WOAH- what a rollercoaster! Five college students disappear the evening of the scheduled parents weekend at their small private college off the coast of Northern California. Initially, their parents aren't overly concerned, they are college kids, right? But as time goes on, it becomes more apparent that foul play was occurring, but why?

Enter FBI agent Sarah, recently relocated to California to be close to her husband's family. What is supposed to be a quick investigation ends up unfolding to a whole lot more.

The first half of this book had me HOOKED. The setting and characters were fabulous. As the plot developed, it did seem to slow down a bit, but overall a solid easily bingeable thriller!

This one is out May 6th, 2025- but not too early to add to your TBR now!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

*review posted on IG and Goodreads

This is the first Alex Finlay book I've read, but it won't be the last. The story follows several families whose children are missing in the aftermath of a student's death during parent weekend at their college. A super fast paced thriller, I read it in one sitting.

A mystery going back and forth between recent and present times, and points of view, that contain a mystery where 5 college students go missing when their parents are in town for Parents Weekend.
As someone whose recent past, present and future entails many college Parents Weekends, this premise was intriguing. There is definitely foul play.
The female FBI agent was my favorite character, and I would love to see her in a series on future books. The parents all had a lot of problems. Are they red herrings, or relevant?
This was a quick easy read. I was actually kind of sad about one of the characters in the end (just like I was with Alex Finlay's previous book that I read called The Night Shift).
3.75 stars
~Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher

It’s parents weekend at SCU and a group of 5 students are meeting their parents for a welcome dinner. However the students don’t show up, whom doesn’t alarm many people immediately. But as time goes on without a word from any of them, their parents start to panic.

I would say this was good, but don’t wow me. I have loved the 2 other Finlay books I’ve read in the past. This one by comparison didn’t measure up those at all. I did think the beginning had a great setup and it was an easy read. I liked the short chapters and the different POVs. But there were entirely too many characters. You never really get to know much about any of them, so it leaves you not caring too much what is happening to them.

I do remember the Keller character from another book and I like her, so I was pleased to see she is the character you get the most info about. I think with less characters this could have been so much better. *3.5 stars*

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books for the advanced copy of this book!

Yet another hit from Finlay. It took me a while to get all of the characters straight, but I eventually got there. It starts off with a bang and things just keep going from there. There are a few plot holes and unexplored/underdeveloped side plots but honestly, it didn’t really bother me. This book was a whirlwind of chaos…in a fun way. The climax was incredibly intense and a certain death really hit me in the feelings. Keller was an endearing Agent and I loved going along on this ride with her.

Suspend disbelief and just enjoy the unraveling of Parents’ Weekend.

I have read most of this author's books as ARCs and have enjoyed them all to varying degrees. This one was no exception. There was tension and suspense. Told from different points of view, the chapter endings were often cliffhangers until the next time that character "talked". Overall I thought it was a good ready although the big reveal fell a little flat for me.

Alex Finlay never disappoints, Parents Weekend was another action pack novel that I could not put down. I loved the return of some characters from previous books, but it is not necessary to read them in order. Parents Weekend has multiple families with multiple POV's so I did have to get out a sheet of paper to keep everyone straight. I loved all of the dark secrets that slowly got unraveled as I moved through the book. I will always recommend Alex Finlay's books including this one.

Big on style and short on any substance for the story.. maybe it was the story line of the four parents but I felt it couldn’t engage me

Wow. I couldn’t put this book down! It’s an easy 24-hour read that will keep your head spinning from start to finish.

While the multiple points of view were a bit confusing at first, I quickly got the hang of it, and by the middle, I was completely hooked. This is my favorite book from this author. Each perspective added layers to the story, making it both complex and deeply impactful.

If you love a good thriller that’s intense but not scary—you know, the kind you can read at night and still sleep peacefully—this one’s for you. Highly recommend!

Alex Finley never disappoints! I feel like his story lines are always unique. Oh and guess who is back!? Agent Keller, badass G-woman! She’s there to help find 5 missing students that disappear the first night of parents weekend.

Thank you #netgalley for an early copy of this fun thrilling read.

Parents Weekend reads like a movie, or more likely another limited series on a streaming service. The parents and their kids are all hiding secrets and it's not until the very end that you find out the worst of them. I read through this pretty quickly as it kept me hooked. I usually don't do well with a ton of characters but this one was well written. I enjoyed it and will recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up. A different kind of book from Alex Finlay, but addicting, page turner, and at the 70% mark I couldn’t believe I was almost done. I needed more.Full review here: https://youtu.be/Jj-DcBeSfvA?si=skast...
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good, solid read. Nothing extraordinary, but okay. I really liked the first half of the book, but the second half lagged a bit. I also felt that a little more time could have been spent developing the characters a little. They were a little flat and one dimensional to me. It kept me on the edge of my seat at the end, but the ending seemed rushed and a little anticlimactic. Again, good, solid suspense, but not quite my cup of tea.

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.