Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella are known as The Five by reporters and TikTokkers alike after they go missing from a small private college in Northern California, on parents’ weekend. What happened to them? Agent Keller is hoping to find out just that.

Told from the perspective of each family and Agent Keller, this beachy thriller has multiple points of view and a load of secrets to uncover. We see into each parent’s personal lives, the students in their current setting, and stories from their freshman year, and Agent Keller’s homelife in a way that adds depth to the story and keeps you guessing.

Why Kirsten loves it
Some books can’t pull off this many narrators, but Parents Weekend does. I loved learning about the secrets of each family, what baggage the kids are bringing with them into college, and how their past experiences shaped them at school. I could totally see this story being adapted as a TV series, it’s utterly addicting – an excellent beach read! #Gifted by Macmillan

I love a good Alex Finlay thriller and am always excited to jump into his page turners.

It’s Parents Weekend at a small private college in Northern California. Five families wildly different families are gather for dinner, expecting their children to join—but the students never show up. Initially dismissed as typical college behavior, concern turns to panic when the group remains missing overnight, prompting a major search and media frenzy. The missing students come from very different backgrounds, raising questions about family secrets.

As with all Alex Finlay books, this was a page turner, and I read it so fast! The mystery was compelling, and the pacing kept me hooked from start to finish. The use of multiple points of view worked well, especially in how each character, particularly the parents, were intricately tied to the story. Finlay does a great job balancing tension with emotional stakes. Add in multitude of perspectives there is plenty of depth and drama for all my mystery fans. If you’re read Finlay’s other books, you’ll see a familiar character in FBI Agent Sarah Keller. I’d loved getting a deeper look into her home life and honestly could go for a series following her cases.

There was one element (which I won’t expand on to avoid spoilers) that felt a bit like an afterthought — more of a red herring than a meaningful piece of the puzzle. It didn’t quite land for me and honestly, I think the story would’ve been just as strong without it. That said, it didn’t take away too much from my overall enjoyment, it just wasn’t my favorite.

Definitely recommend if you’re into fast-paced thrillers with layered characters and a touch of interconnected storytelling. This one will make a great summer vacation or pool read!


Parents Weekend comes out May 6, 2025. Huge thank you to Minotaur Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my: Instagram @speakingof.books.
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Finlay has a way of keeping me invested in the story and wondering how everything will turn out. Not my favorite Finlay, but I’ll keep reading as long as they keep writing!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved this book! It was written in such a unique and creative way: focusing on each of the different families and their perspectives. This kept the book fast-paced and made me want to keep reading. I had ideas about where the book was going, but was surprised by the ending! It was a twist that I wasn't expecting! I loved the graduation 3 years later chapters, and seeing what had happened to the different families and the kids. I would definitely recommend this book to others!

Family Weekend by Alex Finlay is a stand-alone novel. Special Agent Keller takes a special assignment in Northern California to be with her family and care for her ailing father-in-law. Her first case involves 5 missing college students, some with high profile parents. During the investigation she uncovers infidelity, sexual abuse, suicide, and many other disturbing facts. But with all the leads, not one gets her closer to solving the disappearance of The Five. The characters are complex and deep. Alex is a masterful story teller who weaves together a fascinating tale of family dynamics, politics, college culture and loss. It is exceptionally well written. Be prepared to be sucked into it.

First off, thank you for this ARC!

I really enjoyed The Night Shift by the same author, so was so excited to read this book. I loved that Alex brought in the FBI Special Agent from that book too - slightly tying them together, well done.

This is such a fast-paced book, I was hooked and loved it. There were A LOT of characters to keep track of which kind of took away from the ability for me to focus and follow it easily. There wasn't a tonne of twists, however it was still a fantastic read with some mystery.

St. Martin's Press provided an early galley for review.

Finlay has become one of my go-to authors in recent years. His books always bring something thrilling. Combine that with a college setting (a time in my life I still look back at fondly decades later), and I was very eager to check out this new novel. I've been on both sides of the parents weekend, so this was familiar territory.

The story has a large cast; between the students, their parents, and the faculty, there are a lot of names, personalities and plot threads for the reader to juggle. The chapters are fairly short in length, though, so things move around from viewpoint to viewpoint quickly and often. Finlay knows how to end chapters to keep the reader turning the pages.

If you've read Finlay's earlier books Every Last Fear (2021) or The Night Shift (2022), you'll see a familiar face in FBI Investigator Sarah Keller. The author brings her into this story, thus loosely placing the novel in a shared world with some of his other books. Once she's brought into the investigation, the focus spends a lot of time with her. Since she's a character I find enjoyable, it kept the story moving along for me.

It was a good, cotton-candy sort of read (quick, tasty but no over-filling). Overall, I found the characters of the parents more engaging than I did the students. I suspect that's due to where I am in life.

