Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press/Minatour Books for the ARC.

Alex Finlay has delivered another twisty mystery! Multiple POVs take us through this story filled with secrets and lies. Great story!!

Alex Finlay has delivered another book full of suspense and intrigue. Switching perspectives from the different characters was done fluidly and added additional depth to the plotline. The main character was very likable and relatable. Parents Weekend ensnared the reader and made them feel the desperation of parents to find their children. Filled with suspense, action, and emotion, Parents Weekend was a great read.

After loving Finlay’s last release, If Something Happens to Me, combined with an intriguing book description, I had high expectations for this Parents Weekend.

Following four different families of missing college students and the FBI agent in charge of their case, Parents Weekend has the makings of a great thriller. It starts off strong but unfortunately I felt like it was too predictable. Maybe it was too many POV’s that cluttered the plot-line? Or it was missing a shocking twist that I’ve come to love with thrillers?

It’s an engaging and bingeable read, but don’t expect to be wowed.

This is a great book! Instead of a missing college students novel, this book takes a look from the parents' perspective and they have just as many secrets as the kids. Five kids who disappear almost as soon as the book starts and their parents who are a mixture of marital status and shocking misdeeds. When the kids don't show up for a parent/student dinner nobody's overly worried. They're college kids right? There are plenty of twists and turns and the eventual culprit is a bit of a surprise. If I have to nitpick, I'll say there's not a lot of character development but that's to be expected when the story is so propulsive. Thanks much to NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’m having some mixed feelings about this book. I was really enjoying it up until the last 20%. It just got really predictable and in the end I still don’t full understand why the parents were such a focus in the chapters when they didn’t have a whole lot to contribute to the overall plot. Like I said, I enjoyed most of it. It was an entertaining thriller. The ending just wasn’t for me.

4.5 rounded up!

I loved this book, it caught my attention from the first chapter and kept me engaged and interested throughout it's entirety! I loved the different POV, back stories to each family of the five along with Keller. And it gives just enough time jumping and tidbits of info to fit puzzle pieces together as you go along! There were some great twists at the end also, a very well done thriller!

Parents Weekend is told from multiple POV. We follow 5 college students who are in a capstone program at small college in Northern California. Their families are invited to a family weekend where they will have dinner, drinks and catch up on school and life. Upon the parents arrival to the dinner something odd happens. None of the 5 students show up for the planned dinner. At first they think the kids are just being kids and are late. But when not a single one shows, alarm bells start to go off.

In comes special agent Sarah Keller to solve the case of the missing 5 Libby, Blane, Mark and Stella. Sarah just knows in her gut there is more to the stroy then meets the eye. She quickly delves into each family and finds heartbreak, devastation, deceit and secrets that play into the story.

Overll this book was pretty good. I had a hard time keeping up with all the characters in the beginning but once I read futher on things became more clear.

Not my favorite of Finlay's. The premise and beginning hooked me. The story moved quickly and held me. But then the ending was just kind of, blah - predictable. I kept waiting for a surprise twist.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!

In this captivating read, Finley draws readers into a suspenseful world filled with intrigue, betrayal, and unexpected twists. A web of dangerous secrets and morally ambiguous choices will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The author skillfully crafts a cast of characters that embodies the duality of human nature, with ulterior motives often expertly masked. The interplay between desperation and ambition drives the plot forward, inviting readers to explore themes of trust, deception, and the lengths one will go for a chance at redemption. This book is perfect for fans of 'families with secrets' and 'unreliable characters,' with the irony and suspense leaving readers turning page after page after page!

“The Five” disappear all around the same time on Parents Weekend. Their parents are waiting for them at the kickoff dinner. When one doesn’t show, then two then all five, it quickly becomes an FBI matter. Search parties are not the only thing forming. Drama, questions and the past also come to the surface.

This wasn’t my favorite of Finlay’s books but it still had lots of twists and turns! It was a fast read and kept me interested throughout the whole book. The ending fell a little flat for me but overall, this book is what they call a “popcorn” thriller.

Five families gather for dinner and cocktails during parent's weekend at their children's private college. They are making small talk while noticing that not even one of their children has shown up as planned to join them. The parent's get it; they were once students. Things come up, things get in the way, but for all five of them to be no shows????? hmm It will take a few hours but eventually the parents will begin to worry, then panic, and finally call the police. Agent Keller is called in to investigate....


First off, there are a lot of characters in this book! A lot. The characters range from the parents to the missing students, to the other characters who are interviewed or doing the interviewing. There are also multiple POV's Whew! I soon found my footing and was pulled into the mystery.

While I did find this book to be fast paced and entertaining, it missed the mark a bit for me. I have loved the previous books that I have read by this author. I had high hopes for this book and while Parents Weekend was enjoyable it was lacking a little bit of OOMPH that would have earned a higher rating.

