Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

One student is dead and 5 more are missing as Parents Weekend gets underway at a small private college in Northern California. We follow multiple people as we piece together what happened to "The Five."

Overall, this was pretty good. Pretty fast paced with a good storyline.

Alex Finlay's books are always an auto read for me, so I was so excited for the chance to read Parents Weekend! Parents Weekend grabbed me from the first chapter and I couldn't put it down! I really enjoyed the variety of characters and the twists and turns troughout this mystery for the missing five college kids. You will love Parents Weekend!

Five families come together for Parent's Weekend at a small Northern California college campus. The first night they are all supposed to meet up at a restaurant for dinner and the opening festivities. But none of the five kids show up. The parents aren't too concerned at first, thinking it's just college kids out partying. But by the second night, they know that something is definitely wrong. As they all gather to search for the kids we start to see that there are lots of secrets and everyone is hiding something. There were a lot of characters and they were definitely hard to keep track of for awhile, but I finally got them all straight. This is a fast paced, popcorn type of thriller that was a lot of fun for a Summer read. I liked getting to see the return of FBI Special Agent, Sarah Keller from his previous books.

This is an author that I can always count on for a solid thriller read. He will continue to be an auto-read for me. Thank you to @minotaurbooks and @netgalley for this #gifted copy. It's out now, so add this one to your Summer Beach Bag!

Five families gather on the first night of Parents Weekend to celebrate their kids and their capstone course. At first, the parents think their kids are being kids and skipped dinner for a party. But as the hours pass and no one hears from their kids, they start to worry. Campus police is called in and they are particularly on edge after the death of another student, Natasha, just days prior. As rumors swirl and podcasters talk, more and more about these students come to light and soon people start to wonder if Natasha really did drown innocently, or if these students were somehow involved, leading to their abduction.

Alex Finlay is an auto-buy for me and this book was no different. I loved the pacing of the story and how the mystery unfolded. The amount of characters was a little confusing at first, but once I nailed down which kid was which, I loved the story. I read through it in two sittings and will continue to keep this author on my insta-buy list.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of Finlay's ever since his first book debuted. I've read all of his books so far and they've all been four or five stars for me. I love that each book has a whopper of a twist that I never see coming.

That being said, this book was a bit of a let down for me. Now, it was still a good book and I enjoyed it, but it didn't leave me shocked and it wasn't a jaw dropper. I'm glad I read it, but it wasn't his best book to date. However, it was still a good and unique story and he does a great job of changing up the story lines with each book. He doesn't follow the same formula with each novel and I appreciate that!

I loved Parents Weekend (I have two kids in college and attend them regularly)...No one has died yet.
A lovely weekend of dinners and mingling for the families of five capstone group students, what could be more fun? When none of the students come to the first dinner, people start to wonder, when none of them answer their phones the wonder turns to panic. Another student was found dead by accidental drowning in a local sea-cave and this heightens the fear and the police department and FBI are called in to help. Agent Sarah Keller, recently relocated to the bay area answers the call. She starts with the frats and learns that two of the missing five borrowed a van. This leads Keller towards the expansive nature preserve nearby. The tide's coming in, secrets are surfacing and family bonds are being tested. How far will these parents go to conceal their own sins and how far will they go to save their children?

I enjoyed this thriller told from the perspectives of 5 families. The parents are there for a small college parent's weekend-where are their students/children? It didn't move as fast as it could, but it is still a great summer beach read.

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay grabbed me from the prologue, as a group of college students run to a sea cave, fearful for their lives.
The story actually begins three days earlier as families arrive at Santa Clara University for Parents’ Weekend activities with their sons and daughters. The stage is set with the back stories of the several students’ families, with all the drama often faced in the lives of couples, partners, parents and children. The story morphs into a missing person’s case when a coed disappears. FBI special agent Sarah Keller, a beloved character from Finlay’s previous novels, happens to be in the area visiting her dad and gets involved in the investigation.
The race to solve the case showcases Keller’s focused crime-solving and is nicely intertwined with the other continuing saga of the students’ actions and the effects on their families.
Finlay knows how to pace a thriller, with shorter chapters and plot tension leading to the exciting conclusion!
He captured the physical setting and atmosphere of SCU and Santa Clara perfectly, especially its proximity to the north coast beaches, and managed to juggle the stories of 5+ families deftly as the story arc went from a cheerful event to a criminal investigation.
Readers of police procedurals with strong family drama will be pleased with this novel!

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

This was ok. It wasn't very suspenseful and was pretty easy to figure out. The multiple POV were ok but I really only enjoyed the FBI agent in terms of moving the story along. The rest just felt forced. The narrator was good, however. Hope you have better luck!

Parents' Weekend comes out next week on May 6, 2025 and you can purchase HERE.

They run. Run with a primal fear knowing that if they slow down, all five of them will die.

It's hard to think in this fog of terror.

Earlier this week their biggest fears were a mom finding his stash of edibles, a dad finding those condoms in her dorm room nightstand. A mom finding her fake ID. A dad finding his crumpled exam with the D circled in red.

