When a serial killer strikes a small Alabama town – anyone could become the next victim, or the main suspect . . .Ben Logan, former military, and now the successful owner of a private security firm, can handle just about anything. Well, anything except a run-in with Riley Carpenter.When Ben joined the Marines, he never looked back, and he broke his best friend’s heart in the process. But when a … in the process. But when a murderer targets his city, he’s forced to return after a fourteen-year absence–he’s forced to face Riley. He’s not sure if he can make amends, but he knows one thing for certain: he won’t leave until the killer is stopped.
Riley’s world was destroyed the year she turned eighteen. A tragic loss and a broken heart left her wondering if she’d ever be truly happy again. Now, as a successful doctor, the last thing she needs is to have Ben back in her life, especially when she’s in the middle of dealing with a new tragedy.
With a psychopath on the loose, and the town living in fear, Riley soon discovers she has to accept Ben’s help, even if she doesn’t want it. But as the two become close again, will past secrets and unexpected desires ultimately tear them apart once more?
A friends-to-lovers romantic mystery. This book can be read as a standalone.
Pre-order sale / Coming soon to KU.
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Saying goodbye
4.5 stars
Ben, Riley & Nate best friends from childhood. The three musketeers, exploring life and testing their limits until a tragedy occurs and changes everything.
Ben Logan, former Marine, now owns a personal security business in Vegas. He makes good money protecting the rich & famous. Gets a call from his mom that his best friend’s father has been murdered. Ben is stunned. He hasn’t been home to Alabama since he left for boot camp 14 years ago.
Riley Carpenter, the best friend left behind is now a doctor, a psychiatrist. Despite being offered many lucrative job opportunities she chose to stay in her small Alabama town. The one person she wants to avoid is the same she secretly longs to see, her best friend Ben.
The wake of Nate’s dad brings them together in an unexpected way. They are tasked to carry out his last wishes and forced to face their past. Riley wants answers on why Ben left and shut her out when she needed him the most. The murder mystery has Ben staying close to Riley, to keep her safe.
Long denied feelings start to surface causing them to finally talk and share their fears.
My chief complaint with this story is Riley. As a mental health provider, she was clueless when it came to dealing with her personal relationships.
The epilogue with all our couples at the end was very sweet. The bonus epilogue was heartbreaking to read. So happy Ben found his forever love.
The Final Goodbye is a fitting end to the Hidden Truths series. Brittney Sahin has created a unique set of characters and paired with storylines that have fast paced action, hard hitting suspense, deep emotions lots of steamy scenes and abiding love. Ben Logan and Riley Carpenter were best friends since infancy. Torn apart by an unbelievable tragedy, fourteen years elapse between the last time they saw one another and his return to their small Alabama hometown. To say their reunion is rocky is an understatement. There’s a serial killer on the loose and Ben is hellbent on keeping Riley safe. Things aren’t adding up to Ben’s satisfactions he calls for extra help. Meanwhile, it finally is time for some complete honesty between Riley and Ben and what they each reveal shocks them both. Hopefully it’s not too late for them to have a chance at happiness.
I wish I could give a book more than 5 stars! Ben and Riley was the first book I read by Brittney and it is by far my favorite! Ben comes back to his home town to save the girl he’s been in love with since forever! Riley became a doctor and stayed at home to be with family until a murder occurs! Ben and Riley together is the sweetest chemistry! The Final Goodbye has it all love, loyalty, friendship, sexy Marines and strong women and some great detective work! The final goodbye was the best way to end the series!
Outstanding read. Fantastic story line! I don’t want to include any spoilers but let’s just say it was amazing. Usually about a quarter into the book I can pick out the twist but I truly didn’t see this one coming. The series was great but this book was by far the best!! I couldn’t put it down. Brittany Sahin knocked it out of the park with this one. Ben and Riley are amazing together and it was a great end to an amazing series. Sad to see these characters go. Would highly recommend!
