Wow - Did not see that ending coming! Loved the different storylines, points of view and I think Agent Sarah Keller needs to come back for another book!

Alex Finley is one of my favorites. This book had a great premise and grabbed my interest immediately when I saw in on NetGalley. Sadly, this book was more middle ground for me. It kept my interest enough to know what was going to come next; but, it was also a bit lagging in the middle and pretty predictable. Wished it could have been a little more complex and suspenseful, but still a solid 3 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for sharing this ARC with me.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the ARC. Alex Finlay is always a name I circle back to because I loved The Night Shift, but nothing will compare. I felt like for the first 20 percent of this book it was just parents complaining about their children and each other. Whether it was their children were reckless, anti social or irresponsible the parents highlighted it. Also, most of the parents didn't like each other. They were complaining about their marriages A LOT. So that threw me. The "twist" was predictable, so I don't recommend reading if you like more of a journey for the "who dun it". What I did appreciate were the short and labeled chapters (yes it changes POV of families).

It's parents weekend at a small college in southern California. A capstone group (filled with 5 college freshman) suddenly go missing when they are supposed to meet their parents for dinner. The parents, most of prominent backgrounds, begin a search for the lost children. They have to decipher is it something of their past of their children's that have suddenly made a group of 5 "friends" disappear.

I was excited to get my hands on this one so early because I have heard great things about Alex Finlay books!

It’s parents weekend at college and five freshman are all looking forward (or not) to having their parents up for the weekend. This story follows five different students, and their parents, as they prepare for family weekend events. First event is a capstone dinner, all the parents attend but all tehir children never show up. Soon a missing persons goes out and the story focuses on detective Keller.

This was just ok to me. I felt like we didn’t know the students too well so I didn’t care they were missing. I did enjoy detective Keller character. The ending didn’t add up for me and fell short. 3 stars.

Another great read by by Alex Finlay! I’ve read his other books and this one did not disappoint! Such a fun, easy read. He pulled me in right from the start and kept me hooked the whole way through.
Parents Weekend follows 5 students who meet through a capstone project And form a friendship. 3 of the students come from a prominent family, one a son of the schools admin assistant, and one with no family connection. The parents arrive for parents weekend but at the family dinner none of the kids show up. The parents increasingly worry as none of the kids show up. FBI agent Sarah Keller makes a reoccurrence in this book to investigate and it’s such a fun detail.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC. I had really high hopes for this book based on the author’s previous works but sadly this one was not quite as good. I’d give it 3.5 stars overall. I liked the different chapters based on the different people, but I felt like the climax was not that great.

I recently read Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay. I have read several of his other books, Every Last Fear and If Something Happens to Me. I've enjoyed them all. In this story, we are treated to Parents Weekend at a small college in Northern California. Parents arrive anxious to see their children and hear about their experiences. Excitement becomes disappointment when all five of the students are AWOL. When one doesn't show it is not that significant but when all five don't arrive for a planned dinner, something is amiss. Perhaps they all ditched their parents for a great party. Despite trying, none of the scholars will answer their phones, compounding the worry. Adding to the nervousness is a student recently found drowned on the local beach. As the feeling of something being very wrong grows, FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller is called in to assist. Fans will recognize her as a reoccurring character.

Alex Finlay's books are different for me, not your average thriller. Don't get me wrong, I love average and non-average thrillers equally. It is like choosing your favorite child. But this book is part family drama, part secrets unraveling, part kind of police procedural (yes, I know Keller is FBI, but that feel), and part thriller. Because of this kind of story, it moves slower and has more story development that a shoot straight through thriller, but not dry like police books can get. If you don't want the investment in actually reading an actual story, if you just want quick, cheap and lots of twists, then this isn't the book for you. However, if you want something with memorable characters, a more involved plot, and twists, then this is for you. Sometimes a book reads so quickly that I almost feel like I'm not getting my "entertainment dollars" from it. This is different. Despite being a pleasantly paced read, it is deeply satisfying. Once I get rid of my book hangover, I'll be ready for Finlay's next!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. St. Martin's Press, not only always has great books, but has been so kind to me for which I will always be tremendously grateful.

Another excellent novel from Alex Finlay. I find his thrillers to be unpredictable and entertaining. There were a lot of characters in this book and not enough characterization but as a plot driven story, I didn’t mind. I liked learning more about Sarah Keller from Findlay’s previous novels.

I really enjoyed this story and stayed up far too late reading it. I found the characters relatable and the suspense just kept building. The ending left me satisfied. I have read other books by this author and love each one more. A huge thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1 student has turned up dead and 5 others are missing. This story follows the search for 5 missing college students on the night of Parents Weekend.

I really enjoyed this fast paced book. Alex Finlay is a great story teller and I always look forward to his novels.

This book took me way longer to get through than it should have, but I just could not get invested. It had some parts that could have been good, but everything just felt super abrupt and with all the changes of who the story was falling, it felt worse. It was also a multiple POV book, but in third person which I struggled with. The ending was also super rushed and unsatisfying. The epilogue kind of felt pointless too. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
There are viewpoints from several characters as the families search for five college students after they fail to appear at a Parents Weekend Dinner. Everyone has secrets. Some are connected to the disappearance of the students , some are not. All of the families have a high level of dysfunction. I was happy to see the return of FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller, who has appeared in other Alex Finlay books. Keller, on temporary transfer to the area, becomes central to the investigation.
Although, the ending was predictable, I still enjoyed this book.

