I love Alex Finlay and the way he manages multiple characters with their messy backgrounds and somehow brings them all together in the end. This book was no different. While the focus was mostly around the parents and their complicated histories, I also felt connected to the missing college kids at the center of the book. As always, Finlay wrapped up the stories in pretty little bows that came full circle.

I love the complexity of characters in Finlay’s novels! It’s a lot to juggle and takes a little bit to get into to differentiate the storylines, but always worth it. I feel like the inside cover should be a family tree to quicken the acclimation to juggling different names and backgrounds. Unlike other books in the past, it seemed the pacing was chugging along and then wrapped up really fast in the end. I wasn’t a huge turn off, but the apex of the story came and the book ended quickly after. I would’ve loved a little more detail in the end to maintain the pace from the start. I also feel like the character that makes the most noise in the end (not listed to prevent spoiler) could’ve had more detail surrounding the height of the story. Maybe more detail into how it was executed.

Overall, I rated this a 3.5 rounded up. Great for a quick read popcorn thriller. Thank you NetGalley and

Parents weekend: A group of five college students turn up missing during parents weekend. One is son of an important government official. One has a father who is a well known judge. Is this a prank? Have they been kidnapped or where the heck are they? It will take the fb I, campus police , and local police to figure out what is going on

Based on the synopsis of this book, I was truly excited to read it. The concept of the story sounded very interesting (five students who never show up to a dinner taking place at their university during Parents Weekend) and I love thrillers/mysteries in general. This was also the first book I read by Alex Finlay, and I have been hearing good things about his books for years prior to reading this one. However, I have to say that this book seemed to be all over the place. The beginning was interesting and the story kept me captivated but I quickly lost interest in reading further as the story just became more and more disjointed and confusing. I found myself having to go back to different parts of the story in order to remember which characters the author was writing about, and none of the characters were really that memorable to me, especially the students. I would say that I did enjoy reading the parts of the story that featured FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller as well as Police Chief Jay McCray. The mystery felt a little lackluster as I got closer to the end of the story and I honestly thought that I would like this book much more than I really did. I expected more of a plot twist than what was in the book as well. I will be trying out more of Alex Finlay's novels in the future, so hopefully I enjoy those more than this one.

This book had me hooked & I could not put it down.
The story follows five families whose kids go missing, along with an officer trying to piece everything together. And every... single... one... of these families has messed-up pasts and storylines (I mean, don’t we all to some extent? No? Just me?).

Following the backstories and chasing all the possible leads (that kept ending in dead ends) had me sitting here with a full-on conspiracy board mapped out in my head (red string and all) constantly rewiring it.

There were moments when I would be sitting in my kitchen reciting each character and theory I had out loud, just to track where I thought the story was heading.

This story definitely kept me glued to my Kindle for the majority of the novel (or at least as much as a child and full-time work allow).

I really enjoyed all the characters because of their flaws. I loved that there were so many main characters to keep me on my toes.. but where other stories sometimes create confusion with a large cast, Alex Finlay kept everyone organized.
I never once found myself thinking, “Wait, which character was that again?”

Well done, Alex Finlay!!! This was a highly enjoyable, fast-paced read for me!

4 Stars!!

I liked Parents’ Weekend, but I didn’t love it. The story had a lot going on, with multiple POVs and a huge cast of characters, sometimes it was hard to keep track of everyone, and I found myself a little lost and confused at times. It leans more into the police procedural side than I expected, which slowed the pacing for me. However, I did not see that twist coming and I love when an author is able to keep me from figuring out the twists.

Overall, an entertaining listen, just not one that completely hooked me.

Huge thanks to @netgalley, Minotaur Books, and Alex Finlay for the ARC of Parents Weekend in exchange for an honest review!

Alex Finlay is an auto-read author for me—I’ve loved every single one of his books—so I was very excited to get my hands on this one. And let me tell you, Parents Weekend did not disappoint.

The story centers around five college friends who vanish right before a planned dinner with their parents at—yep, you guessed it—Parents Weekend. From there, the mystery unravels through alternating viewpoints: the students, their parents, and the detective working the case. Each perspective adds a new layer, and Finlay does a great job of weaving them all together without it ever feeling overwhelming.

There are plenty of red herrings and just the right amount of “wait, WHAT?” moments to keep you flipping the pages. Like any good thriller, it keeps you guessing—but everything ties together so well in the end.

Fast-paced, twisty, and full of heart, this one’s another solid win from Alex Finlay.

I love Alex Finlay's books. This newest book was a quick read. It's Parents Weekend at SCU and 5 friends are expecting to see their parents. But when the parents show u, the kids are missing.

There were multiple characters in this story. Each chapter was told from a different characters POV. It was confusing at first, but I caught on quickly. It was great to see a familiar character return from previous stories.

