This is a compelling and energetic read. I very much liked the FBI agent, Sarah Keller, and her ingenuity and grit. And I loved getting a close-up view of a college campus, with all the dynamic combinations of relationships you can find there. The mystery itself is compelling enough to carry the reader through to the end, and the end is satisfying. I felt a little bit like the final few chapters didn't quite live up to the rest of the novel, but I know readers who come into the bookstore who I can recommend this to as a good summer read.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5
It’s parent’s weekend at Santa Clara University in California. As the parents begin to arrive news of a missing student becomes known. Natasha Belov is missing and soon discovered to be dead of an accidental drowning.
Blane, Stella, Mark, Felix and Libby are five freshmen students from different walks of life all in a capstone project together, they have a welcome dinner with their parents but all five students fail to show up. When no one is able to get in touch with the students the FBI is called in due to the high profile of some of the families.
Agent Keller begins her investigation and discovers the students are linked by more than just their project and may be hiding something. A student intern helps Keller discover a social media platform where a student is posting scandals happening within the university. Keller discovers that Natasha’s death may not have been accidental. As more details come to light the parent’s secrets begin to spill out: affairs, stalkers, arrest records, theft, divorces. All the family drama leads to a ton of suspects that could be involved in the teen’s disappearances.

In the first few chapters there are more than twenty different characters introduced, that all play an intricate part of the story. It’s a chore to keep them all straight. I ended up keeping a cheat sheet in my notes app of who’s who in the story for reference. Most chapters are headed with the family name it’s centered around but I still found it confusing to keep track of all the different storylines. Overall the story is great and I read the book in mostly one sitting because I needed to know what happens!
If you like multiple POVs, alternate timelines and lots of dynamic characters this book is for you! Parents Weekend is out May 2025!
Thank you to NetGalley for this free digital ARC in exchange for my honest review

This was a fast paced story that kept you guessing if parents really know their children.

Santa Clara University a prestigious private college in Northern California is hosting parents weekend and on the Friday evening for the welcome dinner on campus 4 students never show to meet their parents. Once they discover students are missing it turns into "The five" as one student did not have parents attending.

The case becomes higher profile the longer they are missing so the FBI is brought in and we get to see Agent Sarah Keller return and is put on the case.

The Five - Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella couldn't be more different and come from vastly different backgrounds and households and honestly all are pretty unlikable. We receive this popcorn thriller from multiple POV's as we go through the weekend they are missing.

Everyone is hiding secret and telling lies so it's hard to figure how or why The Five disappeared? Clocking at 235 pages this was a quick fast paced enjoyable book. Only drawback to the story being short, the ending felt a bit rushed.

This was a quick, binge-able thriller. I love the short chapters because it feels like the story moves quickly. I did like the different POVs, but it did feel like there were so many characters, and it was honestly hard to keep track of everyone. There we so many different possible "suspects", but none of them ever felt right and I basically figured out the "twist" from the beginning. I also would have liked to see more of the story from the student's perspective, instead of the parents'.

The ending wrapped up the story nicely, but it did leave me wanting more. Overall, it was a solid "popcorn" thriller and I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

Parents Weekend is about the mysterious disappearance of five college kids the night their parents arrive for their campus' Parents Weekend celebration.

What unfolds for the first ~50% of the book is a fast-paced, multiple POV, chapter after chapter trying to weave these stories together. I was hooked.

...and then it kept going. Every time I thought maybe we were getting to some sort of resolution, it was just more twists and turns. And I like twists and turns, but introducing new characters and issues so far into the book didn't make it more interesting.

Then, as if in a lightbulb moment, Keller just figured it out? I don't find it particularly believable. It was spoon fed to us how it all clicked together instead of showing us.

Three stars instead of two because I love when an "innocent" doesn't make it.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest thriller by Alex Finlay, with the audiobook perfectly narrated by Brittany Pressley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4 stars!

It's Parents’ Weekend at a small college in northern California. All the parents are gathered at dinner but none of their children show up. As time clicks by, panic sets in. The students are from very different backgrounds and all of the families have secrets.

