Cinco universitarios desaparecidos, cinco familias buscando a sus hijos, un asesinato, una venganza y un secreto.

Lo que se suponía sería una cena familiar para celebrar el término del primer año de universidad termina en tragedia cuando los chicos no aparecen y no logran encontrarlos. Cada familia guarda sus propios secretos, que podrían estar relacionados con la desaparición. La agente especial Sarah Keller tendrá que luchar contra reloj para hallarlos con vida.

Al final, algunas familias se unirán, otras se separarán, algunas aprenderán de sus errores, otras no, y alguien morirá.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A solid 3 stars!! Alex Finlay is an auto buy author for me. I always find his writing fast paced and easy to binge. I was hooked from the beginning and loved all the different POV’s. I also liked how it was by family not by character and of course we got to be with our fav FBI agent again in this one. The whole plot wasn’t my favorite of his but I was still entertained!

Such a good read. Keeps you on your toes the whole time!! I could not put this book down!!! Can’t wait to read more by this author !!

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay

I'm here for Agent Keller and we get to see a lot of her. Thank goodness for her husband who is such a good father to their nine year old twins. Wait, has it been that long? I remember when she was doing incredible acrobatics while approximately 8.5 months pregnant with these two. Mind boggling! This time her antics are much more realistic. Keller is a favorite character of mine and I hope to see her again. But time passes quickly between books, I could be seeing her grandkids pushing her around the retirement village in the next book or two.

It's Parents Weekend at a small private school in Northern California and the parents of first year students, Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella, plan to celebrate with their kids. But the kids never show up to the festivities. Did they all decide to bail out on their parents? Because a missing student was found in not favorable condition, everyone is a bit on edge on campus. Now these five students are missing and some of their parents are wondering if it is because of what they have done wrong in their past. Almost all of this group of parents has one or more things to regret and hide in their past and maybe one more more pasts is coming back to haunt the five students.

It was pretty much impossible for me to be sure who might be the culprit since just about everyone has big secrets, big transgressions of some kind, or is just not very reliable in one way or another. So I went along for the ride and enjoyed that the college students were indisposed in one way or another so that we didn't have to put up with them being much more irresponsible than their parents. Really, what do parents expect when they set such bad examples for their kids?

Thanks to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

3.5 stars
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. There were so many new characters introduced in the first few chapters. The chapters were labeled with each family name every time the focus was on one of the five families plus the FBI agent.
For me, the FBI agent was my favorite part of the story. She, her husband Bob and the twins were part of Every Last Fear and The Night Shift. I loved the moments with them as a family as well as what a badass Sarah Keller is.
Until the reader could figure out who all the players were in the story, it was a bit slow and confusing. But about 1/3 into the book, it began to pick up quickly. At that this point, I was able to figure out who the culprit was. It was obvious to me but I don’t know if it would be to everyone? I would be curious to hear other readers thoughts.
The death of a student before parents weekend at college, was possibly connected to five students going missing on the first night of the weekend. There is quite a bit flipping to different characters with each chapter as well as past and present.
Overall it was a very quick read but it felt a bit convoluted and superficial. I wanted more from a few of the kids characters and I definitely wanted more of Keller. This one was not a favorite of mine but I did enjoy this take on a perilous college parent weekend.

This was a very entertaining and bingeable mystery - I finished it in less than 24 hours! I loved the college setting and the entire premise of the book. Some of the government jargon went over my head but I was certainly along for the ride.

After finishing it, I felt that among the twists and turns there were a few holes in the narrative, plot twists that seemed designed to bamboozle readers. Still, for the most part it was an easy read, and kept me turning pages. It was plot-based and I prefer character-based narratives, so readers who prefer twisty plots will likely give it a higher rating than my three stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy/eGalley of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have yet to read an Alex Finlay novel I didn't like. This one fits right in with the others for me and it was great seeing Sarah Keller back in the character line-up.

The multiple characters were a lot at first, but once I learned who was who and settled into the story, I did not have much of a problem keeping them straight. The book really hit its stride about 25% of the way into the novel when the characters and plot started connecting a little bit more, plus the short chapters kept me wanting to turn the page and find out what piece of the puzzle would be revealed next.

I adored Keller's points of view and thought they were a great contrast to the college student drama. The final moments and plot climax were halfway predictable halfway surprising to me. Some of it I was able to see coming, other parts came as more of a shock. The ending wrapped up a little faster than I would have liked, felt like I didn't get total closure on the students and their "different paths forward" from the events of the novel.

That being said, I think this book would make a great travel companion, beach or poolside buddy, or just a binge-able rainy weekend partner. Bittersweet reading an Alex Finlay novel far in advance knowing I will have to wait quite a bit of time to get my hands on the next work of his.

