Loved the college campus setting of this thriller! Parents weekend was the perfect setting for a group of college kids to go missing. Most of the parents had their own issues going on which made them slightly unlikeable. We learn more about the kids through the adults. It was great seeing Agent Keller again from The Night Shift! Overall really enjoyed this one!

Five college freshman are about to embark on parents' weekend. The parents are planned to have dinner with each other and their students. However, none of the students show up.
The same evening, a sixth student who had been missing, is found dead.
The FBI is called in and the parents jump into motion to find their children. Almost all of the parents seem to have their own complicated baggage to deal with in the process, all serving as more for the FBI to sort through in order to find their kids.
This book was a quick read and kept my interest. It was a good detective mystery, as long as you aren't looking for any deep connection to the characters. I think there were too many characters for that. But Agent Keller makes up for it - she's always great!
This book is told by telling the story from the POV of each family, so it is a little hard to follow at first. But once I got through each family once, it was fine.
I would recommend this book to fans of "light" thrillers and of Alex Finlay.

Parents weekend turns into a nightmare getaway when four sets of parents are
left frantic when their kids don*t show for the weekend's events.
The exclusive southern California college turns out to be not so wonderful
when four of the college students disappear and the body of a fifth is found
drowned in a beach cave.
There is suspense but the awful attitudes and reckless behaviors of the parents themselves is a real
turnoff.
Typical college kid cliches and families with more money than wits about them.
Just ok.

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BOOK: Parents Weekend
AUTHOR: Alex Finlay
PUB DATE: May 6, 2025, by St Martin’s Press
PAGES: 320
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
GENRE: Psychological Thriller/Suspense

A special Thank You to @stmartinspress, @netgalley, and the @alexfinaly for gifting me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

ACCOLADES: Alex Finlay is the author of several novels, including EVERY LAST FEAR, THE NIGHT SHIFT, WHAT HAVE WE DONE, and IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME. His works have been listed among the best-of-the-year selections and translated into twenty-four languages. Additionally, his books are sold internationally and have been optioned for film and television. EVERY LAST FEAR is currently in development for a series.

SYNOPSIS: During Parents Weekend at a Northern California college, five families anticipate a night of dinner and cocktails. However, their children—Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—fail to show up. Initially dismissed as typical college behavior, concern grows when there’s no contact from the students. Campus police initiate a search, reporters flock, and speculation intensifies. This story follows FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller investigating the mysterious disappearance, uncovering family secrets, and exploring the pressures faced during the first year of college.

QUICK & SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: Alex Finlay has easily become an auto-buy author for me. He’s one of my favorite psychological thrillers and suspense writers! This is my third advanced copy from Alex Finlay, and it’s also my favorite of his! When I’m reading a thriller/suspense and I can easily predict the culprit or the ending, then it doesn’t make for a good, on-the-edge-of-your-seat, gripping story, now does it? He always hits the mark for me, and I will happily recommend this to friends and fam!

While this is not one of my favorites of Finlay, I still really enjoyed this book. While the beginning was difficult to follow with all the different characters introduced, and the ending left a little to be desired. The meat of the book was very enjoyable.

This had the potential to be a five star read for me but fell a little flat at the end. I really enjoyed the overall mystery with the missing five students, it kept me hooked. I liked that we got the POVs not just from the students, but also their parents which added a lot of layers and made me constantly question what was really going on. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but once the story really got going I got used to it and didn’t mind. The pacing was good and I felt really engaged throughout except for the ending. It felt really rushed and I didn’t love how one of the characters suddenly solved it out of nowhere. I wish the ending had been longer and turned out a different way.

Now this is how you kick off a college parents’ weekend with a murder! From the start, this one’s packed with secrets, skeletons in closets, and plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing.
The characters are a mess of their own making, victims of themselves as much as each other, and as their backstories start to unravel, it all weaves together into one heck of a thriller. Fast, twisty, and seriously hard to put down!

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5 rounded up. Parents Weekend is the latest entertaining thriller/mystery by Alex Finlay, who I can count on for a good entertaining read. Was this a plausible story that I can see happening? Probably not. Nor did I expect it to be. But I have come to expect Finlay to deliver a popcorn munching, twisty, dark read and that he did. We have a wide cast of characters that are freshmen at Santa Clara and their folks have all come to visit for Parents Weekend. Only problem is that the kids have all disappeared just before the welcome dinner. Twists and turns weave through the story and things wrap up rather well for the most part. I read Parents Weekend both as a physical digital copy as well as on audio and enjoyed both experiences. Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for advanced copies in exchange for my honest opinion. Parents Weekend will be available on 5/6/25.

Just finished Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay! It’s a fast-paced thriller with lots of twists, set during a chaotic college parents’ weekend. I loved the tension and the multiple POVs, but it was sometimes hard to keep track of who was who, and a few characters could’ve been developed more. Still, it kept me hooked and guessing until the end! A fun, quick read if you’re into dark campus mysteries.

I almost didn't like this book! Dealing with 4 different families, the FBI agent, and then the investigation into 4 missing college students over Parents Weekend at a private California college just seemed like too much to keep straight. But, I got hooked. It is a quick read! I did have it figured out sooner than I would have liked, but it was still enjoyable to have suspicions confirmed and how Finlay tied all the story pieces together. Great read heading into summer releases!

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book. I have not actually read an Alex Finlay book before on an ebook/physical format, I've only listened, so this was definitely great to have enjoyed the read!