I always look forward to Alex Finlay’s latest book. This one even has a returning character in FBI Agent Sarah Keller, although it’s definitely a stand-alone read. I loved having both the digital and audio files of this book to seamlessly go back and forth and any audiobook narrated by Brittany Pressley is perfection. The story unfolds through multiple POVs and timelines. I found it a bit confusing with so many characters, but easily fell into the story and mystery.

This was my first Finlay book and I was not disappointed. I found the storyline interesting and characters developed. Certainly there were some more likable than others. This did not contain some giant, shocking twist but the mystery unfolded in a logical way. I think it would make a good limited series to watch.
I will be checking out If Something Happens to Me by the author next.
Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC. All opinions are mine.

💬:
Unfortunately, I’m behind in my reviews and my reading 📖. Life! 🤪

I actually read this back in December during my week stint in the ICU, I just haven’t gotten around to writing this review.

It’s been a few months and I still remember all the details about this book. That is how I know it was an impressive read.

I’d recommend going in blind and just keeping in mind that there are many characters to keep track of. It did take me a little while to commit them all to memory, but not so long that it took any enjoyment away.

I guess the positive side to multiple PoVs is that you do need to pay attention, and can’t easily breeze through the contents. This could lead to an enhanced experience if the story is good, which this book was!

𝕃𝕒 𝕗𝕚𝕟:
The last third of the book kept me flipping through the pages to get to the end. I also loved how everything came together in the end like the last few pieces to a puzzle (mystery).

🗒️:
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘐 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘣𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯.

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢:
-𝙈𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙋𝙤𝙑𝙨
-𝙇𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧𝙨 🧅 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮
-𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 ✍️ 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜
-𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨
-𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙭 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙮𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙨
-𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 (𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙚)
-𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 (𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙨)
-𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜

3.5 stars. I have always been a fan of Alex Finlay as he is always known to write a bingable, addicting thriller and while this was not my favorite from this author, it did get me out of a reading slump so for that I appreciate. In this latest thriller, five students go missing during parents weekend following the suspicious drowning death of their classmate. As their parents try and figure out what happened to them, they are also trying to cover up secrets of their own.

I have mixed feelings about this one. We are introduced to numerous characters in a short period of time (I even had to create a cheat sheet) and because of this, none of them were able to be fully developed. They all felt very two-dimensional and honestly not very likeable. The one character I really wanted more of was Sarah Keller, the FBI agent from Finlay's last two books.

Told through multiple POVs and dual timelines, this is a fast-paced mystery that I wanted to love more but ended up being too predictable for my tastes. I know that so many love Finlay, me included and while this one did not work for me, it may be a hit for so many and I will definitely be reading any future books by this author.

I always look forward to reading Alex Finlay's next book! I was highly anticipating PARENTS WEEKEND and was thrilled to be gifted an ARC.

This was another twisty, fast-paced popcorn thriller from Finlay.

I wish I was a little more invested in the storylines/drama for some of the families. But the short chapters kept me turning the pages. Some of the twists were more shocking than others, but the final reveal was worthwhile and I didn't see it coming!

Transitioning from child to adult is never easy, but it is also never a solo journey. Our formation is strongly impacted by the teachers, friends, co-workers, and yes, parents, who accompany us on the journey into the adult world. Parents Weekend is about what happens when that journey is interrupted by sinister events.

It’s Parents Weekend, and the campus of Santa Clara University is abuzz with activity. Staff members, among them the Dean’s secretary, Alice Goffman, are stressed rather than excited. The Dean typically delegates any and all contact with the public to his associate deans, but Parents Weekend means he will have to be front and center, wining and dining the families whose tuitions make this small, private school in Northern California a desired destination. Alice’s anxiety doesn’t just come from dealing with her frazzled boss but from the pending dinner that evening with her son Felix’s capstone group. The families at Santa Clara are wealthy, influential people. It’s a world where a single working-class mom and her child wouldn’t typically be found, but her job at the university opened the door for them via free tuition as a perk, and Alice is determined to fit in. She wants Felix to not just take advantage of the educational opportunities here but is determined to see her odd little outsider of a son welcomed and loved by his peers.

