This was entertaining, if fairly pedestrian. PARENTS WEEKEND involves six sets of parents who arrive in Northern California for a dinner with their collegiate children, none of whom show up for the dinner. One of the girls has been discovered dead, but the others seem to have simply disappeared. Two of the parents are high-profile government officials, so the police are on the case immediately. The book's focus moves from the investigator's perspective to that of each of the students, to that of each of the parents. This provides the reader with nearly 20 characters to follow. Admirably, Finlay imbues each with unique enough characteristics so that keeping track of them is not a challenge. Nonetheless, with so many characters and none playing a particularly central role, the characterization has little depth. Each of the characters serves mainly as a plot device for this plot-driven thriller.

The story line is complex, relying mainly on the students' shenanigans with a good deal of adult poor behavior included. It may be a statement about today's world that it does not take any suspension of disbelief the find the plot twists realistic. The chapters are short as each character has his or her time explaining what is going on, or what happened in the past to contribute to the kids' disappearance. This helps move the plot along. Because the reader knows the characters only on a surface level, however, it is hard to care much about any of them. After the plot reaches its resolution, the author provides a long epilogue-ish set of chapters telling us what happened to each student and family. For some readers this will provide the closure they long for at the end of the book, while for others it will be tedious.

The writing is straightforward and easy to read, making this a quick read. Most readers will have no trouble using the bare bones descriptions of setting to conjure an oceanside university to mind, so the lack of evocative language won't be a disappointment. With workmanlike writing, surface level characterization, and a somewhat predictable storyline, this plot-based thriller will appeal to those who enjoy escaping into the world of poor behavior of the rich and the consequences that behavior engenders.

I typically really enjoy Alex Finlay’s books, but this one didn’t hit for me. I found the multiple characters confusing and couldn’t get into the rhythm.

A solid mystery that I finished quickly! I kept wanting to read one more chapter. I kinda liked that it wasn’t extremely far fetched and felt solvable, when so many mysteries go for the shock value and the resolution is out of left field. I didn’t love that there was so much infidelity in this book. But overall a solid mystery that kept me turning the pages!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I can count on Alex Finlay to write an intriguing book. I enjoyed the resurgence of Detective Keller. It was nice to see her again. Thanks for the chance to read early.

Hooked until the last word! I thought I knew what was going on the whole time and the end threw me for a loop. Loved the mystery and all the potential theories. How does an entire group of college students go missing!?! I think you should find out!

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book really fell flat for me. There were way too many characters to the point where we didn’t get much time in each person’s POV so there was little to no development or personality. The plot was kind of all over the place, so many dead ends and red herrings that were honestly pointless.

The writing felt disjointed and clunky sometimes, it was hard to understand some of the acronyms of law enforcement that were used frequently with no explanation.

I didn’t find the ending satisfying, it was quite random and anticlimactic. I kept reading hoping that there would be a plot twist that would redeem things but it didn’t happen.

The premise was interesting and I enjoyed the fast pace and short chapters, but the execution wasn’t there.

Happy Pub Day!!!!

A quick read that kept me interested but was otherwise…uneventful? I mean things HAPPENED and i was hooked while reading so it wasn’t a bad book just…a meh one.

I loved The Night Shift so my bar is high for Alex Finlay but this got me through a run and the installation of a pesky AC unit so a win is a win.

Multi-POV and lots of awesome character history to make it more dramatic!!!

Thanks to Macmillan audio for the ALC! Brittany Pressley narrates and she is my FAVORITE so an automatic star for her 🙂‍↕️

Thank you @minitaur_books for my complementary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

If you enjoy a captivating mystery intertwined with family drama, then this story is perfect for you! When five sets of parents gather for their freshman children's college parents' weekend, they eagerly anticipate reuniting with their kids. However, none of the students show up for dinner, which surprises the parents but they dismiss this as a typical freshman rebellion. However, as time passes, the parents grow increasingly anxious, especially following the unsettling news that a student was found dead just a week prior. Tensions escalate, prompting the involvement of campus police. Soon, Special Agent Sarah Keller arrives on the scene—fans may remember her from Finlay’s 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵. As the mystery unfolds, the stakes become higher, revealing secrets that could change everything.

I always look forward to the next Alex Finlay novel and I really enjoyed this one!

I discovered Alex Finlay last year and was really looking forward to this book. It’s a quick, easy read with an intriguing premise—five college students go missing during parents weekend. The plot definitely kept me interested, but I found the large cast of characters a bit overwhelming at times. I had to flip back a few pages now and then just to remember who was who. If you don’t read it in a short timeframe, it’s easy to lose track and need a refresher like I did. Still, an enjoyable read overall!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

You know it’s a good time of year when it’s time to read the latest Alex Finlay novel!!

