Parents Weekend

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay
5/6/25; 320 pages
St. Martin's Publishing

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay is a highly recommended thriller centered around a small private college in Northern California.

Parents are arriving for Parents Weekend at Santa Clara University. Preceding the start of this event, the body of student Natasha Belov, daughter of a wealthy businessman, is found dead in a nearby sea cave. A group of five students who are residents of Campisi Hall, Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella, plan to have dinner with their parents the first night. When none of the students show up for dinner, the parents initially think they are just being irresponsible college students, but when they cannot reach any of them, they involve the campus police. 

FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller is called in to assist due to the high profile parent of Blane. She, her husband Bob and their twins recently moved from NY to CA to care for Bob's father. It is a pleasure to see Agent Sarah Keller again and on the case. Even though she is a recurring character from two previous novels, this works as a stand alone.

There is a large cast of characters but if you pay attention they quickly sort themselves out. Libby Akana's parents are Ken, a well known Superior Court judge, and Amy. Blane Roosevelt's parents are divorced, his mother Cynthia works for the State Department and arrives with a security detail. Mark Wong is Blaine's best friend and comes from a troubled past. He has no parents at the event. Felix Goffman's single mother, Alice, works for the dean of the college. Stella Maldonado's parents are David, a plastic surgeon, and Nina.

The well-written narrative unfolds between the multiple points-of-view of students and parents. The multiple individuals involved open up the possibilities and suspects especially since they all, parents and students, have secrets, threats, and issues. Almost all of the parents are totally dysfunctional and the focus is more on their character development rather than that of the students. It was a wise and realistic choice to include the use of social media by students in the plot. The short chapters keep the pace moving briskly along.

Parents Weekend was engaging throughout and the twists at ending were surprising for me. Thanks to St. Martin's Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.