I had both the book and the audiobook. The narrator of the audiobook did a great job brining the characters to life. Others are enjoying this book more than I did, so please read their reviews as well.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

*I did also receive an advanced audio copy of this title as well*

This worked really well for me. There was a great amount of drama, who can you trust, what is going on, all of the stuff I like. The multi-pov also worked for me. While it took a minute to get an understanding of each family and their "intricacies" I was easily able to follow the storyline. I loved the interconnectedness and the messy each character brought to the table. I love Special Agent Keller and found her endearing throughout.

4/5

When the college freshmen of five families are late to the parents week inaugural dinner, it's hardly noticed at first. Parents are drinking and mingling. When they fail to show up altogether, it becomes harder to rationalize.

So begins a harrowing search for the missing students led by special FBI agent Sarah Kellers and Chief of campus security, Jay McCray. Backstories provide well rounded, if not always well liked characters, as the search is mostly fruitless.

Clues abound but rarely amount to anything. A race against time keeps the pages turning and hearts beating ublntil the surprising and all too realistic end.

I felt like this book had a lot of characters and storylines that were hard to keep track of. I feel like because there were so many people to keep track of, there wasn't really an emotional connection to the characters or their families.

3.5 ⭐️
I love Alex Finlay, but this was not his best work, in my opinion.
The story begins with students and parents preparing for parents weekend at a private university in California. When 5 of the students never make it to dinner, worry starts to set in, and the hunt for the missing young adults begins.
I was excited to read this. The premise, location, and mystery seemed awesome, however, there were far too many characters. Finlay could have cut them in half, and it would have been more manageable to read. I didn’t care about the characters because I didn’t get to know them.
Thank you netgalley for this arc! I enjoyed this read.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for my gifted ALC! And thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted ARC!

Alex Finlay is an easy auto read author for me. He never misses. Every one of his books is a page turner. Filled with well developed characters and brilliantly crafted twists and turns. Parents Weekend was no exception. This is the type of book you can easily fit in two sittings, because it’s just that good. I loved seeing Agent Keller again, because she is such a badass. I hope we get to encounter her in another novel in the future. 😍

The mysterious disappearance of several students during a university parent's weekend. Everyone is a suspect in this fast paced thriller. This had everything I love in a suspense novel. Practically every chapter ending you discover someone else was doing something shady, and those that you would least suspect. The police procedural aspects were not overwhelming and provided just enough information to further the story. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the eARC. Thoroughly enjoyed this one!

At this point I have read almost all of Alex Finlay’s books and have enjoyed them all. I love the fast paced narratives, the complex plots, and how he uses multiple characters who are just as complex as the stories. This book was a really hard one to put down, and even though I knew who was responsible for the kids disappearance almost from the start, I was very much along for the ride.

This story perhaps has the most narrators of any of his previous stories, which made it somewhat difficult to connect to them. It is a pretty short book, so the characters are not as well developed as they could have been. But all of the characters were relatable if unlikable, as you probably know someone very similar. All of the characters, the students and their parents, have secrets, and as those secrets are revealed they result in a lot of misdirections that hinders the police in finding the kids.

There is one character that if you have read some of the author’s other books, you will be familiar with. Special Agent Sarah Keller is the FBI agent who gets involved in the search for the kids. I really like Sarah as she is very smart and diligent and cares about the people she is trying to help, no matter how unlikable they might be. She also has a very stable and loving family with her husband and twins. This stability in her own life was a nice juxtaposition to the turmoil that most of the other families were engaging in.

The story is incredibly fast paced and complex, at least from the investigator’s point of view. It was obvious to the reader who was responsible for the kids disappearance from the start, only because we are privy to the student’s stories as well as the parents. It was easier for us to see the whole picture that way. But knowing who was responsible made the story more suspenseful and unpredictable as you weren’t sure who was going to survive or if the reasons behind the disappearances were justified. It was a well done story with multiple layers that were slowly revealed while keeping a fast paced and suspenseful narrative.

If you are a fan of the author’s other books, especially the ones with Sarah Keller, than this is a must read. Even though it features a character from other books, it is one that could be read as a standalone. If you are a fan of fast paced and suspenseful mystery thrillers than this author and this book should be on your must read list.

I enjoyed the premise of this book, especially having my own children starting college soon. There were a lot of characters and that made it a bit confusing at times. I did enjoy that Sarah Feller made an appearance in this book and please know even if this is your first book by Alex, nothing is spoiled from previous books and can be read as a stand alone. overall the book ws good and I would read it again, if for anything to focus on different characters each time. Thanks NetGalley.