Alice isn’t the only one suffering from angst. Cynthia Roosevelt, a high-ranking member of the state department, is fighting with her ex and feeling estranged from her fun-loving son Blane. She knows Blane doesn’t approve of her job or the administration she works for, or appreciate the pressure being the child of someone in the public spotlight adds to his life, but she is determined to use Parents Weekend as a chance to reconnect.

Ken Akana might be known as No Drama Akana to the public, a man who rules over his courtroom with an unflappable demeanor, but his life has been nothing but a melodrama for the past several years. From celebrity cases that eat up his time and thrust him into a spotlight he never sought, to the tragedy surrounding his young son’s death, his existence has been anything but calm. He hopes to use the time this weekend to bridge the distance fame and adversity have put between himself and his wife, Amy, and daughter Libby.

Mark doesn’t have family coming to the dinner and is happy about it. He plans to spend the evening chilling before meeting up with his pals later.

Nina and David Maldonado are on the verge of a divorce. Travelling with one of David’s cocaine-addict clients into San Francisco doesn’t get the trip off to a great start and reminds Nina of all the reasons this relationship is about to come undone. Things don’t get better after they land since their daughter Stella has elevated disdaining them to an art form. Nina can’t imagine how they will make it through an entire dinner with others as witnesses to their bitter dysfunctionality. Especially since Stella ditches them almost immediately, telling them she will meet them at the restaurant while she goes off to deal with what is obviously a made-up issue.

The excuse Stella gives her parents is indeed fabricated, but the reality of needing to deal with a problem isn’t. All five students have seen the same text and are on their way to (hopefully) resolve a matter that has put a serious damper on their collegiate experience for the past several days.

When all of the kids are no-shows for the meal, the parents laugh it off, joking about how easy it is to lose track of time when you’re in your first year of college. But as the minutes turn into hours, and none of the young people can be reached, the panic starts to rise. Alice reaches out to the campus police, who would typically not respond to the problem of young collegiates being AWOL for one evening. But the drowning of a missing young woman, discovered earlier that day, has them eager to prove themselves by solving this one quickly. Only their search doesn’t lead to easy answers, and within hours, the FBI is involved, and Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella – the missing youngsters – are all over the media. The Five, as the podcasters, bloggers, and TikTok sleuths call them, have captured the national imagination, leaving their anxious parents worried not just about their children but about what secrets will be revealed during the hunt for them.

Agent Sarah Keller might be new to Northern California, but she excels at keeping her cool during high-profile cases. And at digging beneath the surface to discover all the things people would just as soon keep buried.

First, let’s give a very excited. ‘Woot, woot!’ at having Sarah back, and having this book take place after Every Last Fear. The ending of that novel made us doubt Sarah’s fate, but seeing her alive, well, and ready to kick serious tushie is terrific. For those just discovering this author, you don’t need to read the prior books to appreciate this one. Sarah’s in Cali on a temporary hardship transfer so that Bob, herself, and the twins can be near Pops, her dying father-in-law. It is a serious career derailment, but one Sarah is happy to take for her family. She likes her job but doesn’t need the notoriety that has dogged her since the Blockbuster case. Her plan is to graciously accept being the lowest woman on the totem pole in the San Francisco office.

Since the missing students situation is initially seen as a hand-holding job, it is deemed perfect for Sarah. A mom herself, she agrees she’ll be ideal at making everyone feel like all is being done to find the kids while the local cops and campus police pull the children out of whatever party they’ve disappeared into. But Sarah excels at riddles. She figures out pretty quickly that this isn’t just teens being teens and goes full throttle into a twisty, turvy, full-speed-ahead manhunt.

The author does a great job of introducing us to all the different personalities that bring this narrative together and paces the story brilliantly, so that we are never bored as Sarah goes about solving the puzzle. The tale isn’t always believable – most mysteries aren’t – but it is thoroughly engaging.

Part of the fun of reading this kind of novel is finding things out for yourself, so I am not going to give a lot of detail. I will say, however, that Parents Weekend is just about perfect. Strong personalities, toxic relationships, youthful indiscretions, and smart policing all combine to make this a must-read for those who enjoy thrillers. I strongly recommend it to that audience.

Parents Weekend
by Alex Finlay
Pub Date: May 06 2025

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.

