Parents Weekend Book Review
Check out my review of Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay, a suspenseful mystery set at an idyllic California college campus.
This was the summer of All Things College for our family. I dropped my sweetie off in August and was shocked by how difficult that actually was for both of us.
I picked up Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay in the days following her drop off and found myself chuckling over how much worse it could actually be than our reality.
If you need an action-packed suspense mystery to distract you from your weepy feelings over a college drop off, I think this might just be the perfect pick.
Curious if this book is for you? Check out my full review below.
Otherwise, check out my list of 20 fiction books about college life if you need a few more lighthearted options!
If this is your first time reading one of my reviews, you may want to check out how I score my reads with this scale guide here.
Summary of Parents Weekend
In the glow of their children’s exciting first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families gather over 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 to dinner.
At first, everyone thinks they’re just being college students, irresponsibly forgetting about the gathering or skipping out to go to a party. But as the hours tick 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 soon call them―come from very different families. What drew 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 from each family’s point of view―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 in the dorms when friends become family.
What I Liked
Here's what I would tell my best friend about the book:
- Timely Subject: Since I just dropped off my firstborn at college this month and our first Parents Weekend is coming up in a few weeks, I thought this subject matter was a fun fit. I find suspense and action to be a pleasant distraction when I'm feeling sad and the mishaps that befall the characters in this book or so unlikely to happen to my own daughter it wasn't upsetting for me. Just entertaining.
- Quick Moving Chapters: Each chapter is a fast read and relatively short. This gives the book a nice quick pacing that is easy to get hooked on. I often found myself thinking: "Just one more!"
- Family Drama: I came for the college fun but was pleasantly surprised to discover this book is more about family drama among the five families of the students at the core of the story.
- Likable Detective: While many characters are just flat-out not good people, the detective on the case is part of a very likable family. I enjoyed her parts of the story the most.
- Great Audiobook Narration: I switched back and forth between listening in my car and reading on my Kindle. The narrator does a fantastic job with the story.
What I Didn't Like
Every reader needs something different from a book. What I may not have preferred may be your favorite part.
There are a LOT of characters to keep track of in this story. You've got the 5 missing students, the detective team looking for them, all of their parents, and the college staff.
At times, I had to really stop and remember who was who. If you're in a distracted life season, this could be problematic. Thankfully, each chapter starts with the name of the family it will focus on to help sort things out.
With all of those characters, I'm not sure the plots were fleshed out well enough and it did leave the book with a bit of a rushed feeling end, so many plots to tie up!
Favorite Quotes
"No matter how much they drive us crazy, parents are our weak spots."
"Let's cut the shit with the pity party. Answer this: What's the first thing you're gonna do when we get out of this?" . . .
"I'll hug my parents." . . .
One by one the rest of them say: "Same." "Same." "Same."
"Whoever said money doesn't buy happiness is probably right, but Alice bets they had money. It might not buy happiness, but it must take the edge off."
How Spicy Is It?
🚫: Parents Weekend rates a Level 0 on my spicy books rating scale. This is not a romance. Intimacy and marital affairs occur off page but there's nothing spicy about them.
Overall Score
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I give Parents Weekend four stars on my star rating scale. This book was timely for me and highly entertaining. The short chapters made it an easy read during a very stressful season for our family.
I also found myself thinking: "It could be so much worse!" when comparing my daughter's initial college weeks to the characters in this book. It made me laugh with relief while I was worried for her settling in phase.
If you're taking a kid to college, this book definitely provides some perspective. Ha!
Similar Books You'd Enjoy
If you enjoyed Parents Weekend, you might also like reading:
Content Warnings
I try to make my reviews spoiler free but sometimes trigger warning lists can contain hints at the plot that could spoil things.
I placed this at the bottom of the post so you don't accidentally bump into it. Keep reading at your own risk.
Parents Weekend is a suspenseful thriller with some violence and uncomfortable moments. If you're feeling sensitive and want a little peek at the potential triggers before you read, I wanted to give you a heads up on some of the more upsetting details:
- Suicide
- Marital Affairs
- Kidnapping
- Gunshots & Blood
- Death of Young Children (referenced in past) and Death of Teenagers
- Sexual Harassment and Stalking
- Murder
Now, taken out of context this list makes the book seem like an usual pick for our lighthearted list of reads but as far as a suspenseful thriller goes I found this book to be not too scary or too gory. Unless one of those topics is particularly upsetting to you at this time, I think you'll be ok with how the subject matters are handled within the plot.
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