But now, with sand in their shoes, waves crashing, the bonfire burning in the distance, they leave those trivialities behind.

And they run.

They reach the narrow path to the sea cave, link hands in a chain as they navigate the perilous waves and jagged rocks into the hollow.
Huddled in the gloom they stay still as stone. Thoughts swirling, they wonder what clues the police will find. The group chat? The social-media posts? The video of the horror that brought them here?

Told from multiple viewpoints in past and present of 5 different families whose son/daughter went missing right before a parents weekend dinner that all were going to attend together. If you liked Finlay's previous books you would probably like this one although I found it a bit on the weaker end compared to his others. Premise was interesting enough to hold my attention. Fun popcorn thriller good for a beach read.

I've really come to like this series from Alex Finlay. Although I found this one predictable, I enjoyed the alternating POV throughout the novel. I'm curious what mystery he'll put Agent Kelly in next. Hopefully we'll find out next year.

Lots of moving parts here, and I’m not sure all of them were necessary. This could’ve used more of a backstory on some pieces.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

I also received a copy of this in audio form and I have to say I much more enjoyed this than audio. It's very fast paced and with the amount of POVs, it's much easier to follow in ebook form. There were definitely some suspenseful moments that really kept my attention. I love Alex Finlay's storytelling and this one didn't disappoint!

Alex Finlay’s latest release, If Something Happens to Me, was one of my absolute favorite reads of 2024! I’ve come to expect gripping, fast-paced thrillers from him, and this one didn’t disappoint. His books are always an auto-read for me, not only because they’re compelling, but also because I can finish them fairly quickly.

When I started Parent’s Weekend, I have to admit I was a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters introduced early on. With so many students and their parents in the mix, I was concerned I’d have a hard time keeping track of who was who. At first, it felt like a lot to juggle, but thankfully, as the plot developed, the families began to differentiate themselves more clearly.

While many readers reportedly unraveled the mystery earlier in the book, I was genuinely dumbfounded when the twist was revealed. I love when an author can still surprise me, and this twist landed perfectly, it made me rethink everything I’d read up to that point. Finlay masterfully laid the groundwork, and the payoff was incredibly satisfying.

This was a fast-paced thriller that kept me hooked from the beginning. The twists were genuinely surprising and I found myself constantly second-guessing what I thought I knew. I typically do not enjoy lots of back and forth with alternating viewpoints but it worked with this story and I felt gave it more depth. I found myself in these parents shoes and freaking out with them.

The twists and turns we love in an Alex Finlay are back and ready to have you so invested.

1. I actually really liked "The Five" but wished it was more of them and less parents.

2. Parents are the worst. I mean it definitely made the story but why are some people the way they are 😅😅😅 *All parents should be like Bob.

3. Sarah Keller is back! IYKYK. If you don't please go back and read Every Last Fear and thank me later.

4. I love multiple POVs. It does take longer to set the scene but in my opinion worth it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book.

I absolutely love thrillers that start out kind of in the middle of everything and you have to keep reading to figure out what the heck is going on. This book is EXACTLY that. We start with five kids trapped in a. cave, and all I wanted to know was who they were and how they got there. Then we get chapters from each family and I wanted to know how everything fit together! Of course there are red herrings, and several twists, but by the end of the book I was racing to find out the whys and the whats.

I liked the FBI agent Keller's chapters because they kind of stitched everything together for us. I enjoyed her in the two other books she's featured in, so I wasn't surprised I liked her chapters here too.

The thing I didn't really like was the big reveal at the end. I found it predictable, and kind of off putting, to be honest. I was hoping it would be someone out of the blue, where I'd be like "WHAT?!" It just hit me wrong, I guess.

If you love dark academia with a twist of domestic suspense, buckle up—Parents Weekend delivers all the juicy drama, buried secrets, and breathless pacing you’ve come to expect from Alex Finlay. 🔍🎓

Set at an elite college in Northern California, this twisty thriller kicks off when five freshmen mysteriously vanish on the eve of a celebratory dinner with their parents. At first, it seems like a typical college ghosting… until hours turn into days, and the search unearths more questions than answers. With dual timelines and multiple POVs—including the return of fan-favorite FBI agent Sarah Keller—Finlay weaves a web of family dysfunction, generational secrets, and the fragile friendships that define our coming-of-age years.

The characters are messy in the best way—especially the parents, who are just as compelling (and suspicious 👀) as their missing kids. I was especially hooked by how Finlay explores themes of privilege, expectation, and the legacy of our choices. And yes, the twists keep coming until the very last page. 🤯

This was a tough one to review, because I didn't NOT like it, but I also didn't like it. I really liked the FBI agent character, and the other parents were an interesting peek into some very dysfunctional lives. But overall this felt implausible and over the top. The end especially was really rushed. I would rate this 3/5 stars. Just OK. Not great, but not terrible.

So good! Alex Finlay is amazing at writing a book that I quite literally do not want to put down! I also would be thinking about it and wondering what happens next when I wasn't reading.
Also, I have been to a lot of the places talked about in this book so it was cool to be able to envision it!
So so good!