Alex Finlay has built a reputation for delivering fast-paced thrillers filled with secrets, family drama, and jaw-dropping twists. With Parents Weekend, he returns with a story that taps into every parent’s worst nightmare: sending your child off to college only for them to disappear without a trace.
The Premise
At Santa Clara University in Northern California, five families gather for a night of dinner and cocktails to kick off Parents Weekend. The mood is celebratory, the conversations lively, but then comes the unsettling detail: their children never show up.
Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella dubbed “The Five” by online sleuths, podcasters, and TikTok true crime enthusiasts are gone. At first, it seems like harmless college behavior, maybe a skipped dinner for a party. But when hours pass, panic sets in. A recent tragedy involving another student forces the campus police to take the case seriously, and soon the FBI is called in. Enter Special Agent Sarah Keller, a character Finlay fans will recognize from Every Last Fear and The Night Shift.
The book unravels through multiple perspectives, shifting between parents and students, past and present. Each family hides secrets, each parent carries flaws, and together they form a web of dysfunction that might explain what happened on that fateful night.
Strengths
One of the biggest draws of Parents Weekend is the return of Agent Sarah Keller. Readers familiar with her from earlier books will be delighted to see her again, sharp as ever, balancing her investigative grit with her home life. Her presence adds depth and continuity, grounding the story in a world Finlay has already built.
The structure, with its short and snappy chapters, keeps the pages turning quickly. The pacing feels cinematic, and the ensemble cast of parents adds plenty of intrigue. While deeply flawed, these characters are still portrayed with a degree of humanity that makes them believable. Side characters like campus police chief Jay McCray and student intern Annie Hafeez also shine, offering fresh dynamics that enrich the investigation.
The atmosphere of dread is well-captured. The claustrophobic small-college setting and the weight of rumors, reporters, and rising panic make the story feel timely and unsettling.
Weaknesses
For some readers, the novel’s focus on parents over students was a drawback. While The Five are central to the plot, they feel less developed compared to their families, which makes it harder to become emotionally invested in their fate. The large cast can also feel overwhelming at first, with so many perspectives competing for attention.
Additionally, while the plot is compelling, it does not always reach the level of intensity or complexity found in Finlay’s earlier works. The final reveal is logical, but for some, it lacked the shock factor that elevates a good thriller into a great one.
Final Thoughts
Parents Weekend is a solid, fast-moving mystery that blends family drama with suspense, anchored by the always-reliable Agent Sarah Keller. It may not pack the same punch as Alex Finlay’s earlier books, but it is still an engaging, bingeable read that captures the tension of parents caught in the most terrifying situation imaginable.
Fans of Finlay will enjoy revisiting familiar characters, while new readers can comfortably pick this up as a standalone. If you’re drawn to thrillers that explore family secrets, missing persons, and the pressure of appearances, this one is worth adding to your list.
Ready to dive into the mystery of Parents Weekend? Get your copy here: Buy on Amazon