Told through multiple points of view in past and present, it was a little difficult at times to keep up with who was who at times. Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—The Five, as the podcasters, bloggers, and TikTok sleuths call them—come from five very different families. Then there were the parents of the five. Then the FBI was involved and the special agents, all in all it was a little hard to keep everyone straight. In the end though I did enjoy it and it was a good read.

Many thanks to #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks and #ParentsWeekend for providing me an E-ARC of this book.

Thank you to St. Martins Press, Minotaur Books and MacMillan Audio for the early copies! Here are my thoughts.

College is starting up and the only people more excited than the students are there parents. They are headed to Parents Weekend, a fun time to be wined and dined with the other parents of the students. When the students don’t show up, the parents begin to worry and it seems that their children have gone missing. Soon the reader is launched into a scary world where parents lives are impacting their children in a very scary way.

This is my first Alex Finlay read, and I enjoyed it. There were a lot of perspectives, so listening to it on audiobook could be challenging just keeping everyone straight. Once I had the characters down, then I was smooth sailing! The plot moves forward fast, as a thriller should and there are plenty of red herrings and twists.

I think I kinda figured out what one of the major twists was and that always makes me happy. I’m basically a detective. The narrator, Brittany Pressley did a fantastic job, and I enjoyed her vocal changes for different characters. I think this one is going to be a popular summer thriller!

Nail biting edge of your seat so good I could not wait to see how it all unfolded but it was so good omggg to the author you have done it again so good above turner !!!

This is the 3rd book from Finlay that I've read, and this has been a tad underwhelming for me. Loved loved his last book If Something Happens to Me and really enjoyed The Night Shift, so I had such high hopes for this one. Parents Weekend just didn't have the complexity and wild rush like the other two did. I'm still a big fan, it's just this one doesn't rank as high as others.

Like many reviews said, there were just wayyy too many characters. This centered around the parents, hence it was their time during Parents' Weekend, but the structure of introducing each and every one of them just got all jumbled up. Every time a new set of couple came through, I already forgot much of the previous ones. I didn't mind the shift on the parents instead of the kids, but it all became kind of confusing. I could figure out what would eventually happen, a thriller like this was typically predictable, so I counted on the structure of the characters instead, but it didn't work so well.

I both read and listened to the audiobook so I could full absorb the web work the author had created, but it was still kinda meh. The storyline and outcome didn't jump out to where it was amazing. The audio narration was just fine also.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and MacMillan Audio for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

PARENTS WEEKEND
BY: ALEX FINLAY

About 4.5 Stars rounded up to 5 Sparkling Stars!