Talk about descriptive and suspenseful, The Final Goodbye is Brittney Sahin’s final novel in the Hidden Truths series and the best one yet. That’s coming from a huge fan of the previous novels and a lifetime Jake and Alexa (Surviving the Fall) supporter. We follow handsome, charming Ben as he seeks to protect his former friend, Riley, from the hands of a murderer in a small Alabama town. Riley and Ben have 17 years of friendship behind them and several more years apart, each hurting from loss and unable to find forgiveness for each other or themselves. The murderer brings them together and even though it’s a terrifying time it forces them to finally work through the buried resentment and pain. Ben would do anything to protect her, even allow her into the walls he’s held up so long, and Riley is finding her walls were always willing to be lowered for him.
“His words were hard around the edges, like an uncut diamond scraping against her skin, leaving a mark.”
The Final Goodbye, in my opinion, is the most suspenseful of the five books in the Hidden Truths series. The small town atmosphere, the secondary characters involved, and unpredictable murderer made this the kind of book I had to read in one sitting. It’s incredibly highlightable and I could picture every scene as they played out on the pages. Plus, we get to see a second-chance romance unfold at the same time; who can say no to romance and suspense? Not me. I loved the storyline, I think it was the perfect mix of romance and suspense. In the midst of being scared the two lean on one another, blurring the lines of their hurt and anger and finding that the love they once shared as friends hadn’t changed. I thought I had the novel predicted, then it changed on me, and then it changed again, so by the end I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, to the couple or in the case with the murderer. The mix of the whodunit along with Ben and his friend’s detective skills was entertaining and exactly what I like to see from the Hidden Truths men.
“‘You guy need to back off. Passing blame around won’t help us find the killer … ‘
‘Unless we’re looking at him …'”
I loved Riley and her strength. That girl is determined and stubborn, but also clearly hurt and realing from present and past losses. She’s my favorite type of heroine, the kind who owns her life and her choices, even if one of those choices is choosing the one who at one time didnt choose her. She and Ben have so much heavy between them and highly doubt they would have ever worked through it all had they not been forced together by death and Ben’s desperate need to protect. Ben is the kind of guy who gives the shirt he’s wearing to you, because you need it more than he does. It’s impossible not to like him and even more impossible to not fall for him alongside Riley. He’s a daredevil, and a bit gruff, but he has a heart of gold that happens to beat for the girl he once hurt in his youth.
“So, he still had a heart. She hadn’t been sure until now.”
Those who haven’t read Brittney’s previous novels will really enjoy this as their first and longtime readers will be very happy to know we get to see a bit of our favorite past characters as well. I love when an author can make a book in a series a true standalone, but the little easter eggs are a nice treat, especially when your favorite book boyfriend pops up. 😉 I’m sad to be saying goodbye to the series, but it will be one I revisit again in the future. Plus, I’m lucky, I have a spot for every single handsome Hidden Truths man on my bookshelf.
“The look in her eyes matched what he felt on the inside: regret.”
This book was filled with suspense and romance. It will keep you guessing up until the very end. I loved every second of it .
This is Ben’s story and a Satisfying ending to this series. I appreciate the smart heroine. I’ll never look at Garden of the Gods the same way again. That being said, this trope is a favorite of mine: the forbidden attraction. Well done. I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve read by this author.
Sometimes you simply connect with someone. It’s inevitable…fate… destiny! But what happens when that connection is so overwhelming that you lose sight and your way? Ben and Riley become our story.
As teens, they were part of a trio but tragedy strikes leaving these two to comprehend and re-evaluate their lives. Unfortunately, they didn’t reach the same conclusion. Now, years later, a war, school, budding careers and another tragedy see the couple reunited. Old wounds and deep pain plague them both. He doesn’t see himself as a good man but Ben will draw his last breath to protect Riley, his secret and her heart. Riley doesn’t carry a chip on her shoulder but a huge boulder. Ben was the beginning and ending of her heartbreak. But their small town becomes the target of a killer forging an unlikely team with this couple.
This storyline was small-town newspaper front page. And the journey this couple traveled both broke my heart and gave me hope. Sometimes all you need is a second chance. So many what-ifs, what might have been and why didn’t we. Tense moments, drama, dark forces and heavy duty chemistry blanket these pages. Along with a few “didn’t see that coming”.