I’ve read and enjoyed the other books, but this one is a bit different. There are five college students missing during Parents Weekend. We get to know the parents, but not so much the missing five which I would enjoy more. This is a slow burn mystery. Thank you to the publisher for a copy.

In their children’s first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, 5 families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids never show up at dinner. At first, everyone thinks that they’re just being college students & skipping out to go to a party. But as the hours pass by and another night falls with not so much as a text from the students, panic ensues. Soon, the campus police call in reinforcements. Search parties are formed. Reporters swarm the small enclave. Rumors swirl and questions arise.

I read this in 1 sitting, I couldn’t put it down! Very much a popcorn thriller. There were a lot of characters to keep track of but I liked the short chapters. There weren’t any dull parts for me, it was paced perfectly! I feel like this read like a teen book. (4 ⭐️)

This is a story about generational secrets.
I really liked this one! I'm not much for police procedurals, but @alexfinlayauthor has a way with them that pulls me in. I also loved visiting the SCU campus- it's been years but it's a lovely place! I think this one is perfect for reading on a winter night- it's a quick, well paced thriller with characters I'd love to follow again.
Thank you so much @netgalley, @minotaur_books for the eArc! I enjoyed it v much.

I really enjoy Alex Finlay books, and this one was no different. I admit that I had a mini anxiety attack starting and learning that there were so many characters, but don’t fret, they all make perfect sense and were easy to track. I actually like getting all their different POV’s and it really made for a fun story. So, cheers to fantastic writing for making it work, and kudos for me giving it a chance. The plot was a lot of fun. Sure, I had a lot of ideas about what happened, but I feel like this author doesn’t do huge shockers, rather they are all delicately and intricately done so you appreciate the twist. I think making me invested and hooked while knowing who did it, it an art, and one this author does really well. I loved that one of my favorite characters was back in this book. It isn’t a series, but I also don’t know what it’s called when an author “borrows” a character from their other novel in their current one. Agent Sarah Keller is so fun, and I would like to read a series all about her…hint hint.

Anyway, this was a fun thriller, I enjoyed the premise, and I really appreciated the author’s note at the end as to why this book was set where it was. It added an extra element and made the reading experience all that more enjoyable.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It started off strong and I was enjoying learning about each others characters, but I quickly found it difficult to keep track of them. I also felt that some plot points that felt major were not addressed deeply enjoy in my opinion (like Natasha Belov’s death, Blane’s abduction, etc.). That being said, this was overall a fun and quick read that satisfied my craving to read a thriller.

I was actually really surprised at how much I enjoyed this, mostly because I wasn't too sure, going into it, how I was going to like the different points of view of all the characters and their families. It surprisingly worked really well, and while most of the characters had very few redeeming qualities, I absolutely loved The Keller family, and they made up for the lack of good character in all the others.

The mystery was pretty well plotted out as well; even if I did figure it out before it was revealed, it still took me a while, which is something I can't say with even some of my favorite authors and stories. Overall, I really enjoyed this and it kept me turning the pages.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I've enjoyed Alex Finlay books in the past and this one appealed to me as a parent of a college student.

This is the story of five families who plan to meet for dinner on the first night of parents' weekend at the small liberal arts school their children attend. When the kids don't show up for dinner, the families all try to find them and figure out what happened.

Each family has some drama and there are lots of possible things and causes so the mystery is interesting. I did figure it out but I still enjoyed it.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I always enjoy this author's book and this one was no different. I read this really fast - I couldn't put it down. We were treated to so many different POVs that I thought I'd get confused - but the author nicely reminds you who each character/family is - it keeps the book fast paced (I think the entire book is set around 3 days or so). I also got a few references/Easter eggs from previous books. I would definitely recommend this book and I look forward to the next one.

3.5 stars!

In the glow of their children’s exciting first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids—five residents of Campisi Hall—never show up at dinner.

At first, everyone thinks that they’re just being college students, irresponsibly forgetting about the gathering or skipping out to go to a party. But as the hours click by and another night falls with not so much as a text from the students, panic ensues. Soon, the campus police call in reinforcements. Search parties are formed. Reporters swarm the small enclave. Rumors swirl and questions arise.

Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—The Five, as the podcasters, bloggers, and TikTok sleuths call them—come from five very different families. What led them out on that fateful night? Could it be the sins of their mothers and fathers come to cause them peril or a threat to the friend group from within?

I was glad that FBI Agent Sarah Feller was back in this one.
There were way too many characters but I was able to keep track of all of them. I didn't have a strong connection to the characters so I didn't really care what happened to them. So I really wasn't on the edge of my seat are feel the suspense.

I loved the first half but I thought that the second half was too slow. This one is every parent's nightmare. Five families plan on a night of dinner and cocktails for parents weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids, five residents of Campisi Hall never show up at dinner. What happened to them?

The story was told through multiple points of view in past and present. I was on the edge of my seat at the end there was lots of action which I loved. I loved the short chapters. This was not a predictable read for me. I was not able to solve the mystery. I did enjoy the the conclusion. There were some twist and turns too.

This was my fifth Alex Finlay book and my least favorite. I didn't particularly care about any of the characters (and a few of them I kept getting mixed up, there's a lot of kids and parents here). I usually enjoy books set at colleges but this one was just okay and not particularly memorable.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars--I liked the book.