This book kept my interest and in typical Finlay fashion, unraveled slowly. There were many suplots and red herrings thrown in to keep me guessing. My only complaint would be that I wanted more from the ending. After all the build up, it wrapped up fairly quickly.

If you enjoy quick popcorn reads, this is the perfect book. 3.5 stars rounded up

Unfortunately, Finlay's latest thriller was a miss for me. This disjointed story of five college students who go missing on parents' weekend was stuffed full of forgettable characters and plot holes. It was too hard to keep the many different characters apart, and the short, punchy chapters - which I usually prefer in a thriller - made it even harder to keep up with who was who. I think Finlay is trying to push out too many books too fast, and even the presence of Agent Keller from The Night Shift (my favorite Finlay novel to date) wasn't enough to save this book. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for a digital review copy.

SYNOPSIS
-It’s Parents Weekend at a small private college in California. Five freshmen mysteriously go missing.
-At first, everyone assumes they’re just being typical college kids — partying, blowing off dinner with their parents.
But as the hours stretch into days with no word, panic sets in.
-Search parties form, reporters swarm, and the missing students (dubbed “The Five”) become a media obsession.
-Told through multiple POVs and split timelines (past and present), the story unravels messy family secrets and raises the big question: are the parents’ past mistakes catching up with their kids?
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MY THOUGHTS
-The idea was fun — messy families, missing students, media circus — but the execution didn’t totally land for me.
-There are way too many points of view. Between the kids, their parents, and Agent Keller, it felt like a lot of voices competing for space.
-Similarly, the cast of characters is huge. Five missing kids, plus all their families — it gets a little crowded. I definitely felt like the same story could have been told with fewer people.
-I liked the short chapters.
-The writing style wasn’t my favorite. The dialogue felt really unnatural in a lot of places — very “tell-y” instead of “show-y.” Characters explained things instead of just talking like normal humans.
-Definitely a popcorn thriller — quick & dramatic.
-Apparently, Agent Sarah Keller is from earlier books, but I hadn’t read them, and it didn’t matter. This reads fine as a standalone.
-If you love stories about dysfunctional families and bad life choices coming to light, this book leans heavily into that vibe. Basically everyone is cheating on everyone.
-The mystery itself felt a little flat — not super twisty or complex.
-The ending didn’t really wow me either. It wrapped up quickly and felt kind of anticlimactic.
-Overall, the characters didn’t have a ton of depth, which made it hard to care about them once everything hit the fan.
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TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️A fast, easy read with messy families, missing kids, and a ton of drama, but the huge cast of characters, too many POVs, flat mystery, and not-so-great dialogue made it fall a little flat for me.
⸻
THANKS: Thanks to St. Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on May 6, 2025.

Parents Weekend, by Alex Finlay, is a bingeable, additive mystery and a fast-read. This story takes place at a private college in Northern California where five students are supposed to meet their parents for an official Parents Weekend dinner event. When none of the students show up without explanation, and no one can reach them, there is cause for concern, particularly in light of the recent death of a student.

Even though Special Agent Sarah Keller has a stellar reputation in the FBI, she is also new in town from the east coast, here on a bereavement transfer. Since college kids missing a dinner seems to be a minor concern, new to the group, she is called in to investigate. But as time passes, videos appear, and disconcerting clues are discovered, the situation becomes more dire. Add in powerful and influential parents with threats of their own and you have an unnerving, time-sensitive situation.

Parents Weekend is filled with a sense of mounting tension and plenty of red-herrings that keep the reader captivated. All of the characters are compelling, and though the conclusion isn’t all that surprising, the story is suspenseful and intriguing.

I have enjoyed all of Alex Finlay’s stories. He knows how to pen a gripping story that will keep you entertained. This story is no different. Parents Weekend is an immersive, immediately engaging thriller that you won’t want to miss.

I've only read two Alex Finlay books so far but definitely need to read more. This was a quick read (short chapters), had multiple points of view (while some might say too many, I actually enjoyed seeing what was going on through many different eyes and thought processes), and had a relatively satisfying ending. With so many views points, it was easy to fall into the trap that so and so did it, it was not as it seems, and other thriller type thoughts and that's what I loved. The inability to pinpoint who was responsible for the disappearance of the students helped me power through the story quickly

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. This “thriller” was so predictable and tired. I cannot recommend it at all and I think I have finally learned that Finlay’s books are really not for me.

Five college students go missing on parents weekend on the heels of another student’s death. Everyone’s worried. The clock is ticking to find the students and solve the mystery. Lots of characters to keep straight but a great, fast paced read.

I was hooked from the very beginning and loved trying to figure out the mystery. I loved all of the different POVs and loved getting to see Sarah Keller again. The writing, pacing, setting and twist were all well done and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

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