Parents weekend A novel

This popcorn thriller from one of the genre's best is a twisty, dark tale about the power of social media and the consequences of family trauma. It's Parents Weekend at SCU, and the festivities are set to begin with a dinner for the students and their families. When friends Stella, Libby, Mark, Blane, and Felix don't show up for dinner as expected, there are several legitimate possibilities for their absence. But their parents immediately know something isn't right and notify the authorities, who are already on high alert after a student was found dead earlier in the week. Assigned to the case, FBI agent Sarah Keller quickly discovers that everyone involved has a secret, and each family has something to hide. Finlay (If Something Happens to Me, 2024) has a gift for intertwining many story lines and characters in a cohesive, compelling way. The tropes used here don't feel stale, and plenty of surprises and red herrings will keep readers interested. Fans won't want to miss Finlay's latest.

An exclusive private school where CEOs, doctors, and government officials send their children gets shaken up by the disappearance of five students in Finlay's fleet if familiar latest thriller featuring FBI agent Sarah Keller (after The Night Shift). Troubled scholarship student Felix Goffman is an outlier at Northern California's prestigious Santa Clara University, but he and his dormmates have nevertheless become close friends. On the first night of Parents Weekend, the students and their parents agree to eat together. Annoyance turns to fear as the hours pass and the students fail to show up, especially because Natasha Belov, daughter of a wealthy businessman, has been recently found dead in a nearby sea cave. The case gets sent to Agent Keller, since U.S. assistant secretary of state Cynthia Roosevelt's son, Blane, is among the missing students. Blane's not the only child of a high-profile parent in the cohort: Libby Akana's father, judge Kenneth Akana, oversaw actor Rock Nelson's headline-grabbing domestic violence trial and angered the star's fans. Juggling those clues, Agent Keller races to uncover the truth as the case becomes an online sensation. Finlay writes in a conventional register, with red herrings galore, and he caps the proceedings with a particularly shocking conclusion. Fans of Mary Higgins Clark will enjoy themselves. (May)