This is my second Sarah Keller novel, and I've liked them both (though you can enjoy either as a standalone). May is the perfect time to release this book--it's ideal for spring break or the beach. Breezy and easy to read (despite some dark subject matter), this was a fast read with a satisfying conclusion. Recommended for anyone who enjoys suspense/crime novels.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

Five students go to a pricey private college where one of the yearly events is Parents Weekend. This is when parents are invited to the school for lunch and to meet with various staff, and to see their children's living quarters. One student's mother has a position in government which requires her to have a security team with her.

When none of these students turn up for the Parents Weekend luncheon, a search is made for them. It was considered to be a prank or irresponsibility until a student was found dead. Then a thorough search was made for them.

I was confused through most of the book of the book but the last twenty percent of it more than made up for it, and I highly recommend it. I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher St. Martin's Press and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

This was a pretty standard boilerplate thriller. I read it in a day a half. It was entertaining but there were really no twists that weren’t obvious. Keller and Bob were the bright spots of this book.

I wanted twins to play some role in this story. What are the chances that you will have two set of twins and they were referenced a lot. When I started to recognize the patterns, I thought I hit the jackpot and figured out what had happened. However, twists and turns in this book were much more exhilarating.

It’s the Parent’s Week at SCU. Families are flooding the campus to spend time with their kids and meet their capstone crew. All the kids reported to their parents’ first call but they failed to show up at the dinner bringing everyone together. It’s already a scandal for a school to miss 5 students and it’s even worse when their parents are the highest profiles you can imagine. FBI was definitely going to be involved.

Who would have thought FedEx distribution center’s head of security would be this helpful to kickstart an investigation?! Relationships we build during first year of college shape our life. These 5 ended up building the a family after the investigation and shared experiences. Families that they had expanded to include other ones’. Great page turner that kept me awake all night to finish

This is my first Alex Finaly novel and I have already put the rest of his books on my TBR. Parents Weekend is a fast-paced mystery thriller with mysteries on top of the mysteries. The kids are all hiding things, the parents are hiding things. You just keep reading because you want to know everything right now! The bad person is very intense and that leads to a different kind of outcome than what may be expected. Because of this I will definitely recommend this to my fellow readers!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC

Thanks to NetGalley, Mintour Books/St. Martins for advanced copy for honest review.

We follow 'The Five' ( Libby, Stella, Felix, Blaine, and Mark) as they get ready for parents week. The University SCU is a private school in Santa Clara. Each of The Five have a story all their own but they come together for the school's Capstone Club. Everyone is suppose to meet for the Welcome Dinner but none of The Five show up. As things start to come to light, the parents realize that something is wrong and their kids are not just pulling a parents prank. They have gotten the school police, local police involved and have now brought in our Agent Keller from the FBI. She goes deep into looking for the kids. Agent Keller takes us down paths where we think we know who the culprit is but does not pan out, making the twists of who has done this on this Parents Weekend WILD! Fun read, two sittings, recommend! 4 stars

Thank you so much to the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of one of my favorite authors!!!

And with that said it didn’t disappoint!!! I enjoyed every minute of this!!!!

Parents weekend at college is supposed to be a time where college students show their parents how college is and how’s it going. These group of students all have secret and it’s all coming out.

Done by different POVs including parents and children.

I enjoyed this book very much. The only thing was how many povs there were. I did have to go back a couple of times but it didn’t take away from the plot or mystery of it!

Are the plastic smurf masks from my 80s childhood still around? Ditto the Scooby Do van--these references seem oddly placed in a book set in the present, but maybe I just don't know college kids these days. Anyways, I digress...

I've been an avid reader of Alex Finlay's since his first book, but Parents' Weekend was just an OK read for me. I was invested in the premise, and I breezed through it, but the execution just didn't work for me. There's a lot of characters, but not in a good way. Though I'm a fan of a multi-POV book, the ones here are flat and though not exactly unlikeable, they're entirely unsympathetic (you will lose me immediately with horrible people being excused by 'they're just kids!'- especially when we're not talking middle schoolers, we're talking college students, aka legal adults) and because this is the type of novel that relies on short, snappy chapters (which I usually like), they're also not fleshed out at all and it takes a while to settle into who's who. Rich bureaucrat? Rich plastic surgeon? Rich judge? Put-upon wife? This is the extent of the personalities. And I couldn't muster up any care that anyone's lives were at risk.

But I did like Agent Sarah Keller, and although my frazzled brain doesn't remember her at all from The Night Shift (my cross to bear rather than a fault of the author), she was a bright light in this otherwise light plot.

Thanks to the publisher for making this book available to read and review through NetGalley. I'll still be looking forward to what this author comes up with next, but I don't think this is one I'd recommend.

Five students mysteriously disappear after the death of a college classmate. That it occurs on parents' weekend with few clues amps up the drama. Cheating parents, obsessive relationships, and big ambitions all play a part in this story.

*Parents Weekend* by Alex Finley is a light thriller that offers an interesting premise but doesn’t quite hit the mark. The story revolves around a college weekend where a group of parents finds themselves entangled in a series of events that quickly spiral out of control. The plot starts off promising, with some fun twists, but it feels a bit predictable and over-the-top at times. The characters are decent but not particularly memorable, and while the humor and tension are there, they don’t always land as well as expected. If you’re looking for a quick, easy read with some suspense and dark comedy, it’s worth checking out. But if you're hoping for something more gripping or complex, you might find it falls a little flat.