This is how Alex Finlay’s books work for me:interesting start, and an ending I find odd or unsatisfying. Yet I keep ready since they’re entertaining, and they have great narration. I like them, even when I find the twists a bit odd. That’s a testimony to Finlay’s good storytelling.

Nearly DNF. I am very sorry, but I found the story confusing and didn't care enough about any of the characters until the very end at the reveal.

I've enjoyed other Alex Finlay books and that's what made me interested in his new book Parents Weekend.
Wow does this book have a lot of characters and a lot of POV's, so be prepared for that. All those people made it hard to remember what kids go with what parents and vice versa. I was lucky enough to have both the book and audiobook. I went back and forth a lot to try to figure out and remind myself who goes with whom. I was very happy to see that Agent Keller was back to do her thing and solve the mystery of where the college students disappeared to during Parents Weekend. Narrator Brittany Pressley is always great and gave life to this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced readers copies of both the audiobook and the book.

Alex Finlay is an auto buy author for me. His latest, Parents Weekend was such a great listen. Don’t miss out on this one!

I am not a fan of domestic dramas. More times than not, I end up feeling sorry for all the messed up kids who got stuck with crappy parents. So why would I voluntarily choose to read a story about a bunch of missing college kids and their crappy parents who descend on their kids for parents’ weekend? Two words: Alex Finlay. This is only the third book of his that I have read, but it most certainly won’t be the last. I like Finlay’s work; he’s a good author and a really good storyteller.

The book summary basically just introduces the primary storyline of the missing students and their parents. However, there is so much more going on here. There are the Roosevelts, mother Cynthia, an Asst Sec of State with her own Secret Service detail, and father Hank, a failed writer and unemployed adjunct professor, and rebel son, Blane. Then there are the Akanas, father Judge Ken, and mother Amy, a former attorney turned caregiver and stay-at-home mom since their son was diagnosed with cancer and later died, and their forgotten and neglected daughter, Libby. There are the Maldonados, father David, a good-looking, successful plastic surgeon and perpetual philanderer, and mother Nina, a stay-at-home mom, who puts up with her husband’s cheating, and their rebel daughter, Stella. Then there is the Goffmans, single mother, Alice, the Dean’s assistant, and her son, Felix, who is a scholarship student. Lastly there is Mark Wong, whose father is a sexual offender, who was recently released from a 10yr sentence of sexual assault.

Every one of these parents and their kids are harboring secrets about their pasts and current activities. Way too much to unpack in a book review. Once again, I have so many moments where I feel so sorry for the messed-up kids whose crappy parents have totally screwed them up. However, in typical Finlay fashion, there are just way too many other intriguing things going on with the missing kids and scary scenes playing out among all of the parents and their own ridiculous drama. It isn’t until deep into the second half that I start to suspect who the kidnapper is, but I’m also prepared for Finlay to blow me away with a shocking ending. While I wasn’t way off base about the kidnapper, I was so absolutely wrong about the killer, but I am not disappointed with the shocking end.

The character development of the parents and their kids was pretty good and even the continuing character development of the returning FBI agent, Sarah Keller, and her hubby and their twins was nice to see since we didn’t get much the last time back in Every Last Fear. The pacing was fast, and flipping back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook made for a pretty quick reading experience. The storyline was interesting and the writing typical Finlay, in other words, well written and shocking. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.3 that I will be rounding down to a 4star review. I want to thank NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for sending me these eARC’s in exchange for my honest review.

NetGalley #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio #ParentsWeekend

Parent’s Weekend started off exciting, but it quickly became challenging to keep track of the numerous characters and their complex backgrounds. Just as I anticipated an intriguing character backstory that might influence the plot, it was explained, removing the mystery. This made it difficult to stay engaged, and I often found myself distracted, needing to re-listen for the second half of the book.

I also wish I had known upfront that geofencing played a significant role in the story—this wasn’t clear until the author's message, by which point I had already overlooked details I initially thought were minor. Despite these challenges, it wasn’t a terrible listen. It kept me entertained overall.

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay
🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is an entertaining and fun thriller story!!
Five families go to visit their kids at College for a parents weekend. The problem is that the kids don’t show up for the dinner the families have planned. The parents are trying to figure out if their kids could possibly be in danger or if it’s just a college prank? The police are eventually called and the search and thrills begin!
I enjoyed the character development, which gave us background and insight into the different family dynamics and their kids. I liked to hear about the fun and crazy drama that each family had!
I did enjoy the first 1/2 of the book a bit more than the second part. The whole book was very good, I just found the beginning a bit more suspenseful and exciting.

