I did not care for the first book I'd read by Alex Finlay, but I liked his writing style enough to read another book by him. That book, I really enjoyed and then vowed to read more. So this is the third book of his that I've read now, and I'm still so glad I gave him another shot.

His writing is quick and witty. I love that his chapters are short and to the point; it makes reading so much faster. There were a lot more POVs this time around and sometimes that did feel a bit overwhelming, but the characters and their backstories were diverse enough to quickly remember who was who.

The mystery reveal almost fell flat for me, but even if it had I ultimately wouldn't have minded because I enjoyed the overall ride.

I really loved If Something Happens to Me, also by Alex Finlay, so when I was approved for this arc I was beyond excited.

This book was definitely NOT what I was expecting, though. I had thought, because of the title, it’d follow the families/parents more and flesh out how their pasts were connected to the disappearances? I felt the story focused way too much on Keller and she became the focal point of the narrative. A more appropriate title would’ve been: College Kids Gone Missing, An Agent Keller Story.

I would’ve loved more of an emphasis into the families and respective college kids and I think missing that component lost my interest in the plot. However, definitely pick this one up if action-packed FBI plots speak to your soul!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and @netgalley for an advanced copy of this book! 📖⚡️

4/5 stars

Thank you Minotaur Books for the advanced reading copy!

This was a super solid thriller/suspense novel! Read like a domestic drama/suspense/mystery/thriller, which is my fav combination of genres. There were lots of different POV's which I love, and it never felt challenging to keep track of who was who. I wasn't sure where this was going for most of the story, and I was surprised by the reveal, if not a bit let down. I hadn't even considered that outcome as an option because it felt so obvious to me... so I guess it was so obvious that it surprised me??

Beyond that, this was a super fast-paced, intriguing and likeable story. I could not put this down once I started and finished it sooo quick. Highly recommend for anyone wanting an easy-to-read and entertaining mystery!

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Alex Finlay for this Advanced Reading Copy of Parents Weekend in exchange for my honest review.

Parents Weekend is told from multiple POVs, which seem overwhelming at first, but once you get who everyone is, it makes sense. There was a lot of background knowledge about each child's parents, which helped understand that anyone could be responsible for the children disappearance.

FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller is a strong and confident woman! I loved reading from her POV. I loved her marriage, and her husband was an MVP of the book. Also, this made me want to read more of Alex Finlay's books featuring Agent Keller.

The reason this book didn't receive 5 stars is that the ending felt a little bit obvious about halfway through. Also, some of the parents were extremely unlikable (though that was the point). Still, I'm glad I read this book, and I think most people will like it too.

This is the first book I have read by Alex Finlay but I can guarantee this won't be the last! I loved the writing and the way that Alex Finlay grabs your attention and holds on to it throughout the novel.

Lastly, Parents Weekend was a quick read for me. It's the perfect read for a rainy weekend.

Another great mystery/thriller from Alex Finlay! It's parents weekend at a small private college and five families have plans for the night, but when their kids don't show up, and still haven't shown up the next day, the parents begin to panic. The novel is told from several different points of view, which gives a great all-around picture. The reader is taken on a roller coaster ride as suspicions mount about what has happened to the five kids, and who might be responsible. There are several great twists and turns along the way to the final ending.

I loved Parents Weekend! The story begins when five college freshmen mysteriously vanish during Parents Weekend at a university in Northern California. What seems like a prank quickly escalates into a full-blown investigation, especially after another student is found dead earlier that week. From that point on, the pace is nonstop.

While there are a lot of characters, I found that this only deepened my engagement. Each chapter let me explore a different family’s story, and I was fascinated by how each parent had something — whether from their past or present — that might have connected them to the disappearance. It added so many layers and twists that kept me guessing.

I also really enjoyed following FBI Agent Sarah Keller as she worked the case. She was sharp, level-headed, and someone I genuinely rooted for.

