This is a fast paced, tangled web, mind cluster of a book! I really enjoyed the setting, multiple perspectives, family drama, and rapid twists and turns. It opens up right in the middle of the “action” which sucked me in right away but I do wish there had been a little more before. Still overall a 4/4.5 star read.

I think I’ve read everything by Alex Finlay (for good reason), so I am pretty good at solving his mysteries.

I think I solved this one about half way through, but it didn’t keep me from wanting to know more.

Five college students go missing on Parents weekend, and it’s up to FBI agent Keller to solve this case (even though this really isn’t even her case to solve).

I will say that the beginning of the book was really confusing for me because there are just soooo many characters to keep track of. I still don’t think I really kept any of them straight or understood most of them, but I did feel for both the parents and their kids. This was a complex situation with flawed characters all around.

The story is fast-paced and interesting. I was worried it would be kind of like YA, but it wasn’t, since it had more to do with the parents and the FBI than it did the students.

This book has way too many POV’s and it makes the first half of the book hard to follow and confusing. There are too many story lines and characters to try and follow and you can’t connect or like/ dislike any of them because there isn’t enough character information. I don’t like that each family had their own storyline and I as the reader had to really focus to keep track of them all.

Parents Weekend - Alex Finlay

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“He’s always been a sweet boy, and the universe isn’t always kind to sweet boys.”

In Parents Weekend, five college students vanish during a weekend gathering at their university, prompting a frantic search led by FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller. As the investigation unfolds, secrets about the students’ families emerge, revealing complex connections and hidden motives.

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC copy. I tore through this one! The mix of dark academia with a strong female protagonist had me hooked from the start. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to keep track of all of the families but Finley did a great job of explaining it all. I really enjoyed all of the side plots and thrills that ended up leading their investigation down all sorts of roads. Only downside was I thought Alice and Felix’s family could have used a stronger side plot like everyone else got. Fast paced writing with short chapters made this a breeze of a read!

A fast paced enjoyable thriller. I could not put it down!
There were a lot of characters that were hard to keep track of. For a while it slowed down my reading and messed with the flow of the book. I finally decided to just read and trust that Finlay would get us where we need to be. And he did. I stayed up late into the night to get to the end and figure out what happened.

This book was intriguing, but ultimately lackluster. The mystery felt it was missing an apex, like we were building up to something but never really got there. I enjoyed some of the characters, but there was too much complexity and messiness going on.

This book was a pretty good read, but definitely not a favorite by him. The story line seemed rushed and lacked depth. The ending also left me unsatisfied. It was just an okay read for me.

A nice popcorn thriller. Just about each chapter ends on a cliffhanger so it helps move the story along. Wasn’t expecting to follow an FBI Agent for a majority of the story so was kind of let down by that. Not a big fan of reading a thriller on the police pov.

Fun book, until the ending. Worth a read tho.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

This was a good one! After The Night Shift I was so excited to see the bad ass Special Agent Keller was back! I enjoyed the setting of the college/beach and the premise of the crime taking place at Parents Weekend. I felt that was a unique idea for a thriller. It gave it a domestic thriller feel which I loved. My only gripe is that there were a lot of characters to remember due to the 5 students and their families! Other than that I thought it was well paced, interesting and had a great ending I didn’t see coming.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy of this audiobook which publishes 5/6

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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Website: SPEAKINGOF.ORG

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!