Thank you to NetGalley for an audio arc of this great book! The narrator did an excellent job!
This is my first book from this author and I’ll definitely be checking out more!
*This book comes out May 6th. Grab it for an entertaining and thrilling read!*

4.25 rounded down. Great audio, listened to it in one day!

Solid mystery surrounding one main incident and a proceeding incident involving the same characters. The story unravels and while that happens we get to meet a supporting cast of family member thanks to parents weekend. While the whole isn’t particularly surprising, the overall story is good, interesting and entertaining.

Advanced listener copy provided by Macmillan Audio but all opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

It’s Parents Week at Santa Clara University. Five freshman students don’t show to meet up for dinner with their parents. One not showing wouldn’t be an issue but all five? They aren’t answering their phones and the police aren’t taking it seriously. At least not at first. Told from the POV of the parents of these missing students as to why their children might be missing and Agent Keller who is on the case. Because there are so many characters to keep track of it took a bit for me to become invested. But I’m glad I stuck with it.

A small private college is hosting parents weekend. A group of five friends have their families visit together and when the kids don’t show up for the dinner they had planned, they start to worry. What is really going on with The Five ? Could their dysfunctional families have something to do with their disappearances ?

Engaging, fast paced, thriller ! Was excited to read more from this author as I loved “If Something Happens to Me.”

I will say with the audio it was hard to follow along in the beginning with all of the different characters. It came together at the end though with some helpful notes !

Lots of twisted connections and red herrings, enjoyed the detective perspective.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 5/6/25.

3.5⭐️

If there’s one thing I can count on when it comes to Alex Finlay’s audiobooks, it’s the fact that I can devour them in one day! Parents’ Weekend is packed full with characters. It was a bit overwhelming at first and I worried I wasn’t going to be able to keep track. There are 5 main character students, 1-2 parents for each, and agent Sarah Keller. The reader is shown each POV as the mystery comes together. I enjoyed it but found it difficult to connect with all the characters since there were so many. Sarah Keller was hands down my favorite!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date May 06 2025

Proud parents gather for a weekend to celebrate their children’s first year on campus at a small private North Carolina college. But when a group of five students fail to show up for the dinner, following the suspicious drowning death of their classmate, all of their parents begin to panic. As a search ensues to find the five— Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella— each of the parents’ past activities will be called into question.

Whelp. This book is not for me, and has left me utterly confused as to my feelings on this author’s books. My favorite part of this story revolved around FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, I have not read either of the previous books that featured her, so most likely I will try one more time with Every Last Fear.

Here is where I struggle with his books— they feature way too many characters. While some thrillers have large casts of characters, Locust Lane, for example, they usually introduce them, and then slowly build up each character throughout the length of the book. In Finlay’s books, we are introduced to numerous characters, with little space in between, and then they sort of…fall flat. They all feel very two-dimensional. When this happens, I find myself unable to connect to any of them on any kind of emotional level, and therefore struggle to connect with the story. This was particularly so with the college students who felt very surface-level in their development. The only character who had true depth was Sarah.

I also find Finlay’s books to start strong and then just go completely over the top, plot-wise. I felt similarly with What Have You Done. Characters who feel at a distance and a plot line that feels unreasonable lead to a not-great reading experience. Unfortunately, the audiobook, narrated by the fabulous Brittany Pressley, only served to enhance the elements I already struggled with, and even when I eventually paired it with the physical book, I still felt a) confused and 2) completely disengaged.

Read if you like:
▪️dark academia
▪️domestic suspense
▪️family melodrama
▪️teens behaving badly
▪️ensemble casts
▪️plot-heavy stories

📆 Pubs: May 6, 2025

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy.

3.5 stars rating for me!
Agent Keller, an FBI agent is brought in to help on the case of 5 missing college students.
Their parents, all from different backgrounds, desperately want to find their children.
I won't say that there wasn't a little tragedy, because there certainly was some.
Lots of mystery and peril are involved in this book.
Characters were semi-developed. I did have trouble connecting with some of them.
I did have a little trouble with the multiple POV's on different timelines - I found it a bit frustrating at times. It also made it a little difficult to decipher which young adult belonged to which family.
I do think that maybe a YA audience could connect to the story a little better than I did. I typically don't mind YA books, but this wasn't my cup of tea.
Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this ARC!

