Parents Weekend

by: Alex Finlay
published: May 6, 2025
genre: Thriller, Mystery
320 Pages, E-Book ARC Courtesy of NetGalley
GoodReads | Amazon

Synopsis

During Santa Clara University’s Parents Weekend, five college freshmen vanish—seemingly without a trace. FBI Agent Sarah Keller, newly relocated to the Bay Area, is pulled into the case before she’s even had time to settle in. As she digs into the lives of the missing students, she uncovers a tangled web of secrets: high-powered parents, past traumas, forbidden romances, and long-buried guilt. Told through multiple perspectives, this gripping thriller explores the lengths parents will go to protect their children—and what happens when those secrets begin to unravel.

My Final Thoughts

Agent Sarah Keller is back—and this time she’s traded the East Coast for sunny (and stressful) Northern California. Ten years after we last saw her in The Night Shift, she’s relocated her family to the Bay Area following her father-in-law’s cancer diagnosis. With a temporary transfer to the San Jose FBI office, Keller’s barely unpacked before being pulled into a high-stakes case at Santa Clara University.

During Parents Weekend, five freshmen vanish without a trace. Five students. No phones. No sightings. No good reason. Keller knows from the start that this isn’t some college prank or a night gone wrong—something much bigger is in motion.

What unfolds is a layered and fast-paced mystery told from multiple POVs—mostly anchored by Keller, but with deep dives into the lives (and secrets) of the students and their families. Each of the missing kids has their own baggage and backstory:

Blane Roosevelt, charming and well-connected, son of a high-ranking government official and constantly under a microscope.
Stella Maldonado, the chaotic one with a radar for trouble and complicated parents trying to keep it together for the weekend.
Felix Goffman, the quiet kid who finally found his voice—and possibly love—on campus.
Libby Akanas, the “perfect” student trying to break free from her carefully crafted image.
Mark Wong, the one with no parents visiting, yet somehow tied up in all of it.

The deeper Keller digs, the messier things get—secrets, scandals, two affairs, a student death, a suicide attempt… and yet, Finlay never loses control of the plot. He weaves in the emotional weight of parenthood, ambition, and loyalty while keeping the momentum moving.

Even though I figured out the “who” in this whodunit, it didn’t take away from the thrill of the reveal. Alex Finlay does what he does best—gives us just enough red herrings to keep second-guessing ourselves. I especially loved Keller’s husband Bob (seriously, every high-stress woman deserves a Bob) and standout supporting characters like intern Annie and Chief McCray. On the flip side, Keller’s west coast boss, Richard Peters? Hard pass. I would’ve paid good money to hear Cynthia Roosevelt tear into him.

This is a solid, bingeable thriller. If you love stories with multiple layers, intersecting secrets, and fast-paced plotting, Parents Weekend should absolutely be on your shelf.

Acknowledgement

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy of Parents Weekend. I’m grateful for the opportunity to read and review this engaging, twisty thriller ahead of its release.