I seemed to notice when I came to write my review, of Alex Finlay's latest novel called, "PARENTS WEEKEND," that I seemed to be an outlier opinion, in that I really loved it I rarely look at other reviews when I go to write mine, but I noticed there were several Good Reads friends that I noticed also read this so I was curious if they loved it as much as I did. I also had an idea who would have read this since we usually look forward to whenever Alex Finlay has written a new novel, with much anticipation, knowing to expect a fun, immersive, and compelling reading experience exceeding expectations. I can always count on him to write a five star book, without a doubt, they have all been excellent. For me, who have read and loved every single one of his novels, this by far exceeded my expectations, and this is innovative, and uniquely written. I can't emphasize enough how much I loved this one since it was not his usual style, yet I must give much earned credit to him for his courage to not hinder his creativity and write with a flair that was a welcome surprise since it deviated from the mainstream. It's premise is about five missing students at an elite university, but they are not given many pages to actually get to know them in the beginning which was a lovely surprise, and a completely welcome different approach that I think is why some fans were not expecting and rated it lower. What sets this apart is actually that it depicts this author has a wider range of ingenuity to expand his creative side to explore it, and not be predictable which takes courage since some readers aren't willing to accept change as growth on the author's they follow which it appears that I welcome it. Since to be honest most of the content in this genre is so similar that I read it much less with the exception of a couple of authors. Additionally, most thriller and mystery writers tend to write the same book that doesn't show literary merit or challenge their fans unlike this latest title which I love the return of Special Agent Sarah Keller, but this gets high praise for the distinct presentation in which I know that the execution of it is rare which I've thought about it, and I don't remember reading anything like it before. In the delivery of taking a common trope, and presenting it so new. I will remember this because of that factor as pure genius by Alex Finlay which I think is my favorite one by him, thus far. By that my clarification is we as readers for most of the mystery learn aspects about most of the missing five about them through either their parents, or the wonderful Special Agent Sarah Keller. I was thrilled that most of the book involved her and through her, and some new characters who assisted her as she peels back layer by layer of her positive, and much welcome brilliant job by this author of her character development made this such a page turner of a new novel. She is so lovable as well as her family and Chief Jay who they work and get more focus counter balances the dysfunctional marriages of a few of the parents. Having the parents as the focus was an intriguing and unique concept for the way to allow this story to unfold. Their family dynamics were a clever addition to the narrative although most were not relatable in how their marriages weren't admirable at all. They made for an interesting angle to be given as the opposite of how most of us would never be in that predicament in life since they epitomized unhappiness. Their lives weren't completely so over the top like most thrillers present suspension of disbelief that this novel didn't Since we've seen it either in a movie, read about it in the newspaper or heard of it before to know they exist. We all know infidelity is real, as is how a dying child can easily make spouses closer, but statistically it can destroy a marriage depending on each spouses mental health of how they cope and relate involving both spouses makes the difference. It depends on both partners degree of health, but it is all too real and nobody ever would want to go through, yet we've seen it on TV or heard of it which it's hard not to empathize with anyone whose experienced it, but difficult to witness two people in unhealthy marriages. It exists and having Sarah and her family and giving her most of whose lenses we witness the way this story unfolds kept it much easier to witness these people who we would never imagine ourselves in their positions. I think this authors choice of keeping the missing college students experienced abduction in the background and placing a lovable characters like Sarah and the Campus Chief more content was central and made it less graphic which I prefer and much easier to read. It's fiction I know but a very different approach and kept it lighter, and I think it was impressive because I never saw it done as this author made it more tasteful, and I have to say is genius thinking on his part to have been the first to choose this technique. The author made me entertained enough to get absorbed which added more suspense on their characterization, which Alex Finlay deserves praise for his imagination for creativity, since I appreciated that I hadn't seen this storytelling style done before which I applaud him. He did something unexpected which he wrote a realistic mystery that is outside of the mainstream which made this even better. I don't read as many thrillers lately since they are typically all the same, therefore not memorable except for the rare one that is so good since it's different from the predictable type that is easily forgettable. The writing in this one is one that I happily can say has met that rare criteria, even though it wan't as well received by some of his fans who weren't expecting a daring change since I only read a couple of reviews that seemed outraged that an author didn't write the same type of book, which I thought they failed to appreciate the literary merit that this one exemplifies. This is an introduction to a new, and freshly approach to driving the plot that was also what held my attention using realism by brilliantly conceiving a new narrative that I give him bonus points and credit. It wasn't a tired trope which I found a brand new captivating writing device that elevates his prowess of an author that I look forward to reading his next novel with great anticipation. It had short chapters, which I love, and helped to make this a quick read that I didn't find slow at all. In fact, quite the opposite. This was one I couldn't put down, making it a one sitting reading experience. Most of it was less to do with the missing "Five" Santa Clara university students suffering, and except for a short Prologue that involved them it starts out with a chapter heading that introduced me with the parents last names, and most of them are not likable at first impression, but that's okay because except for Mrs. Goffman, who I felt sorry for who is the only parent whose son was there on Scholarship, which is part of the perks of working as the Dean's Administrative Assistant or his secretary. Special Agent Sarah Keller who has just been reassigned to California, with her husband Bob, and their nine year old twins who beside Mrs Goffman who I loved, after the parents chapters which is a brief description of their child who is a Freshman the narrative has most of the story was about Special Agent Sarah Keller's point of view, but had less focus on the missing five students who don't show up for the dinner that was planned for Parents Weekend the first night, and I absolutely love Sarah, and was thrilled at her returning as a former character in Alex Finlay's prior books. I think that her, and her family that are juxtaposed to the students parents was another striking well plotted idea that this author rewarded me as a reader along with a few other characters that when looking deeper into the character development is also an admirable reflection of Alex Finlay's achievements of strong writing. I think her family being so uplifting and relatable as well as the Campus Chief with a few side characters keeps this from being depressing since their positive attributes lift this premise up with giving Sarah most of the focus within the majority of the novel kept me invested with her investigative techniques was my favorite character. She's stunningly developed as a character who I thought was who when gets assigned to the case even though we as readers are informed that there's many others in the race to find these students is what held my attention with her working with campus police Chief Jay a great vehicle with how competent they are a wise way of through them the reader learns about not just the characters that we get more background details by Sarah and the chief's unraveling the mystery as they uncover new revelations. It was through placing such focus on them as the central focus we learn more about each parents and their child along with other characters as well as technology explained in accessible to learning more about procedure as they proceed to uncover the mystery. I really loved how this author plotted this to be not the usual way most writers would format the narrative by making this surprising how he captured my attention from start to finish with how unusual the story was depicted makes this a memorable novel that I thought this was a spectacular accomplishment for Alex Finlay. I always admire authors who write and craft a premise that hasn't been done before. From reading the synopsis it was upgraded in my opinion by the originality used to deliver it by how this was done was welcomed by me, and I think it took a common premise by this unique way of execution is extraordinary as well, as bringing back Special Agent Sarah Keller, and some brand new likable characters is what makes this so well written, I wish I could read more mystery--thriller novels like this one. Regardless of the parents and the missing Five not being likable and except for the heroic actions of one of the "Five" the other students were particular ordinary which is the reason using Sarah and the chief as the more central larger focus redeems the execution since it's the first time I've seen this writing device is what made this so outstanding to me. I realize I might be in the minority, but my MFA I hold in Creative Writing more than a couple decades ago, might be why I admire stylistic unique executions when I see an Author deviate from the usual I admire the courage, and I still thought this was outstanding as I was reading it I thought it was gripping enough for the mainstream audience, also. I already said I couldn't put it down so I rated this 4.5 stars rounded up to five. This is my summary which I realize is going to be repetitive since I wrote this part first, and after further reflection I revised it above after sleeping on it. I was really too tired and I wrote what follows when I was half asleep last night. It starts when Natasha's body has been discovered, Sarah is the FBI Special Agent called in after the missing Five students don't show up for the dinner that they planned for Parents Weekend the night the Parents arrive. This one had her called in since one of the other student's Natasha Belov was missing earlier and found dead in one of the sea cave's drowned, but the coroner ruled out foul play and declared her death by drowning by being trapped when the tide changed.

