Proud parents gather for a weekend to celebrate their children’s first year on campus at a small private North Carolina college. But when a group of five students fail to show up for the dinner, following the suspicious drowning death of their classmate, all of their parents begin to panic. As a search ensues to find the five— Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella— each of the parents’ past activities will be called into question.

Whelp. This book is not for me, and has left me utterly confused as to my feelings on this author’s books. My favorite part of this story revolved around FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, I have not read either of the previous books that featured her, so most likely I will try one more time with Every Last Fear.

Here is where I struggle with his books— they feature way too many characters. While some thrillers have large casts of characters, Locust Lane, for example, they usually introduce them, and then slowly build up each character throughout the length of the book. In Finlay’s books, we are introduced to numerous characters, with little space in between, and then they sort of…fall flat. They all feel very two-dimensional. When this happens, I find myself unable to connect to any of them on any kind of emotional level, and therefore struggle to connect with the story. This was particularly so with the college students who felt very surface-level in their development. The only character who had true depth was Sarah.

I also find Finlay’s books to start strong and then just go completely over the top, plot-wise. I felt similarly with What Have You Done. Characters who feel at a distance and a plot line that feels unreasonable lead to a not-great reading experience. Unfortunately, the audiobook, narrated by the fabulous Brittany Pressley, only served to enhance the elements I already struggled with, and even when I eventually paired it with the physical book, I still felt a) confused and 2) completely disengaged.

Read if you like:
▪️dark academia
▪️domestic suspense
▪️family melodrama
▪️teens behaving badly
▪️ensemble casts
▪️plot-heavy stories

📆 Pubs: May 6, 2025

Thank you Minotaur for the advanced copy.

Thank you for the advanced copy! This was a fun and quick thriller to read on a weekend. I enjoyed the multiple point of views. There were maybe a few too many characters which made my head spin. Lots of good twists!

I’ve only read one other Alex Finlay book, and the experience here felt really similar. He’s clearly good at building a thriller. The hook is strong. The twists are satisfying. The pacing moves.

But there are just so many characters. The perspectives jump around constantly. The timeline doesn’t stay put. I was always a little off balance trying to remember who was connected to who, and it pulled me out of the story more than once.

I even said in my TikTok review of the last one that I’d try another to see if it was just a mismatch. Now that I’ve read this too, I think Finlay just isn’t for me.

That said, if you like short chapters, shifting POVs, and big ensemble thrillers, this might work better for you than it did for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the ARC!

This was my ideal thriller, multiple POVs with great backstories and something I love that I know not all do - shorter choppier chapters to switch between characters!

It kept me guessing until the end and I couldn’t put the book down!

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay is a highly recommended thriller centered around a small private college in Northern California.

Parents are arriving for Parents Weekend at Santa Clara University. Preceding the start of this event, the body of student Natasha Belov, daughter of a wealthy businessman, is found dead in a nearby sea cave. A group of five students who are residents of Campisi Hall, Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella, plan to have dinner with their parents the first night. When none of the students show up for dinner, the parents initially think they are just being irresponsible college students, but when they cannot reach any of them, they involve the campus police.

FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller is called in to assist due to the high profile parent of Blane. She, her husband Bob and their twins recently moved from NY to CA to care for Bob's father. It is a pleasure to see Agent Sarah Keller again and on the case. Even though she is a recurring character from two previous novels, this works as a stand alone.

There is a large cast of characters but if you pay attention they quickly sort themselves out. Libby Akana's parents are Ken, a well known Superior Court judge, and Amy. Blane Roosevelt's parents are divorced, his mother Cynthia works for the State Department and arrives with a security detail. Mark Wong is Blaine's best friend and comes from a troubled past. He has no parents at the event. Felix Goffman's single mother, Alice, works for the dean of the college. Stella Maldonado's parents are David, a plastic surgeon, and Nina.

The well-written narrative unfolds between the multiple points-of-view of students and parents. The multiple individuals involved open up the possibilities and suspects especially since they all, parents and students, have secrets, threats, and issues. Almost all of the parents are totally dysfunctional and the focus is more on their character development rather than that of the students. It was a wise and realistic choice to include the use of social media by students in the plot. The short chapters keep the pace moving briskly along.

Parents Weekend was engaging throughout and the twists at ending were surprising for me. Thanks to St. Martin's Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

This was an engaging, quick read that I overall enjoyed. I liked the mystery and variety of characters (even though they were almost all unlikable by design). I am always a fan of multiple points-of-view.

This wasn’t my favorite book by Finlay but still recommend as an entertaining popcorn thriller.

This felt like a good relevant thriller book especially after the Idaho murders.

I did feel like there were way too many characters and side plots that were irrelevant. I know they were meant to possibly be a referring but I never believed any of the parents or someone connected to them took The Five.

I also thought the perspective of the 5 while being gone wasn’t necessary or maybe even cutting some of that down. I think just hearing their side at the end woudlve been just as effective.

