
Member Reviews

This book was written very well, it was a fantastic read. It kept me engaged throughout the entire book. I don’t like giving a lot of details away about the book in my reviews, because I don’t want to leave any potential spoilers, but this book is a definite Book to add to your TBR!

This book follows along with several different families visiting their children at college during parents weekend. At the start of the book there is a college student who has gone missing but has been found dead.
I really enjoyed this book. It's definitely a fast paced, popcorn style thriller. It's very easily digestible, and there's enough red herrings throughout to keep you guessing.
I had two main complaints. My first complaint was that I did guess the ending. My second complaint is that there were a lot of POVs, and at the beginning the story can get a bit muddled with keeping track of whose parents and kid belonged together.
Overall though I would recommend this book to my audience.

This was a pretty decent thriller that got bogged down by too many characters and some eye-rolly twists. It was great for what I wanted in the moment, but will immediately leave my mind!

I have been reading and getting through a lot of books already this year! Really enjoying a lot of what I’m reading.
This was a book I was anticipating but this authors books can be very hit or miss for me.
Overall it was an enjoyable book but to me it was not unique in any way. It kind of felt like a book that just got churned out like a lot of thrillers are feeling lately. I also just personally don’t love police procedural thrillers but that’s just preference.

The book started with an intriguing premise - university hosts a parents' weekend and one group of students goes missing. Are the parents or the kids being targeted? What connects them? Unfortunately, we got bogged down in details. There was too much going on and almost none of the characters were relatable or even likeable. Except Bob. I want a Bob of my own. When the 'reveal' happens, it's a let down. If you want a quick, unencumbered read, this is your book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book was a great fast read till about 50% of the way through and then I just dropped it. Now was that me in a slump or was it the book. I recommend you still trying it out because it was so great towards the beginning.

I'll be honest - not my favorite Alex Finlay thriller, but I still had a great time reading this book! If you are an AF fan, Parents Weekend is going to have most of what you've come to expect from his writing- fast-paced chapters, multiple POVs, and plenty of twists that are going to make you say "welp, didn't see that coming!". And while all of those things make for a super thrilling and suspenseful read, this book maybe had a few too many POVs and the twists and turns felt more random than shocking.
Parents Weekend had A LOT of characters, making it hard to connect with any of them and become super invested in their individual stories. My favorite character, as always in an AF book, is Agent Keller, the FBI agent who has proven herself capable of solving these gruesome and twisty murders. Truthfully, besides Agent Keller's lovable husband, Bob, I didn't really care for any of the other characters. That said, the pacing was on point, and I was entertained enough to read this one in just a couple of sittings.
Not every book needs to be a masterpiece—sometimes it’s just about the vibes. If you're just here for a good time and want a quick thriller that is going to keep you turning the pages, Parents Weekend might be what you're looking for. I'll continue to pick up anything that Alex Finlay writes simply because I like his style, and more often than not, his books are 10/10 IMO.

Wow!! What did I just read?! I couldn’t put this book down!! The characters were well developed and I found myself staying up way past my bedtime to finish it. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this incredible book! I will definitely be sharing it with all of my fellow book lovers!

A group of friends at a small private college in California are supposed to meet their parents for dinner during Parents Weekend, but none of the Five show up. Finley tells their story in alternating chapters and we find out what not only the students are hiding but the parents as well. As several days pass and the students are nowhere to be found, more secrets that the parents are hiding begin to surface. A quick read that will be a perfect beach book this summer.

A quick, short novel, set in a familiar (to anyone who has ever set foot on a collage campus) setting, with plenty of character details but without wading into the depths of character development. This is the perfect beach or travel read. It sucks you in, reads fast, but without needing the time commitment a more in depth or complicated plot needs. My only real complaint is language around apps/websites/cell phones that while current now, will eventually date this work.

At fist it appears four college students go missing during the parents weekend, but that turns into five. All are part of the same group. It certainly isn't a prank since all the parents present are expecting their child at the dinner they have planned to have together.
We learn the back story of each family and none of the parents are people we really want to root for or identify with. The students seem to be typical college students- nothing special, nothing bad either. Just like the story, it is nothing special and not really bad either. I just didn't care enough about any of them though I did finish.
Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy. Honest opinions expressed here are my own and are freely given.

This novel was so much fun. Fantastic pacing, with short, gripping character arcs that kept me turning the pages. I finished this book in under two days! While there were quite a few red herrings, I did ultimately really enjoy the payoff at the end. Reading this somewhat reminded me of watching The Perfect Couple on Netflix (I sadly didn't get to read that book). Hoping this novel gets made into a television series, which I'm sure it likely will. Thank you NetGalley for the early copy.

I liked Keller a lot. I was surprised when the parents had so much of their past dredged up and made to seen part of the kids going missing. I like how it wrapped up and how we saw how e everyone was effected.

Wow! Feeling so grateful to have received Parents Weekend as an ARC, no way couod I have waited until May to read this.
I loved "If Something Happens to Me" and was not disappointed with Alex's new book. Both books scored 5 star ratings on my Goodreads page.
So the parents behavior isn't much better than their kid's, which just makes the book more juicy.
The plot does include Parents Weekend activities but at its core the book is a twisty mystery/thriller..
If you can s ore an early copy if this book, read it right away. If not, grab it on May 6th.
Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of Parents Weekend. As a longtime fan of Alex Finlay, I was eager to dive into this book. While it may not be his strongest work, it still delivered an engaging mystery.
Set at a small private college in Northern California, the novel follows five families excited to celebrate their children’s first year at college. Parents Weekend kicks off with an evening of dinner and cocktails, but as the night stretches on, the students—five residents of Campisi Hall—never show up. At first, their absence seems like typical college behavior, but as time passes without any word, worry turns to panic. The search for the missing students intensifies, drawing in the FBI, local and campus police, reporters, and a flurry of speculation.
Told through multiple points of view, the story is structured in a way that is easy to follow, a feat not all multi-perspective thrillers manage. However, while I found Parents Weekend enjoyable, it didn’t fully captivate me or keep me on the edge of my seat like some of Finlay’s previous works—The Night Shift remains my all-time favorite of his. That said, fans of Finlay’s style will likely appreciate the suspenseful atmosphere and the unraveling of events. While it didn’t completely grip me, it’s still a solid read for thriller enthusiasts.

I have loved all of Alex Finlay’s books and Parents weekend was no different. It immediately grabbed my attention from the beginning and I finished it in one sitting. The thrilling twists, and multiple POVs made it a quick and easy read for me. Would definitely recommend, and I also think it would be a great audio book! Thank you to netgalley for the ARC!

I love Alex Finlay books so I couldn't wait to read Parent's Weekend! It did not disappoint. The action starts right at the beginning and goes all the way through. It's parent's weekend at the college. Five families show up to attend a dinner for their children and friends. When none of the 5 students show up to the dinner, they know something is wrong. At first, they think they are just college kids being irresponsible. As time goes on and they start digging for clues they know something went wrong. When FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller is called in to help she will not stop until every stone is turned. Will they get to the kids in time to save them? I loved reading the back stories on all five of the families revealing all the dysfunction and sin. This book is great and i would highly recommend it! Thanks to @NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Parents Weekend is a thrilling, fast-paced mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The suspenseful plot and relatable characters make it a must-read for mystery lovers.

3.75⭐️
A fast paced and engaging thriller that I read in one sitting. I enjoyed the family drama. However, the twists weren’t as surprising or unpredictable as I would have liked them to be.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Personally everything by Alex Finley is guaranteed great and this was no exception!! I enjoyed multiple POVs and fast paced/ action packed and unputdownable writing style! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for ARC of this book!