Parents Weekend
- Judith D Collins
- May 31
- 5 min read
By: Alex Finlay
Narrator: Alex Finlay, Brittany Presley
ISBN: 9781250360724
Macmillan Audio
Publisher: St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books
Publication Date: 05/06/2025
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC) )ALC)
From the bestselling author of If Something Happens to Me, comes one of the year’s most anticipated thrillers.
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.
My Review
Alex Finlay returns following If Something Happens to Me with his latest sizzling suspense academia thriller, PARENTS WEEKEND, a title that holds a deeper meaning as it sets the stage for a series of events that unfold during a college's parents' weekend.
Five families gather for Parents Weekend at their freshman children's college, which quickly turns into a gripping mystery when five students go missing. This high-stakes suspense thriller, blended with family dynamics, will keep you on the edge of your seat, eager to uncover the truth.
About...
It's the first year of college at a private school in Northern California. It is a night of opening festivities for Parents Weekend. The parents are there, but the five residents of Campisi Hall never show up for dinner.
Is this a joke, or did they ditch them for a party? But as time moves on and no texts or phone calls, panic begins to set in.
The FIVE: Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella. Soon, the rumors started, and podcasters, bloggers, and TikTok sleuths all have their suspicions and theories. All the students are from different backgrounds.
The campus cops are called, and everyone has their theory. Is it due to the parents' enemies? The sins of the fathers and mothers? A group targeting students, hazing, etc. Why take all five?
An ongoing mystery. Who, why, DUNIT?
My thoughts...
PARENTS WEEKEND is an enthralling psychological page-turner thriller. Finlay is on a roll. Atmospheric, intense, chilling!
Finlay keeps you in suspense with plenty of twists, red herrings, and a unique storytelling technique that cleverly unfolds the plot through multiple points of view, from past to present. This technique will keep you engaged and eager to see how the different perspectives contribute to the story.
From well-developed characters, family dysfunction, and dark secrets, the author keeps the surprises coming. As a parent (now a grandparent), I recall the worries I had when my sons left for college. (Now my granddaughter starts this fall.) The fears for their safety, the drama, and the relationships they form, which can change the trajectory of their lives, are all too real.
As a massive fan of the author (have read all his books), this is another addition to his fine, must-read collection of thrillers.
Audiobook...
I highly recommend the audiobook performed by my favorite narrator, Brittany Pressley, and features an author's note and acknowledgments read by the author. The performance was award-winning and engaging, keeping you glued to your iPhone with distinct voices for all the characters, bringing the story to life.
Recs...
PARENTS WEEKEND is for fans of the author and those who enjoy works by Harlan Coben, David Ellis, Chris Whitaker, John Hart, Mary Kubica, and Lisa Unger.
Thanks to Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing a gifted ARC and ALC (#MacAudio2025) in exchange for an honest review. Your support is invaluable in bringing these thrilling stories to readers.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: May 6, 2025
Praise
A Barnes & Noble’s “Most Anticipated Mysteries & Thrillers”
A LibraryReads Hall of Fame Selection for May 2025 ― Best Books Voted by Librarians
A Goodreads’ Readers' "Most Popular Books Published in May 2025"
A BookBub “Must-Read Mysteries and Thrillers of 2025”
A Criminal Element “Unmissable Mysteries” of Spring
A Novel Suspects Most Anticipated Mysteries & Thrillers of Spring
A Goodreads’ “Most Anticipated Spring Mysteries & Thrillers”
“From one of the genre's best . . . Finlay has a gift for intertwining many storylines and characters in a cohesive, compelling way. The tropes used here don't feel stale, and plenty of surprises and red herrings will keep readers interested. Fans won't want to miss Finlay's latest.”
―Booklist
“Finlay writes . . . with red herrings galore, and he caps the proceedings with a particularly shocking conclusion.”
―Publishers Weekly
“[Finlay] crafts a genuine page-turner with a cast of flawed and realistic human characters. Plan a weekend to devour this terrific thriller.”
―First Clue
“Smart, fast-paced and intense, Parents Weekend depicts every parent’s worst nightmare. Alex Finlay is a master at creating complex, high-stakes thrillers that are charged with emotion. Readers will love this one.”
―Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Local Woman Missing and She’s Not Sorry
“Let’s call it: there is nothing as addictive as an Alex Finlay novel. Prepare to sit transfixed as the action in Parents Weekend explodes from page one, introducing readers to five missing students and their families, each unhappy in their own way, with plenty to hide. In classic Finlay fashion, the novel combines astute character studies with shocking twists, turning the growing pains between parents and their college-aged kids into mesmerizing fodder for high-tension thrills. Finlay is at the very top of his game―I loved it and readers will too.”
―Ashley Winstead, bestselling author of Midnight is the Darkest Hour
About the Author
Kristina Sherk Photography
Alex Finlay is the bestselling author of the 2021 breakout novel, Every Last Fear, the 2022 Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Mystery and Thriller, The Night Shift, the 2023 Library Reads Hall of Fame recipient, What Have We Done, and his latest release, the USA Today bestseller, If Something Happens to Me. Alex’s novels are regularly on "best of the year" lists, have been translated into twenty-five languages, and have been optioned for film or television. Every Last Fear is in development for a major limited series. Alex lives in Washington, DC and Virginia. WEBSITE