The ending was satisfying and I’m glad it wasn’t necessarily a full happy ending. Overall it was a good mystery book.

Five parents are at Parents weekend dinner waiting for their kids to show. When hours go by and they don't appear, some feel that kids are just being kids and are off having fun while others are concerned. As more time goes by and they still don't appear the parents get concerned and get a search party looking for them.

The Five as they are called are Stella, Blane Mark, Libby and Felix are missing and may be in trouble. What led to this dreadful night?

Fbi agent Sarah Feller is called in to assist in finding these children.

Told from various points of view, I found this a fascinating read, very exciting and a different plot that I have read before. I enjoyed this alot.
I want to thank Martin Press Publishing and Netgalley for this earley copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the
E-ARC! Really enjoyed! Great plot twists & liked the setting. Will definitely read more from this author.

The pacing was great, shorter chapters that I found difficult to put down.
there are a lot of characters, so it took me a bit at the beginning, but once I was able to keep everyone straight in my head I really got into it.
it was filled with flawed characters and mystery.
would def recommend!

It’s Parents Weekend at college, but all 5 of the students missed the group dinner. Because some of the parents are high-profile, the FBI is called in to help find the kids.

High paced thriller with multiple POV between the parents, kids, and FBI agent. There are A TON of characters — sometimes it was a bit hard to keep up with which parent belonged to which kid and who was who, but overall the author did a great job of developing the characters uniqueness.

There’s no shortage of action at really any point of the story line, which made this a perfect quick read - would be great for beach trips coming up!

This is my third Alex Finlay book, and it’s by far my favorite! You get the usual…lots of characters and red herrings, but it seemed easier to follow than his others for me.

I also REALLY enjoyed the plot! Parents come visit their kids at college, their kids disappear, and secrets start flying off the pages! You mainly get the different parents’ POVs and the detective who is working to try and find them, but sprinkle in the kids’ POV too, and it was the perfect mixture!

The short chapters keep it fast paced, and this one kept me guessing the entire time. I kept going back and forth on all my theories! Andrea and I weren’t sure how it was going to end!

Definitely grab this one when it comes out if you’re in need of a gripping story!

Thank you to the publish and Net Galley for allowing me to read this early.

3 stars. The story revolves around five college students that go missing and the secrets and drama that lead up to it from multiple family POVs. It read fast- not a lot of fluff but it also read like a tv show with the dramatic lines ending chapters. You could almost visualize the actors saying the eye-rolling line before going to commercial break. After a while, I was ready for the story to wrap and debated ending it 88% through. Will this story stick with me? No. Was it my style? No, but if you like quick thrillers that have clean language, no gore and keep it simple, this could be your jam.

A masterclass in suspense. Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay is a twisty, fast-paced thriller that grips from page one. With missing students, dark secrets, and razor-sharp tension, it’s everything you want in a binge-worthy mystery.

I have loved all of the previous books by this author - but this one was way to predictable!

The students and their parents were stupid, selfish, self absorbed - totally unlikable!

Keller was the bright spot of the book (and Bob)
Tied up all the loose ends - except where they ended up. Perhaps I see a sequel....

Easy read - would make a good beach read.

I was pretty surprised when this was one was done because it was super quick and short. I listened to the audiobook and I did like the narration very much. I felt like there could have been a lot more fleshed out int his one and it wasn’t my favorite of his (although I was pleased to see agent Keller again). Parents weekend has come and before it can even get started a student who was missing is found dead. If that wasn’t bad enough 5 other students go missing the night of the big parents weekend dinner. One of those students has a mother with connections to Washington so a search is started almost immediately. Agent Keller has just moved on a temporary assignment so her husband can care for his aging father and she is quickly called out to the case. This one did move quickly, but I wanted more from the characters. I didn’t like any of them very much, but I did feel there was potential with them. Overall I gave this one 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars because it was a quick read.

A very crazy parents weekend is ahead in this book. Multiple points of view and a lot of secrets. I enjoyed the setting and the concept behind the book. Didn’t love the characters. It’s sort of a thrill but by the end it really isn’t. I also listened to and enjoyed the audiobook version too.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!
I find this author to be hit or miss for me. I loved his last book, this one not as much. A lot of characters, confusing plot.
But I encourage you to decide yourself!

3.5 stars rounded up. This was an enjoyable fast paced thriller that kept me guessing. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a major letdown. While the fast pace and short, punchy chapters had potential, the story quickly got bogged down by too many underdeveloped characters and unresolved plotlines. At just 235 pages, it felt rushed and incomplete, with no clear explanation for how or why the central crimes unfolded.

The writing was basic, the characters flat, and the plot full of holes. There was no real twist, no suspense—just a loosely connected series of events that never came together in a satisfying way. Despite the multiple points of view, none of the characters felt fully formed or compelling.

This felt like a popcorn thriller in the worst way—light on substance and heavy on empty style. It read like something cranked out quickly, without much care or depth behind it.

I’m honestly puzzled by the glowing reviews. For me, this was a frustrating and forgettable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.