Parents Weekend

In a book sure to make you rethink ever sending your kids to college, Alex Finlay’s newest features not one, but FIVE missing students!

Speaking of five, this is my fifth book by this author, and although this was my least favorite of them so far, he still knows how to keep me flipping those pages with rapt attention!

Private college Santa Clara University is hosting a Parents Weekend. In attendance are a colorful set of parents that include a federal State Department official with her ever-present security detail, a well-known judge and his wife, a philandering plastic surgeon and his wife, and a single mom working for the university dean. When their kids fail to show up for the opening night dinner on the heels of another student tragedy, the police are notified and a search begins.

Who else is notified? The FBI and one familiar face from Finlay’s past books: Special Agent Sarah Keller, who’s temporarily relocated to San Jose with her wonderful hubby Bob and twins Heather and Michael to help care for Bob’s ill father. It was great to see her again!

So, this was a little bit of a mixed bag for me. Overall, I really did enjoy it, despite some aspects that kept it from rising to the level of his past books I’ve read.

What I liked:

🖤 Special Agent Sarah Keller.  Bob calls her Agent Badass for good reason. She is, and I love her for it! (Shout out to Bob, too. He’s a special treasure … for real.)

🖤 Side Characters. SCU Campus Police Chief Jay McCray and their student intern Annie Hafeez were great new characters. I’m hoping to see where Annie’s future takes her in future books!

🖤 Short, snappy chapters. My favorite things. I have a short attention span at times and they kept the story and intrigue moving nicely.

🖤 Likeable unlikeable parents.  What? I’ll explain. These were deeply flawed characters with an array of dysfunctional qualities that I still felt sympathy for on some level. I don’t respect some of them, but I can at least see them as humans who care about their kids.

What didn’t work as well for me:

⊘ The students.  I didn’t feel a whole lot for them, because the story didn’t dive too deeply into any of their lives. Because I only had a shallow understanding of them, I didn’t feel very attached to the outcome. As the title suggests, the story really is more about the parents.

⊘ The plot. I enjoyed it - it just wasn’t as enthralling as his past books.

⊘ The baddie reveal. It makes sense, but again I didn’t feel much. Considering the circumstances, I wanted to feel that adrenaline surge and excitement, but the “jazz” just wasn’t there.

Overall, it’s a well-written book and a solid mystery that’s given me yet another reason to keep requesting Finlay’s books! If I had to sum up my biggest problem in a nutshell: I just wanted a little more emotional investment in the story.

★★★ ½  (rounded to 4)

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, NetGalley and author Alex Finlay for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s out on May 6, 2025.