Parents Weekend

Alex Finlay is a pen name for Anthony J. Franze, the author of Parents Weekend and four other crime thrillers. His 2021 debut, Every Last Fear, introduced readers to FBI Agent Sarah Keller and was a 2022 Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Mystery and Thriller. Finlay followed Every Last Fear with The Night Shift (2022), What Have We Done (2023), If Something Happens to Me (2024), and Parents Weekend (2025). In a writing style characterized by plot twists, multiple narrative perspectives, and alternating timelines, Finlay’s crime thrillers feature thematic explorations of complex family relationships, trauma, grief, secrets, and justice. His novels appear regularly on “best of the year” lists and are sold globally in 25 languages. All of them, including Parents Weekend, have been optioned for film and television adaptations. Finlay has described his use of a pen name as a way to separate his works of fiction from his profession as a lawyer and author of legal thrillers.

Anthony J. Franze received his law degree in 1995 from Notre Dame Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude. As an adjunct professor of law at American University Washington School of Law and Michigan State’s semester-in-DC program, Franze taught courses in legal