Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay

Hello everyone.  I hope your day is going well.

Did y'all have parents weekend in college?  I didn't.  I had parents day in high school at band camp.  I've bored you about marching band before, yes, yes, I can hear your nerd and geek chants from here.  Be quiet you cool people.  Anyway, once again, it was a big band, a show band with over 600 kids. We actually got paid to do halftime for the Bills and Patriots. Every fall, all these kids and teachers trudge off to the Pocono Mountains to go to camp.  Bet you thought the Poconos were just for honeymooners, nope, but thanks now I have the old song from the commercials to Mount Airy Lodge going through my head. (It is on YouTube for those of you who like punishment.) At band camp, we would learn how to march, play songs from pre-game and the first half time, and move in unison. Towards the end of the week, when we were exhausted and riddled with mosquito bites, the parents would come and sit on top of a big hill and watch the first show.  Yes, on a hill, how else are you going to see the formations.  You can't see a moving train with Penelope Pittstop tied to the tracks from ground level!  (Seriously, that was a show, the wheels turned, the train engine moved, smoke came from the stack.  It got a standing ovation at the Patriots game when they played the Dolphins. We had to kneel at the sidelines before going on and, frankly, I had a famous Dolphin's quarterbacks butt in my face.  I won't say who, then you'll know how ancient I am.) Having parents at camp was a good thing, the bad was when they left.  It was then officially skit night.  I don't want to talk about it.  I'll just say, the nightmares continue to this day.

I recently read Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay. I have read several of his other books, Every Last Fear and If Something Happens to Me. I've enjoyed them all. In this story, we are treated to Parents Weekend at a small college in Northern California. Parents arrive anxious to see their children and hear about their experiences. Excitement becomes disappointment when all five of the students are AWOL. When one doesn't show it is not that significant but when all five don't arrive for a planned dinner, something is amiss. Perhaps they all ditched their parents for a great party. Despite trying, none of the scholars will answer their phones, compounding the worry. Adding to the nervousness is a student recently found drowned on the local beach. As the feeling of something being very wrong grows, FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller is called in to assist. Fans will recognize her as a reoccurring character.

Alex Finlay's books are different for me, not your average thriller. Don't get me wrong, I love average and non-average thrillers equally. It is like choosing your favorite child. But this book is part family drama, part secrets unraveling, part kind of police procedural (yes, I know Keller is FBI, but that feel), and part thriller. Because of this kind of story, it moves slower and has more story development that a shoot straight through thriller but not dry like police books can get. If you don't want the investment in actually reading an actual story, if you just want quick, cheap and lots of twists, then this isn't the book for you. However, if you want something with memorable characters, a more involved plot, and twists, then this is your baby. Sometimes a book reads so quickly that I almost feel like I'm not getting my "entertainment dollars" from it. This is different. Despite being a pleasantly paced read, it is deeply satisfying. Once I get rid of my book hangover, I'll be ready for Finlay's next!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. St. Martin's Press, not only always has great books, but has been so kind to me for which I will always be tremendously grateful.

PS. When writing this I kept typing Bank Camp.  Now THAT sounds like something fun.  I'll take my camp in 50's and 100's, thank you!