This was a five-star read for me. The suspense, the shifting perspectives, and the emotional depth made it a standout.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The story is about five first year college students at a university in California. The parents' weekend is supposed to be a weekend where students get to see their families, and it starts off by everyone going to dinner together. But, none of the students show up. Not one, but all five are missing, and it seems like the parents all have someone who may want to hurt them or their kids. This was told through multiple points of view. Short chapters that made me want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next.

Parents Weekend is the newest book by Author Alex Finlay.

The setting of this story starts off in California at a small private College, where the parents of 5 of the students are visiting the school for the weekend.

Each family has a unique background, career and story.

We find out about each of the 5 students, and their families, and a little about what has been happening with them at the college.

When the dinner gathering starts the parents are all there, but their 5 children are not.

An interesting story with lots of darkness and some hidden secrets.

This started off rather interesting for me, as I am a fan of the author and have read several of his books, which I have enjoyed.

However this book was quite different from any of the other Alex Finlay’s books, and I became a little bored quickly into it.

I am sure it will appeal to many readers and have a solid audience.

Thank You to NetGalley, Author, Alex Finlay and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for my advanced copy to read and review.

I enjoyed this more than the last few Alex Finlay novels! A quick, fun read. Enjoyed all the storylines and the multiple POVs.

Parents Weekend by @alexfinlayauthor

“The Five” attend a small private school in Northern California. The school is hosting a parents weekend/ night for the families. A dinner and cocktails for the opening night. When The Five never show up, the parents think they are just being college kids and stopped at a party. As the hours go by, they grow even more worried. They even call in the big guns the FBI.

The beginning of this book was very busy and many characters to follow. There was a lot of back and forth and it was hard to keep up at times. I feel like we could have narrowed down the parents past a little more because some wasn’t relevant. I would have also of liked to see more POVs from The Five and their situation they were in. FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller was my favorite! She was fierce and she was determined to figure out the disappearance. Definitely going back and reading her story!! 🙌🏼

Read if you like:
College campus vibes 👩🏼‍🏫
Secrets from the past 🤫
Multiple POVs 👀

Ratings:
⭐️: 3/5
📖: 308
📚: thriller/ mystery
🗓️: 5/6

This book had a lot of promise but ultimately, it just wasn't for me. There were way too many characters and at times, it felt difficult to keep up with. I also found myself getting annoyed with all the pop culture references and how both the students and parents acted. This would be a good YA read for those in college but if you're in your 20s like me, you can probably skip this one.

Like the other Alex Finlay books I’ve had the pleasure of reading so far, Parents Weekend managed to grab and hold my attention from the beginning of the story through to the end. It was suspenseful and kept me guessing, while simultaneously weaving in elements of humor, emotion, and reality in a clever and captivating way. It’s a relatively short read, making it easy to binge!

When parents from very different backgrounds come to visit their first year collegiate students at the college’s annual “parents weekend,” most are consumed with their personal lives and dramas, not expecting a weekend that will change their lives and link them to strangers. But when their five students go missing, everything changes. Rumors abound and social media goes wild, but a determined FBI agent is set on getting to the bottom of things.

I will warn that there is a very large cast of characters here. I alternated between the audiobook and ebook versions when reading, and actually found it easier to keep everyone straight when reading the ebook version. There is a lot of POV shifting, which certainly adds to the story, but may take a little bit for the reader to get their bearings and keep straight who is who.

Huge thank you to Alex Finlay, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, & NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

This was a quick, exciting read about five college freshmen who go missing on their way to a group dinner at Parents' Weekend. It's pretty straightforward -- there's sort of a twisty? But it was a bit too obvious to really call this twisty -- with a lot of potential suspects, and a satisfying ending. There are a LOT of characters so that took a minute to get used to each of them (and I'm not sure I ever felt quick comfortable with who was Libby and who was Stella) but I enjoyed this and am glad I read it! 3.5 stars rounded up

This was an action packed and thrilling book. There are multiple POVs as the story unravels but the author does a great job of holding your attention throughout.