“Parents Weekend” is set on a college campus (my favourite for thrillers)

Its parents weekend at Santa Clara University and five students are supposed to be meeting their parents for dinner, until they all don’t show up. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different family. Both the parents and students all have secrets they hope to keep hidden and just make it through parents weekend.

The chapters are short and each one ends with a tiny cliffhanger to keep you guessing and wanting more! This was a hard book to put down.

We also have the third return of Agent Keller and I love to watch her journey figuring out what happened to the missing students!

Thank you so much @alexfinlayauthor and @minotaur_books for my advanced copy!

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥳pub day: May 6th

I thought this was a good book. It was a bit hard for me to follow all the families and which characters belonged to which, but that’s no fault to the author. I always struggle with multiple characters and keeping track of them all. I do think there were some storylines that weren’t necessary in the grand scheme, but I understand development is important.

This was great on audio. A mystery set at a college campus when 5 students go missing. The FBI agent was great and it was well told and mysterious.

Another fast, twisty thriller from Alex Finlay! I flew through this one over a weekend. Five college students vanish during Parents Weekend, and everyone—parents and kids alike—is hiding something. Loved the return of FBI agent Sarah Keller from The Night Shift. Tons of suspects, high stakes, and nonstop suspense.

The characters in this book were not exactly endearing, but that doesn't detract from the suspense. There are also plenty of characters and subplots to keep track of. Still, I give this one a thumbs up and would recommend.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, it’s what originally had me wanting to read it.
Sarah Keller was one of my favs in this book, she’s great and character throughout the whole story!
Overall though, I did find that the book dragged on and even there were smaller things thrown in the book, it just didn’t do it fully for me.
The ending kind of wasn’t for me. I found it got rushed and then just was done.

First of all thank you NetGalley and Minitour for the ARC of this book. This is a story about college student pranks, lies, betrayal, revenge and friendship. This story is told in short chapters but the cast of characters is so big you need a spreadsheet to keep track of everyone. It's a bit mysterious and twisted and ties up nicely at the end. I enjoyed it but don't think I would recommend it. I give it 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4

3.5 stars.
A weekend with parents congregating at an small private college is the setting for this tense thriller. We meet the parents as they arrive, and quickly see families full of angers, jealousies and secrets, putting on a face for their young adult children, who are much more aware of the frictions present than their parents know or would like.

Five of these students are slated to arrive at the same dinner with these parents, and we meet these young people earlier in the day, nervous about a secret pertaining to a recently drowned fellow student. The Five, as they come to be known, never end up meeting their parents, which sets off a rapid security and police response.

Sarah Keller has recently joined the local FBI office; her father-in-law is quite ill, and the whole family has temporarily relocated to be near the man. Sarah is called into the search, and does what she does best: asking questions, seeing connections, and finding important clues that lead to reveals amongst the affected families, and, eventually, the location of the students.

The pace really picks up after the introductions of all the characters (and there are a lot). I was also quite happy when Keller appeared, as I knew things would start moving fast after.

The high character count meant that I was frequently confused about which parent I was dealing with, and the mystery was not as twisty as I was hoping for, but I still enjoyed this, going back and forth between the book and audio. The talented Brittany Pressley narrates, and skilfully inhabits each of the many characters in this story. Since I often will choose to go the audio route for a story if Pressley is the narrator, I was glad she took us through this latest from Alex Finlay, which, though not his best, was still a compelling story.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and to Macmillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Not my fav by this author which is a shame as I’ve loved the other two I’ve read by him. The ending felt rushed. The epilogue was three years later and rushed with no background. There were so many POVs (which I typically love) that it was hard to keep up with who was who because the POV would be a full family so double the names the memorize.

4 stars

While this wasn’t my favorite Alex Findlay novel, it was still good. I love agent Keller and her husband Bob. Jay and Annie were great. The kids were good okay minus Stella. The parents, minus Stella’s were parents. Her parents were a special kind of wow from the moment you met them on the plane. What messed up family. The ending was good but there were definitely parts in the middle that dragged. Overall it was pretty good.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

PARENTS WEEKEND by Alex Finlay

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the e-arc.

Five freshman-year college kids disappear during the opening night of Parents Weekend, sending their families and campus into chaos. Told through multiple POVs across past and present, the story dives deep into family secrets, expectations, and the pressures that shape these young lives.

I loved the concept and the multiple perspectives- though it took me a bit to get each character/family straight, it really gave insight into each family’s dynamics. Some details of the families felt a little extra and maybe not strictly necessary, but they added fun layers to the story. The mystery kept me hooked, even if the ending stretched believability, it didn’t lose the popcorn-thriller vibe. Bonus points for returning characters from Finlay’s other books, which I only realized after reading reviews!

This was my first book I have read by Alex Finlay and I am not sure if I would be able to pick up another one. There was just so much going on with all of the multiple characters that it was confusing to keep everything together in my mind.