On the verge of parents weekend, 5 college students go missing after another student is found dead after a beach party in California. Each family has their secrets that raise suspicions as to why the kids were taken, but only the kids know the truth.

This is the 3rd book by Alex Finlay I've read. They're all consistently entertaining, but I felt this was lacking something that "If Something Happens to Me" had that really had me hooked. It might have been the large amount of main characters and their families that I had to keep up with in Parents Weekend. All in all, a good read, but not the author's best.

A good ole mystery when five students don’t show up to family dinner at school. The parents assume they choose partying over spending time with them but quickly realize something else is going on. So many secrets and betrayals are spilled linking to the disappearances.

Multiple POV
Short Chapters
Secrets
Dysfunctional Families
Lots of clues sprinkled in each chapter slowly rolling you into the conclusion.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge fan of Finlay’s thrillers but this wasn’t my favorite of his works. There are lots of characters, many of which have similar backstories, and I had a very hard time keeping track of what set of parents went with what kid. I also like the chance to solve the mystery on my own but I felt like we were only given information as the FBI agent was (no dropped clues or hints along the way), so the reader doesn’t really have the opportunity to start solving on their own. Other than that, though, the thriller was a quick, engaging read that kept my attention. It wasn’t scary or overly tense (unlike his previous works) so it is a good option for the cautious thriller reader.

Overall, a quick read that was enjoyable although I personally prefer his previous books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced electronic copy. All opinions are my own.

This book kept me interested from the start. The plot is about a group of college students that disappear on parents weekend. The story keeps you hooked with with what happened to them.

It has lots of twists throughout and was well written. I love the short chapters! I would definitely recommend this book!

This was a page turner and suspenseful at every turn. There were a lot of characters and storylines but it was relatively easy to follow.. it wasn’t at all what I expected towards the end but all the secrets came out and made for a satisfying ending even though ot was sad as well. I love this author’s books and have read all of them so far and will continue to do so.

Absolutely loved this read! This is my first 5 star read of the year. Alex Finlay can do no wrong in my book. I read this is in less than 24 hours because he writes the kind of stories that catch your attention and hold it until the very last page. The only reason I didn't finish this sooner is because I value my sleep!

This was a fun one, honestly. I enjoy this type of writing.

Parents assume their kids don't show up because they're out doing good ole college partying, but learn it's much more than that. It's written from multiple points of view, and very fast paced. Each POV leaves you itching for the next little breadcrumb that will lead you to the conclusion.

I definitely recommend this as a fast paced popcorn thriller. A really nice change of pace from the overly long fleshed out stuff I've seen lately.

ARC review • pub date 05.06.25

I’ve loved Alex Finlay’s past books and was so happy to see a return of Agent Sarah Keller. In Parents Weekend, Sarah is sent to a college where five kids don’t show up for a dinner as their parents are visiting them at school. They’ve all just seen their parents, and yet it seems like they disappeared into thin air.

There are a LOT of people to keep up with, had to write it down and reference it the first half of the book! Lots going on, very fast paced, and kept me guessing I think the end! Definitely add to your list.

4⭐️

Thanks so much to NetGalley & Minotaur Books for my ARC!

I was thrilled to receive this book, because I am a Alex Finlay book. Unfortunately, I didn't love it the way I hoped I would. My final thought was "meh". It was...fine I guess? I loved the setting (my daughter almost went to Santa Clara) and the concept of college parents, but it was flat and unexciting and there was truly nothing thrilling about it. It was just...fine.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one. After loving Every Last Fear I have dutifully read every one of Finlay’s books, but I have no rediscovered the brilliance of the first one.

This book felt very formulaic, with lots of characters who didn’t add uniquely to the story in any way. I don’t enjoy giving a negative review, but I will always be honest. Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to read this one.

Alex Finlay is easily one of the best writers of this time. His stories this one included always grab my attention from the very first page. Parents Weekend has multiple points of view just like his other stories in the past. However, I feel like there was possible more POV's than usual. Parents Weekend takes place in California at a smaller university where you guessed it the parents are there for a weekend with their freshman kids. What could possibly go wrong? This story revolves around a group of five freshman students who mysteriously disappear on the night they are supposed to be meeting their parents for dinner. Unsure of where to turn they bring in FBI Special Agent Keller- from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift. Through out the story we are lead through the different POV's from the parents perspectives and lives past and present. I think with all the different perspectives it sometimes got confusing but come the end I really appreciated how much detail was put into telling their different stories. You could definitely relate to what they were going through or at least understand the day to day struggles. With each chapter I wanted more and the one thing I love most about his stories is I can never figure out the "who done it" he keeps you guessing till the very end. Which makes him the BEST!