Parent’s weekend is a thriller which has multiple characters with complex backgrounds. We follow the parents as they try to figure out the disappearance of 5 students.

Alex Finley gets to the point fast and quickly shows different twists that surround the Parent’s Weekend.

Although I enjoyed the story, sometimes it felt like it was a little crowded and the characters were not all fully developed.

I really enjoyed the acting around the narration, Brittant Pressley did a fantastic job portraying the characters’ stories. I felt engaged and caring as I listened to the audiobook.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read and listen to the ARC and ALC.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio version. This was a really intriguing mystery. Fast paced and a large collection of characters. Each of whom are hiding big secrets.

Rating: story - 3 ★ | audiobook- 4 ★

I liked Parents’ Weekend, but I didn’t love it. The story had a lot going on, with multiple POVs and a huge cast of characters, sometimes it was hard to keep track of everyone, and I found myself a little lost and confused at times. It leans more into the police procedural side than I expected, which slowed the pacing for me.

That said, Brittany Pressley’s narration was a definite highlight. She did a great job bringing the characters to life and kept me engaged even when the plot got a bit muddled and the many characters got overwhelming. She’s one of my favorite narrators for a reason.

Overall, an entertaining listen, just not one that completely hooked me.

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillion Audio for my ALC!

I met Alex Finlay and his wife at Hamptons Whodunit and was so excited when I got home to have this on my bookshelf! I had the best time talking with them about his books as well as listening to the panel where he discussed how he got the idea for Parents Weekend.

Santa Clara University is hosting parents’ weekend for the freshmen class. These parents include a federal State Department official with her security detail, a plastic surgeon with his wife, a well-known Superior Court Judge and his wife, and a single mom that works at the university. Unfortunately, on day one, their kids fail to show up to the dinner. At first, everyone believes it’s just college kids being college kids; except these parents find that hard to believe, especially the same day that another student was found dead.

Immediately, the college security team and the police are notified of the five missing students. Also, the FBI is notified and Special Agent Sarah Keller, from Finlay’s previous books, is determined to find these kids. Once it is determined the kids are in danger, it becomes a race against time to get them home safely.

Finlay produced a fast-paced domestic thriller with a large cast of characters that was well-thought out and entertaining. I loved how there were so many reveals of hidden family secrets that had you guessing what truly happened. My biggest critique is the ending felt a bit rushed and left me wanting more. I listened to the audio book, narrated by Brittany Pressley (a fav!), and she did an excellent job of immersing me in the story.

I highly recommend grabbing a copy when it is released on May 6th!

Really good thriller with lots of twists and turns. Engaging characters and a fast pace. This book will satisfy all readers who enjoy a good thriller. It grabs you right from the first page and keeps you reading until the end. I have read many books by this author and this is one of his best ever.

I listened to an advance copy of the audio book, and enjoyed it. I typically just a mystery/thriller by whether I figure it out before they tell you. In this case, the author won - I did not figure it out in advance, but after learning what happened I was kicking myself for not having suspected what was going on. As a bonus, the author’s note was great - David Ellis will have to share the complaints and feedback he receives!

I think this is my new favorite Finlay novel! One of my favorite things about Finlay's writing is how he creates a web of individual storylines for each character, and then he somehow weaves them all together in a way that avoids plot holes and unanswered questions.

I really loved the plot of this story, and I loved even more that I couldn't predict the ending! This was a a truly entertaining read, and the narration was spectacular, as well.

Parent’s Weekend by Alex Finlay delivers a thriller with high tension, shifting timelines, and a mystery that keeps pages turning. Set at a small private college in Northern California, the story begins with five sets of parents gathering for a celebratory dinner, excited to reconnect with their college-age kids. But when the students never show, what begins as a night of cocktails quickly spirals into a frantic search—and a media circus. The dinner was a little had to buy into to because the students didn't seem particularly close and the parents aren't either. However, that plot hole didn't interfere with the development.