Thank you Minotaur books for the ARC to read ahead of publication! This one is scheduled to pub May 6th, GET READY thriller lovers!

In his signature style, this is told in multi-POV. Normally we get seemingly unrelated characters that will eventually come together as the story progresses. In this one, the characters have in common that they go to the same school or are parents of the kids at the school. Said parents are visiting for Parent's Weekend so we know how they relate in that sense. I still loved that the author brings doubt and secrets to each family so the reader is left unsure which of the family's "issues" might be the cause of the kids going missing. I found it easy enough after a few chapters to keep the families straight but less so for the kids, specifically for the girls. I didn't feel enough time to connect to the student characters which, honestly, was fine in this story as the family dramas seem to push along the investigation way more than what comes of the kids lives at school.

The story progressed well for me, I was never bored, I read this super fast because I needed to know what happened here!

Surprisingly, of the novels I've read from this author, this is my first that features Agent Keller. I loved her character. Any time I get a BA woman FBI Agent, police, etc I'm super on board and excited. Bringing her family into the story really gave her character great depth and a second side than some of the single, loner agents I've read about. She was my favorite character in this.

Side note: the Reader's Note where the author tells that he got the idea on his own kid's Parent's Weekend made me chuckle a little. Lol.

A fast, engaging read with short chapters and multiple POVs that keep the pace moving.
While it took a little time to sort out the characters, once I did, I found myself drawn into the story. That said, the mystery felt somewhat predictable, and the ending didn’t quite deliver the twist I was hoping for.

DNF. After the first few chapters, I didn't care about any of the characters or situations, and I found what Blake's mother did too stereotypical. Not a great choice for me, as I'm not a thriller reader normally.

I started this on audio and then around halfway started an immersive read. While there wasn't a huge thrill, I did really enjoy the mystery and being inside of the investigation. There were a lot of characters to keep up with and I had to keep looking back to reference last names due to the parents being called Mr. and Mrs. so and so and then I couldn't remember which kid was theirs. Each chapter did began with the characters name and that did help me keep everything straight. I could see how the pacing could be a bit slower if reading it physically, there wasn't anything really twisty to make me want to keep reading until the very end. There really was no big AHA or shocking moment but I did enjoy the ending. Overall, it wasn't the best thriller ever but I was entertained and was able to finish it in less than a day.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I've been a fan of Alex Finlay ever since I read “The Night Shift.” After reading and loving his last 2023 release, “If Something Happens To Me,” my anticipation for “Parents' Weekend” was high. Sadly, this one felt more like a missed opportunity than a home run. Jumping from POV within chapters and having so many different narrators was a choice, and I’m not sure it worked for me. The pacing in this is good, as is most of Finlay’s novels, but I didn’t feel the urgency. I didn’t really care about any of these kids. By the end, I struggled to care about their fates or the risks they faced. Their personalities felt more like caricatures than real people. The development of the thrill itself was just not well done, I think because it was bogged down by too many characters. I wanted a twistier, more layered mystery. This one reminded me of a slower episode of a crime series, with clues that felt easy to piece together from the start. I did enjoy the return of FBI Agent Sarah Keller and her husband Bob. She was the bright spot of the novel for me. She is a very compelling character and I enjoy reading her. Thanks to Alex Finlay, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Minotaur Books for an e-arc in exchange for my thoughts. I do hope we see more of Agent Keller in future books. Even though this was not my favorite book by Alex, I will definitely check out his next book.

Thank you so much Minotaur for the gifted book!

I always love a new Alex Finlay book! His book THE NIGHT SHIFT is one of the most memorable thrillers to me still to this day!

I loved that the story was set on a school campus over parents' weekend! That was such a unique and fun spin on a campus thriller, especially when the parents are as interesting and....toxic (lol) as they were here!

Overall, this was a quick and easy read that kept me guessing! I think this will be a big hit!

3.5 rounded up for Goodreads