4.5/5 Stars

The good:
- I've enjoyed Alex's works because of how twisty they are and I felt this was his most ambitious yet, and it WORKS. I personally loved the multitude of perspectives you get and felt each voice was unique.
- There are multiple mysteries that you explore and everything gets wrapped up nicely with a bow.
- Sarah Keller is a staple in Alex's books, and I absolutely love seeing her again and again.
- This was a book I definitely wanted to keep reading to figure out the mysteries, but...

The loss of a half star:
- I think I just figured out what was going on a bit took early and it took me out of the story. I wish there was a bit more shock to the final mystery, whoops (but I think that's a me problem more than anything)

Overall, if you're looking for a twisty, multiple-perspective mystery, you should definitely pick this up.

Parents Weekend
Alex Finlay
5/6/25
4☆

Another twisty tale by Finlay! This one sucked me in right away. Told in multiple POV’s and alternating between past and present timelines, there is A LOT going on here. However Finlay weaves everything together and fleshes out the characters just so that it all unravels at just the right pace into a thrilling and mysterious story that will keep you invested throughout.

What I enjoyed;
✨ Thriller/Mystery
✨ Family Drama
✨ Multiple POV
✨ Past/Present Timelines

Don’t miss the author’s note at the end.

Thank you to St Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the advanced copy.

It's parent's weekend at Santa Clara University in beautiful northern California. A student is missing, then found dead. Before the weekend can really get started, five students go missing. One of the missing students is the son of an important member of the federal government. Lots of cliffhangers adds to the very fast paced story. Sarah Keller, FBI agent, is investigating the kidnapping. The story is told through multiple point of views, each family's insights let the reader into their thoughts and actions. A very well put together suspense thriller.

4 stars

Thank you to St Martin's Press / Minataur Books / Macmillan Publishers for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for a digital copy of this book. The opinions given are my own and freely given.
Parents weekend is about 4 families coming together for one weekend their childrens freshman year of college. Each family has issues in their past. One student (not a freshman) goes missing and and when her body is discovered, the other students that were last seen with her go missing as well.
This is a very fast paced story and the investigation digs into the parents to see if their past can be the reason their children are missing.
Really enjoyed this story.

I was very engaged in this book! However the ending a bit of a let down. I wasn’t super shocked how it ended, but short chapters and all the characters kept me guessing! So 3.5 rounded to 4

I was really excited for Alex Finlay's latest novel about parents getting together to celebrate their children starting at a private school. When the kids don't turn up to the planned dinner, the search begins to locate them.

With multiple POVs, this book started out with a bang. I was fully into it and while there were a lot of characters, I found myself able to keep up (just!) with who was who and doing what. Sadly though, the storyline didn't hold my attention from the middle onwards. I don't know what happened from the fab start to the drag midway. The ending was decent though so I'm glad I stuck with it throughout. Though this one wasn't my favorite, I still look forward to reading this author's work.

Parents Weekend is one of those thrillers that you just can’t help but read very quickly as each chapter leaves you hanging and you have to read just one more….at least until real life gets in the way. With short, explosive chapters and an interesting and varied cast of characters, this novel moves quickly.

The bulk of the story takes place over one weekend, at a private college in California. Five students go missing on parents weekend. FBI agent Keller, who recently transferred from New York is drawn into the case. She was my favorite character and has appeared in two past novels by the author- I hope he continues to include her in his future work. There are a lot of characters and we get a good amount of information on each. Each chapter is also labeled by character so it’s easy to keep track of who’s who. The novel definitely lives up to the label of thriller! I also enjoyed the prologue and the author’s note. Mr. Finlay has become a must-read author for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

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Parent’s weekend is a thriller which has multiple characters with complex backgrounds. We follow the parents as they try to figure out the disappearance of 5 students.

Alex Finley gets to the point fast and quickly shows different twists that surround the Parent’s Weekend.

Although I enjoyed the story, sometimes it felt like it was a little crowded and the characters were not all fully developed.

I really enjoyed the acting around the narration, Brittant Pressley did a fantastic job portraying the characters’ stories. I felt engaged and caring as I listened to the audiobook.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read and listen to the ARC and ALC.

I was thrilled to reconnect with Special Agent Keller, a character I’ve grown fond of since first meeting her in Alex Finlay’s debut, Every Last Fear. Following her journey through his subsequent stories has been a rewarding experience.

In this captivating installment, Finlay immerses readers in an academic thriller set at a prestigious university during Parents Weekend. The plot intricately weaves together the lives of five diverse students and their families, revealing a rich tapestry of expectations and realities.

What begins as a joyful celebration of parental pride quickly spirals into a gripping exploration of secrets and betrayals. When the five students mysteriously go missing, their families must grapple with the daunting question of what has led to their disappearance, exposing hidden tensions and unresolved issues that have long simmered beneath the surface.

Each richly developed character struggles with their own ambitions and dilemmas, raising questions about potential hidden motives behind the abduction.

The narrative skillfully shifts between the procedural elements of Keller’s investigation and the emotional turmoil faced by the students’ families, offering a multi-layered perspective that keeps readers engaged.

For fans of dark academia, this novel may strike a chord with its chilling themes and intricate plot lines. While I personally found the pacing a bit slow at times, with tension building gradually, the unexpected twist at the end took me by surprise and elevated my overall experience.