I enjoyed this book overall but had a hard time keeping all of the characters in line. It switched frequently with the short chapters and it was quite a lot of characters to keep track of. I do love short chapters though so that was a positive but it made it hard to fully develop so many characters. I loved agent Keller and I’ve heard of the other books that she has been in and I’m interested in picking those up!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC/ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Imagine being a parent of a college aged student and attending the college's parents' weekend only for your child to not show up to the event. Multiply that times five families and you have Parents Weekend. This book starts off with the disappearance of an older student right at the start of parent's weekend and from there, it is a crazy ride. Told from multiple perspectives, this book has great character development. Brittany Presley was a fantastic narrator and she kept me invested in these lives from start to finish. I really enjoyed this audiobook! Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy!

It’s Parents Weekend at college, but all 5 of the students missed the group dinner. Because some of the parents are high-profile, the FBI is called in to help find the kids.

High paced thriller with multiple POV between the parents, kids, and FBI agent. There are A TON of characters — sometimes it was a bit hard to keep up with which parent belonged to which kid and who was who, but overall the author did a great job of developing the characters uniqueness.

There’s no shortage of action at really any point of the story line, which made this a perfect quick read - would be great for beach trips coming up!

I also loved the narrator, Brittany Pressley and how she manages to separate characters by using different voices, accents, etc.

Parents Weekend is a twisty, emotionally charged thriller that draws readers—and listeners—into a night of celebration turned mystery at a private college in Northern California. Alex Finlay does what he does best: weaving suspense with layered characters and family drama, all while keeping the plot moving at a brisk pace.

The story centers on five college freshmen—dubbed "The Five"—who vanish on the evening of Parents Weekend, leaving behind a group of increasingly panicked families. What starts as a missed dinner spirals into a media frenzy, complete with podcasters, internet sleuths, and dark suspicions. Told in multiple perspectives, including flashbacks and present-day events, Finlay explores not only the mystery of the disappearance, but the complex dynamics within and between the students’ families. The book also marks the return of FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller, a fan-favorite from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift, adding a familiar thread for long-time readers of Finlay’s work.

But what truly elevates this audiobook experience is Brittany Pressley’s brilliant narration. She brings her signature gift of distinguishing characters through nuanced vocal shifts, making each perspective feel distinct and alive. Whether voicing a panicked parent or a guarded FBI agent, she infuses the characters with emotion and clarity. She's long been one of my favorite narrators, and this performance just reaffirms why. Her talent adds a deeper layer of engagement and keeps the tension palpable even in quieter, more reflective moments.

If there’s any critique, it’s that the book occasionally tries to juggle too many threads, and not all emotional beats land as strongly as the mystery elements. Some character arcs feel more fleshed out than others, and a few twists, while satisfying, may stretch believability just a bit.

Still, Parents Weekend delivers a compelling mystery with strong emotional undercurrents and a keen sense of pace. For fans of character-driven thrillers with a college-campus setting—and especially for audiobook lovers—this one’s well worth the listen.

Final Verdict: A gripping listen made even better by Pressley’s outstanding narration. A solid 3.75 stars.

Large cast of characters. Fast paced. Addictive read!!

Its parents weekend and it starts with 5 students disappearing. You also have a few high profile parents and a death that happened the week before!! An intriguing storyline that hooked me right away.

I was pretty surprised when this was one was done because it was super quick and short. I listened to the audiobook and I did like the narration very much. I felt like there could have been a lot more fleshed out int his one and it wasn’t my favorite of his (although I was pleased to see agent Keller again). Parents weekend has come and before it can even get started a student who was missing is found dead. If that wasn’t bad enough 5 other students go missing the night of the big parents weekend dinner. One of those students has a mother with connections to Washington so a search is started almost immediately. Agent Keller has just moved on a temporary assignment so her husband can care for his aging father and she is quickly called out to the case. This one did move quickly, but I wanted more from the characters. I didn’t like any of them very much, but I did feel there was potential with them. Overall I gave this one 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars because it was a quick read.

A gripping, character-rich suspense novel — Parents Weekend keeps you on edge from start to finish.

With a large ensemble cast, including both students and parents, the story weaves together multiple perspectives, creating a layered and dynamic narrative. The audiobook version was especially helpful in keeping track of the many characters, thanks to the excellent narration and distinct voice work — each character truly came to life.

One standout for me was Keller — a compelling and well-drawn character with clear potential for further development. I’d love to see them return in future installments or even a spin-off.

Overall, Parents Weekend is a suspenseful, well-paced read with a strong cast and an engaging plot. Highly recommended, especially in audio format.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC. This is my honest review.