Since this elite, private school's five family's are there for Freshmen's Parents Weekend, and their five children don't show up to the Friday night dinner, Campus Security Chief Jay, spends no time since there was already one students death he calls in the help of the FBI, and that's where Sarah Keller comes in which she has been in this author's previous books, which she and her family are staying with her husband's Bob's father. He is dying so Sarah and her husband Bob decide that they can help him as a temporary decision their twins will get a chance to spend time with Pops by staying in Bob's father's basement in San Jose, which is in Northern California, known as the Bay area. The location where housing costs are at least 1.5 million dollars. The plot was fast paced and she and the Campus Chief Jay and Sarah worked well together and I liked him, as well. I hope that Chief Jay, unlike Sarah, was a new character who I would love to see paired up together again. Sarah and her family have just relocated from New York, but this could be read as a complete standalone. Even though most of the parents are unlikable for various reasons they get introduced first in alternating chapters with most of their children are mentioned in each family's chapter. I think that' explains why most reviewers couldn't connect with their children, since their parents are the focus in the beginning. The guess is that this is unconventional, but to my taste I knew why the author deliberately structured this mystery on purpose, but I understand why this would be unexpected since normally one would expect to get more detailed introductions to get to know the missing children. Therein lies why I admire this different approach. Once the investigation starts it's believed that they are being kept together by a mystery abductor., Except for a couple of males in the beginning, the mystery had less details or development in terms of character about the five missing children than their parents making it hard to connect with the students than the parents. This is uncommon to present the story without featuring the five missing students besides how their parents describe them as their parents get introduced in the beginning and most of the novel featured Sarah and Chief Jay's investigation.