A domestic thriller involving multiple families, lots of secrets and motives as five college students disappear over the parents' weekend and the police race to figure out what happened. I thought this was just okay, I liked Brittany Pressley as the narrator (she's one of my favs) but I didn't especially get invested in the story. I also didn't guess the ending so if you like books by Shari Lapena or Mary Kubica you may enjoy this one too. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for proving me with a copy to read and review.

A good, solid mystery/thriller that was a fast read and while I’ve liked the author’s previous work more, the premise was unique and not overly predictable.

And in my opinion, the final chapter was perfect.

I just finished reading this fantastic book by Alex Finlay and I was amazed by it. It follows 5 college students' who's parents all come to town for Parents Weekend. Once dinnertime comes, none of the 5 students show up and leaves the parent's wondering to what is going on especially when none are answering their phones or texts. Where are they? What will be found? Who did this? Find UT by reading this amazing 5 star read once it is available!

Very entertaining thriller. I enjoyed this book; it kept me interested and wondering what was going to happen next. Multiple POV's but they were easy to keep up with it. There were a lot of twist and turns and had me staying up to finish the book. This was my first book by this author and can't wait to read more. The chapters were quick and most ended on cliff hangers. Very easy read. Really enjoyed Agent Keller chapters. Parents on the other hand were full of drama, but I was here for it.

Did not finish after about 20% in. There were just too many characters and I couldn’t keep everyone straight nor did I feel liked I cared to. It felt like a
Lot of chaos that I just don’t have it in me. Maybe I’ll revisit when the skies aren’t gray here in Michigan and I am praying for summer.

It’s Parents Weekend at Santa Clara University. We are introduced to five families en route for this big weekend but upon arriving for the dinner, it’s just them. Their kids are nowhere in sight. Is this a case of college kids just being college kids or is there something more nefarious going on? Agent Keller, who was recently relocated to California is brought in to investigate.

I had a really hard time trying to decipher which family went with which college kid and I also had the same issue in regard to which college kid was which. They all kind of just blended together. I think if they had been more developed with some more depth to them that may have helped. This was also told through the eyes mainly of Agent Keller, as well as the parents. It would’ve been nice to get more POV’s from the kids, and I think that would’ve also helped with the development of both the characters and the plot itself. There is also a piece of the plot that is divulged to readers later on during the conclusion that had me scratching my head as to why that reveal wasn’t investigated sooner. Definitely being vague as to not spoil anything. The positive is that it was certainly a fast read and I was able to finish it very quickly. It does have you turning the pages.

Overall, this was certainly a fast read, but I feel that some of Finlay’s earlier novels had more of the wow factor over this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Alex Finlay has been a favorite mystery author in recent years. You can always count on him to give you a fast-paced novel full of twists, turns, and unexpected villains. This book was no exception in that regard.

This story is focused on five college students who all go missing on Parents Weekend at their university. Told through rotating POVs from all five families, you quickly move through the story. The downside of so many POVs and characters is the ability to keep everyone straight and not intermix storylines. In addition to the five POVs, we also get Sarah Keller back with her POV, making for a minimum of six POVs. Towards the end, we get a few more sprinkled in. While I appreciated the fast pace, the amount of things happening & number of characters, I struggled to keep everything organized in my mind as I read. It forced me to slow down my reading. I often had to flip back to make sure I had the characters straight. This would be a big struggle for me to do on audio without the visual of names on pages.

All in all, I enjoyed the book & the twists and turns included. This wasn’t my favorite of Finlay’s books, but it wasn’t a disappointment by any stretch of the imagination either.

I really enjoyed this this story. There were a lot of characters to sort out in the beginning, but once you get them all straight it was interesting to follow along.

I had quite a bit of the ending figured out, but not all of it. There were plenty of little reveals and red herrings along the way. The short chapters that ended on little cliffhangers kept me reading much later than I should have. I found this to be an engaging and fast read.

I loved that the characters were all flawed. Honestly, there wasn't anyone particularly likable in this story, but I was still rooting for the kids. I liked that the end wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. It seemed pretty realistic and I liked the way the mystery unfolded as well.

Overall, I thought this was a great read and I look forward to reading more of Finlay's work.

Alex Finlay's latest thriller, Parents' Weekend, explores the unsettling disappearance of five students during a college event, prompting readers to question the safety of campus life.

Set at Santa Clara University during Parents' Weekend, the story introduces a diverse group of parents: a State Department official accompanied by a security detail, a prominent judge and his wife, a plastic surgeon entangled in infidelity alongside his spouse, and a single mother employed by the university dean. When their children fail to appear for the opening dinner, especially following a recent student tragedy, concern escalates, leading to the involvement of law enforcement and the FBI.

