story.

I have read one other book by Alex Finley, and I quite enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to reading this one. While I found the mystery intriguing, I couldn't fully immerse myself in the story. We're following like 4 or 5 different sets of parents during Parents Weekend at a prestigious university after their children go missing.
I enjoyed the parts with the kids and following Special Agent Keller as she investigates. I had difficulty following when we got to the parents' POVs. The POV's switched up very frequently, and I had a hard time staying focused on what was going on.
That being said I did love Agent Keller's parts, and we did get more of her towards the end. I would read another book with her as the MC.

I really enjoy Alex Finlay's thrillers! They are quick reads that pack a punch. I really enjoyed that Agent Keller was back and ready to solve a mystery. I enjoyed the audiobook version as well. Highly recommend!!

*Thank you partners @minotaur_books and @macmillan.audio for the #gifted e-galley and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

I chose this book because I read ”What Have We Done” by Alex Finlay and loved it. I gave it a five star review.

This was an engaging psychological thriller. The Parents were charismatic with more interesting backstories than the students. I will look for more books by Alex and recommend her to my friends.

I received this galley from Net Galley.

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay.

Finlay is hit and miss for me, and unfortunately this was a miss. It had a decent start, but it didn't take long before I started losing interest. There were too many little storylines going on, and none of them were very strong, so I quit caring about all of it. Unfortunately, this wasn't for me.

Big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the ARC copy of this one that is out AS OF TODAY!!!

Absolutely loved the short chapters on this one. It made it fly by. While I was able to predict what would happen, I still enjoyed this one for the most part. I do think that the ending felt a little bit rushed when we got to the big "reveal" piece.

I liked the campus trope for this along with the missing persons.

My biggest complaint with this one was the amount of characters. However, I do think that the way it was written helped tremendously with that aspect.

If you are needing a quick popcorn like thriller with super short chapters I would say to pick this up!

If you love a book about academia, missing persons, family drama this is the book for you. This book is told from 4/5 family POV's and alternates every other chapter. they are easy to follow and very nice smooth transitions between them. The Roosevelts, Maldonados, Goffmans, Akanas and Kellers all have their own POV in this story. This book jumped from the first page and hasn't stopped till the end of the book. This book is fast paced, action packed, keep you on the edge of your seat. Everyone is sus in this book till the very last page.

This story is incredibly fast-paced and complex, at least from the investigator’s perspective. While it’s clear to the reader early on who is behind the children’s disappearance, that’s only because we’re given access to both the students’ and the parents’ points of view. This broader perspective allows us to piece together the full picture, making the experience all the more gripping.

Interestingly, knowing the culprit from the beginning doesn’t lessen the suspense; it heightens it. The unpredictability lies not in the "who" but in the "how" and "why." You’re left wondering who will survive and whether the motivations behind the disappearances can ever be justified.

The story is well-crafted, with multiple layers that gradually unfold while maintaining a breakneck pace and constant tension. If you're a fan of the author’s other works, especially those featuring Sarah Keller—this book is must-read. That said, it also works well as a standalone for newcomers.

For readers who enjoy fast-paced, suspenseful mystery thrillers, this author (and this book) should be high on your to-read list.

One thing I love about summer? There’s always a new Alex Finlay thriller out. I had such a fun time reading this book. Did I have to suspend some belief? Of course. Did this take away from how much fun this book was? No way! I thought this was the perfect afternoon thriller read. Like all of Finlay’s books, the plot moved fast with very short chapters that kept the reader hooked. I thought it was paced quite well, and I enjoyed the main character that the reader spent the most time with was FBI agent Keller. I found her to be such an anchor for this story, one who helped put all the pieces together. Read this one if you like a college setting, some questionable parents, and teenagers doing bad things. This was a fun ride, and I will continue to read all Finlay books that I can get my grubby little hands on.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

When five college freshmen vanish during Parents Weekend, their families are left to unravel a mystery that exposes long-buried secrets and dangerous truths.

Dark academia thrillers are my favorite genre, so I had high hopes for Parents Weekend—and while it didn’t fully deliver for me, there was still plenty to enjoy. Finlay’s signature fast pace and short, punchy chapters kept me turning pages late into the night, and I loved that each family came with secrets of their own, adding layers of suspicion throughout. The multiple POVs, usually a strength for Finlay, felt a bit overwhelming here—I struggled to keep track of which parents matched which student, which made it harder to connect emotionally.

That said, the return of FBI Agent Sarah Keller was a highlight—her chapters stood out as the most compelling, and I would’ve gladly read an entire book from her perspective. While I guessed whodunnit early on, the unraveling of how everything played out still kept me hooked. This may not be my favorite Finlay, but it’s a gripping, entertaining read that I’d still recommend for thriller fans.

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3:5 stars rounded up.

A weekend for celebration becomes something far more sinister

It is Parents' Weekend at Santa Clara University, a small private Jesuit university in the heart of Silicon Valley. A group of four students, linked by the capstone project which they have been assigned to complete together, are supposed to meet up with their parents for dinner at a local restaurant, but while the parents (two couples, two single mothers) arrive none of their children show up. Its tempting to write this off as typical irresponsible behavior, but when the students remain missing the parents aren't convinced that it isn't something....more. One of the mothers is a high ranking State Department official who not only has a bounty on her own head courtesy of a disgruntled foreign regime, she also lived through this same son's kidnapping years earlier. The father of one of the other students is a judge who recently gained notoriety (and a raft of hostile adversaries) when he presided over the trial of a popular celebrity, There are secrets in the other families as well, plus some disturbing campus gossip that paints several of the missing students in an unflattering light. A fifth member of the cohort who has no close family also turns out to be missing; added to the recent disappearance of another of the university's students, a young woman friendly with the students who have dropped off the radar who later turned up dead in what appears to have been an accidental drowning, and tensions mount. An FBI agent just recently transferred to the local office gets called in to work with campus police and other local law enforcement. As the hours pass, it becomes more and more clear that The Five (as they have been tagged) are in danger...but why, and from whom?
Parents Weekend is a fast paced thriller featuring FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller, a protagonist featured in previous novels by author Alex Finlay, in addition to a raft of new characters. The narrative bounces around between multiple characters' points of view, and the plot integrates college partying, family secrets (infidelity, the loss of a child, hostile divorces) and trust issues as the plot unfolds...the large number of characters may have contributed to an overall lack of development for most (with Keller and her husband being two exceptions). This is a quick read, with short chapters that keep the suspense building and allow for some twists and turns. Did I figure out where things were likely headed early on? Yes...I am an avid reader of thrillers, so that happens fairly frequently, but if you're looking for a solid (3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4) quick read with a fast-moving plot this will do the trick. Fans of Harlen Coben, Lisa Unger and Peter Swanson should give this a try as well. My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for allowing me access to Finlay's latest thriller in exchange for my honest review.

I wasn't a big fan of this one. It felt like there were too many characters, mixed with a foggy dual timeline, it just made me feel a bit confused and disconnected from the book. I did really enjoy seeing Agent Sarah Keller again - who has been involved in other books of Alex's as well.