As hours turn into days with no word from their children, suspicions build and secrets unravel. The missing students—Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—are soon dubbed "The Five" by social media sleuths, and speculation runs rampant. Are the answers buried in the dark corners of their parents' pasts, or did something fracture the friend group from within?

FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller, is on the case as she tries to juggle the demands of the job with the demands of being a mother and wife. The college campus setting and generational dynamics add depth to the unfolding mystery, with themes of family dysfunction and the pressure of expectations bubbling beneath the surface. While the novel excels at keeping the pace brisk and the stakes high, not every character lands with the same emotional weight. With so many players in motion, it’s hard to fully connect with each voice, and some arcs feel a bit underdeveloped. That said, the overall energy and suspense never waver, and the lack of a deep bond with every character doesn’t detract from the book’s pulse-pounding momentum.

There are LOTS of characters in this book (college students, their parents, an FBI agent, etc.) and it takes a while to sort them out so you can relax and get into the story. I enjoyed the chapters that were focused on the parents and the FBI agent. The chapters focused on the college students felt a little misplaced and a little forced, for lack of a better word.

In terms of pacing: A+. Thanks to short chapters, things moved quickly. Never a dull moment!

This is the first Alex Finlay book I’ve read. I’ll definitely check out some of his others.

3.7 rounded up to 4.

This was a good one! I have liked all his books so far. This one had a far fetched ending for me but overall it was really good!

I’d like to thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copy of this audiobook!

Parents Weekend at Santa Clara University is definitely one no one will ever forget. The story kicks off with each family making their way to campus, excited for the weekend events. But when they arrive for cocktails and dinner, their kids are nowhere to be found. At first, the parents wonder — is this just typical college behavior, ditching the parents for a party? Or is something really wrong?

After the shocking news of a classmate’s death, things take a dark turn, and we find out that five students are missing.

Brittany Pressley did a fantastic job narrating and bringing the characters to life. That said, there are a lot of characters to keep track of — 20+! Between the five missing students, their families, a professor, an intern, FBI agents, and more, it did get a little tricky remembering who was connected to who. Each family also has their own underlying drama, which added another layer to keep up with.

Even with so many characters, this was a fast-paced listen with short chapters that kept the story moving. Overall, it’s a well-written, solid thriller with a good mystery at the heart of it.

I really enjoyed FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller and Annie the intern — I’m hoping we get to see them team up again in the next book!

4/5 stars

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

This was a super solid thriller/suspense novel! Read like a domestic drama/suspense/mystery/thriller, which is my fav combination of genres. There were lots of different POV's which I love, and it never felt challenging to keep track of who was who. I wasn't sure where this was going for most of the story, and I was surprised by the reveal, if not a bit let down. I hadn't even considered that outcome as an option because it felt so obvious to me... so I guess it was so obvious that it surprised me??

Beyond that, this was a super fast-paced, intriguing and likeable story. This was great on audio; I love Brittany Pressley's narration and the atmosphere her voice exudes. I could not put this down once I started and finished it sooo quick. Highly recommend for anyone wanting an easy-to-read and entertaining mystery!

Another great mystery/thriller from Alex Finlay! It's parents weekend at a small private college and five families have plans for the night, but when their kids don't show up, and still haven't shown up the next day, the parents begin to panic. This novel is told from several different points of view, and the narrator did a great job with all of the voices. The reader is taken on a roller coaster ride as suspicions mount about what has happened to the five kids, and who might be responsible. There are several great twists and turns along the way to the final ending.

I found this book a little clunky and hard to follow. every time I felt like it was going somewhere, it would switch to a different character. I kept waiting to get more details, but that didn't really happen until the very end. I did feel myself spacing out and rereading parts, but then I was glued to the last 15% of the book. It was an easy thriller listen, but I didn't feel a ton of connection with the characters and plot. there could have been more twists, but it felt somewhat predictable.

thanks Netgalley for the ARC listen.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audio book.

This was a 3.5 for me. Voted up because of Alex Finlay.

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?

Told through multiple points of view in past and present—and marking the return of FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift—Parents Weekend explores the weight of expectation, family dysfunction, and those exhilarating first days we all remember in the dorms when our friends become our family.