Strengths of the Novel:

Special Agent Sarah Keller: Agent Keller, affectionately dubbed "Agent Badass" by her husband Bob, shines as a formidable and relatable protagonist. Bob's character adds warmth and depth to their dynamic, enhancing the narrative's appeal.

Engaging Side Characters: SCU Campus Police Chief Jay McCray and student intern Annie Hafeez enrich the story. Annie's character, in particular, holds promise for future developments.

Pacing and Structure: The novel's short, snappy chapters cater to readers who favor brisk storytelling, effectively maintaining suspense and momentum.

Complex Parent Characters: Finlay adeptly portrays parents with multifaceted, flawed personalities, eliciting both sympathy and frustration from readers. Their humanizing traits underscore the lengths to which they will go for their children.

Areas for Improvement:

Student Character Development: The limited exploration of the students' backgrounds results in a diminished emotional connection to their plight. A deeper dive into their lives could have heightened the story's impact.

Predictability of the Plot: The mystery's predictability and the anticlimactic conclusion left me somewhat dissatisfied. Although Agent Keller's high-stakes race against time, sharp instincts, and the revelation of hidden family secrets were engaging, I yearned for a more intricate and unpredictable plot.

For these reasons I gave this a 3.25-3.50 rating.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for sharing this page-turner’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts

3.5 rounded up.

I had a bit of a rocky start with this one—there are a lot of characters introduced early on, and it was hard to keep track of everyone, especially since I started reading it while traveling. It took me a while to get fully invested.

That said, once I got a handle on who was who, the story really picked up. From about 20% to 80%, it was fast-paced and engaging—I was flying through chapters and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

Unfortunately, the ending didn’t quite land for me. The explanation behind the kidnappings felt underdeveloped and a bit random. The characters who tie everything together aren’t mentioned earlier in the book, which made the resolution feel disconnected and unsatisfying. There also wasn’t any real closure with those characters, which left me feeling a bit let down after such a gripping middle.

Overall, a mixed experience—strong pacing and suspense through most of the book, but an ending that didn’t fully deliver. I think there will be people who love this because it’s Alex Finaly, but I liked some of their other books better.

It’s parents weekend at Santa Cruz University and parents of the students in Campisi Hall are all going to meet their kids for dinner at a local restaurant. The parents all show up but none of the kids ever do. The five missing students get to be known as the Five. At first campus security is not too concerned thinking the kids all got sidetracked by a party or something like that. By the next day, when no one has heard from any of the students, law enforcement grows more concerned and it becomes a full blown investigation/search for the Five. Another student who had gone missing the week before is found dead, further amplifying the case to find the missing Five. We are told the story from different POVs, we get to see little glimpses of each of the five students families, backgrounds, lives - but I didn’t feel it was in depth enough to really connect to any of them. The story moves along and kept me interested on the surface but again, it lacked a real connection to the characters (maybe because there were so many) so I wasn’t totally invested. I’d label this a good quick read, just not great. I enjoyed the FBI agent - Sarah Keller - her chapters were the most interesting and the character I cared about the most. Apparently Agent Keller has appeared in more books, so perhaps I need to check those out. I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5, which I’m rounding down to 3 since I can’t say it’s worthy of a 4 star rating.

Set in Southern California over the course of a long weekend, Parents Weekend is jam packed with deception, infidelity, drama, and dysfunction. Parents of five college graduates meet for a special weekend. The first chapters introduce us to the families and the stranger dynamic of summing each other up. The students don't arrive for the dinner which understandably makes the parents uneasy. Police and FBI start investigating and discover there are many complicated threads to untangle with interesting connections and back stories.

The short chapters and snappy pace contributed to a very quick read but the lengthy list of characters was too long at the beginning. However, once I got further into it, they came together and stuck in my mind. I did not like any of the characters and therefore did not feel invested. The numerous affairs were too much and did nothing to endear the characters. But the past and present timelines were written well and the story itself very enjoyable. I also like that it was told over a short period of time which added great tension. Academic settings grab me. The ending left me itching for more depth. In my view, this is not the strongest Alex Finlay novel but he remains an auto-read author for me.

This was a quick, fast paced bingeable thriller. Told from the POV's of 6 families over a 3 day weekend. It's parents weekend at a small private university in California and 5 students have mysteriously gone missing. On the heels of a death on campus, everyone is on alert. And every one has secrets- parents and students alike. We get taken down a trip of so many motives and possibilities. Slowly ruling each one out. The plot had a good basis and I was thoroughly entertained by all the flawed characters. With that being my one criticism/ the books one downfall. There were ALOT of characters to keep track of, especially in the beginning and it was difficult at first to remember who was connected to whom. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur books for my advanced copy in return for an honest review.

TW: captivity, infidelity, murder, drug and alcohol use