ARC Book Review: “Parents Weekend” by Alex Finlay
Parents Weekend is a gripping thriller that delves into the mysterious disappearance of 5 college students during a weekend event with their parents. As the investigation unfolds, multiple characters’ perspectives come into play, including FBI agents, the missing students, and even the parents themselves. The narrative is layered with suspense as secrets and lies unravel, and the search for the truth becomes more complicated by the minute.
My Review:
I rated “Parents Weekend” 4/5 stars. This book definitely had me hooked from the beginning, with its intriguing premise and suspenseful atmosphere. The twists and turns kept me engaged, though I did feel that the pacing slowed down in the middle.
One of the things I enjoy most in thrillers is the use of multiple points of view, and this book certainly delivers on that front. The FBI agent's perspective was by far my favorite. I really liked her character and felt like I got to know her better than the others, which made her parts of the story stand out. However, with so many different viewpoints, it was hard to truly connect with most of the characters. It felt like we only scratched the surface with many of them, which left me a little detached from the overall story.
That said, “Parents Weekend”is still a twisty and enjoyable mystery. I appreciated the complexity of the plot and the unpredictable twists, even if the execution wasn’t flawless. Overall, I’d recommend it to fans of fast-paced thrillers with plenty of surprises along the way. I’m looking forward to reading more from Alex Finlay in the future!

I’m a such a huge fan of Alex Finlay and this book didn’t disappoint. I finished this book within a day. It’s a very fast paced, easy read with plenty of twist to keep you entertained!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

I am such a huge fan of Alex Finlay but this one is probably among my least favorite. It's not that it was bad -- it wasn't -- I just didn't really care for most of the characters or the mystery. A group of college students go missing during parents weekend, and their (mostly terrible) parents try to figure out what happened. There were too many characters, which often led to confusion. There were a lot of red herrings, things that distracted from the main story. The resolution just felt a bit, meh.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I’m generally not a fan of thrillers focused entirely on a Detective’s point of view, and Parents Weekend did me right by having a stellar ‘Detective’ in FBI Agent Sarah Keller but balancing that out with chapters from a wide range of other characters.

Set during Parents Weekend at Santa Clara University, the weekend kicks off with the discovery of the body of a young college student who has passed away, then pivoting to the emerging mystery of some missing students. The parents share their perspective in chapters, and we get a look into what the students are experiencing as well. But Sarah Keller was undoubtedly the strongest thread in the book, helping act as a touch point to sum up everything that was happening and make connections that would have been drowned out or lost if we relied on the parents and kids perspectives alone.

I had fun reading this, not because it’s particularly fun subject matter but because it was a true mystery with a lot of intrigue as to what instigated the kidnapping, as there were a lot of skeletons being hidden.

4.5 stars

I've enjoyed everything I've ready by this author, and this book was no different. There are a lot of characters, but I feel like the author did a great job of switching between all of them If you're a reader that doesn't enjoy or can't follow a lot of characters, this book may not be for you. I also really liked the length of the chapters. This was a fun popcorn thriller. It grabbed my attention right away, and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. The plot was great, and I liked the writing style. Is it a little far fetched, yep, but that's why they call it fiction. I will absolutely continue reading anything this author writes.

3.5/5 Stars:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the return of FBI agent Sarah Keller. While I didn’t find Keller’s personal life a relevant aspect of the plot, I did enjoy her investigative skills (even if there were times where I had to suspend belief).

I enjoyed the dynamics between each of the families (even if it got repetitive pretty quickly). The plot itself was easy to follow but still retained some twists even for seasoned readers.

I definitely recommend if you’re looking for a college-set thriller and have enjoyed Finlay’s previous works!

3.5

It's parents weekend at Santa Clara University and the parents of a capstone class get together for dinner. They wait for their children, but they never show up. Who was out to get the kids, and why? Was it because of their sketchy parents and their backgrounds? Or did the kids mess with the wrong people?

This book was unique as it was told from 10 different perspectives, each revealing a little more of the story as it went on. We had the parents of the missing kids, the kids themselves, and Special Agent Keller, who was investigating the case. This made the book very fast-paced as each chapter was short and often ended on a cliffhanger. At first, I was really confused because the parents' chapters are marked with their last name, but the kids' chapters only have their first name. With my bad memory, I had a hard time remembering the kids' last names to match them with their parents.

I thought it was interesting to read about each of the parents' enemies/wrongdoings in Keller's effort to find out what happened to the kids. However, it was pretty clear which clues were red herrings, so that sort of took away from the suspense of the book.

The book was overall a quick read and kept my attention throughout. The ending was surprising but not a huge twist. I think this would be a great book to read between long fantasy/heavy brainpower books.

Thank you to NetGalley + St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

This was a 3.5 star read for me. I usually really enjoy Alex Finlay's books. I liked this one as well, but it was really, really predictable from the beginning. Sadly, I figured it out from the get-go, which made the book a bit less enjoyable for me. It was a quick read, but I wish the plot had a bit more complexities or a fun twist!

This review was also published on Goodreads.