This is my first Alex Finlay novel and won't be my last. The Audiobook is fantastic. Brittany Pressley as narrator does an amazing job. I usually have trouble focusing during audio books with such a large cast of characters and also jumping timelines, but I honestly felt the flow of this novel was so well done, and the suspense just kept building. I particularly liked how the author almost left every chapter on a slight cliffhanger, then we were on to the next. Highly recommend the audiobook of Parents Weekend to anyone who wants an intense, can't stop listening, thriller. Thank you to Macmillan audio and NetGalley for the ARC!

Like the other Alex Finlay books I’ve had the pleasure of reading so far, Parents Weekend managed to grab and hold my attention from the beginning of the story through to the end. It was suspenseful and kept me guessing, while simultaneously weaving in elements of humor, emotion, and reality in a clever and captivating way. It’s a relatively short read, making it easy to binge!

When parents from very different backgrounds come to visit their first year collegiate students at the college’s annual “parents weekend,” most are consumed with their personal lives and dramas, not expecting a weekend that will change their lives and link them to strangers. But when their five students go missing, everything changes. Rumors abound and social media goes wild, but a determined FBI agent is set on getting to the bottom of things.

I will warn that there is a very large cast of characters here. I alternated between the audiobook and ebook versions when reading, and actually found it easier to keep everyone straight when reading the ebook version. There is a lot of POV shifting, which certainly adds to the story, but may take a little bit for the reader to get their bearings and keep straight who is who.

Huge thank you to Alex Finlay, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, & NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

BIG THANKS to my besties at Macmillan Audio for this approval! I have been a fan of the previous Alex Finlay I've read and this one is no different!
Anticipated pub is May 6th!

Audiobook notes: can we normalize having the author read their Acknowledgements!? (Maybe this is already a thing but the books I've listened to didn't do this). I LOVED THAT little touch. Also the Reader's Note where the author tells that he got the idea on his own kid's Parent's Weekend made me chuckle a little. The production of this was good and the narrator's voice is pleasing to listen to.

In his signature style, this is told in multi-POV. Normally we get seemingly unrelated characters that will eventually come together as the story progresses. In this one, the characters have in common that they go to the same school or are parents of the kids at the school. Said parents are visiting for Parent's Weekend so we know how they relate in that sense. I still loved that the author brings doubt and secrets to each family so the reader is left unsure which of the family's "issues" might be the cause of the kids going missing. I found it easy enough after a few chapters to keep the families straight but less so for the kids, specifically for the girls. I didn't feel enough time to connect to the student characters which, honestly, was fine in this story as the family dramas seem to push along the investigation way more than what comes of the kids lives at school.

The story progressed well for me, I was never bored, I read this super fast because I needed to know what happened here!

Surprisingly, of the novels I've read from this author, this is my first that features Agent Keller. I loved her character. Any time I get a BA woman FBI Agent, police, etc I'm super on board and excited. Bringing her family into the story really gave her character great depth and a second side than some of the single, loner agents I've read about. She was my favorite character in this.

Thank you Macmillan audio for my audiobook. Maybe I’d like it more if I read the physical copy, but as a reader I either need different POVs OR different timelines, but not both… had a hard time following who what where and when. Too much. Liked the idea but too much shuffling

4 1/2 stars (rounded down)

I just discovered this author a few months ago and listened to all of his audiobooks in the span of a few weeks.
Therefore I was really excited to receive an ARC of his latest novel. Like his previous novels, I was not disappointed. Even though the POVs switch quite frequently throughout the novel (similar to his previous books) I did not find it confusing and found that it enhances the story. I like how each character was showcased and the backstory behind each one. I enjoyed the twists and turns throughout the novel and they kept me engaged and entertained. Also the audiobook narrator is Brittany Presley and I always enjoy audiobooks that she narrates!

The only reason that I did not provided a 5 star rating is because I wish that the author provided more of Natasha’s backstory. I felt the ending was a bit rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Macmillan Audio for an ARC of this audiobook.