The parents except for Mrs. Goffman, seemed hard to connect to as well since they had either infidelity involved except for the two single mothers, one which was Mrs. Roosevelt who had a security detail since she worked for the State Department, There was a judge and his wife, and a plastic surgeon and his wife who had not seemed to be in a good place. Mrs. Roosevelt who worked for the State Department seemed hard to like, as well, The little that involved the five missing students didn't have enough about them until around 66 0r 67 %, into the novel, and even though this went back in time that was to a lesser extent. There were a lot of characters, but I didn't have a hard time keeping track of them since when their family came up, the chapters were labeled in the chapter headings with their last names. There was explanations of which child belonged to which family was more telling than showing except towards the last quarter, and even then I really only got to know two of the males which again, this was more about Sarah and Chief Jay who were the real stars of the show, and I rated it not quite a five but changed my mind and rounded up to the full five stars for the originality that this author used to let this story unfold , but initially rated it 4,5 stars because I did love this a lot despite it being flawless, I really enjoyed this, and I felt the pace was fast, and was sorry to finish it. I will repeat that this author used creativity, and his imagination and courage to create an artistic flair that I have not encountered before shows that he was still able to tell an edge of your seat story even though his normal audience didn't see that his creativity is evident. I applaud that Alex Finlay wrote a different type of book, since he shows that he is talented even though most readers expect the author to write what they are used to. Believe me it's refreshing to see a beloved author write a different style since so many authors write the same type of book. I really thought it was an excellent change that I think shows his talent. I can't relate to readers that crave so much darkness over ingenuity by a writer.

Publication Date: May 6, 2025

Thank you to Net Galley, Alex Finlay, and St. Martins Press, Minotaur Books for generously providing me with my Fantastic ARC, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own, as always.

#ParentsWeekend #AlexFinlay #StMartinsPressMinotaurBooks #NetGalley

✨ The Vibes ✨
A college-set thriller that focuses on the parents’ perspective

📖 Read if…
✨ You like books with a college setting
✨ You enjoy popcorn thrillers
✨You want a captivating and bingeable story

Alex Finlay’s books are the treat I look forward to every spring. He’s become one of my go-tos whenever I need a thriller that will hook me from the first page. Of course, reading his books is always bittersweet, because then I have to wait a year for a new one.

Parents Weekend feels like a return to Finlay’s early days, and not just because FBI Agent Sarah Keller returns after taking a few books off. The book is set at a private college in California, and follows five families as they are forced to reckon with the mysterious disappearance of their kids during parents’ weekend.

It follows Finlay’s signature multi-POV format, with quick chapters that end with tense reveals. He always does a great job of seamlessly weaving the POVs together, so that a reveal from one character tees up the next scene at the perfect time. I’ve seen some criticism that his recent books have felt less realistic than his earlier works, and while you’ll still have to suspend some disbelief with this one, Parents Weekend does feel much more grounded, especially given the emotional elements invoked in the story.

If you’re a mystery and thriller fan, this is without a doubt a book to add to your TBR. I think it would pair nicely with a cold drink and a great beach view.

Parents Weekend is out next week. Thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐
Mystery/Thriller
Pubdate: May 6, 2025

Thank you @libro.FM Alex Finlay, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for the #ALC #ARC in return for an honest review! 🎧

Read if you like:
🌊Academic Setting
🌊FBI shows
🌊Summer Thrills
🌊Short Chapters

Hold on to your hats because this was quite the roller coaster! A group of parents decide to head to "Parents Weekend" at their kid's university not knowing that 5 students would go missing that night... super interesting premise.

I enjoyed the narrative told from different POVS and the short chapters! I guessed some things but not everything which I always like. This was fast paced and had all the summer thriller vibes. ☀️At times I did have a hard time remembering who was who, so that was a bit confusing. Also ***POSSIBLE SPOILER**** that ending was so rushed and kinda a letdown with all the "peaks" we had. Meh.🙄

I would recommend.

Instantly grabs your attention and carefully weaves the lives and multiple perspectives of different families in a way that was easy to follow while also creating suspense and mystery.

It's parents' weekend at Santa Clara University, but as the parents of 5 students arrive on campus, they discover their children are missing. This book is trying to do too much, and there are far too many characters. But if you are looking for a mindless thriller, this is a fairly quick read