I've just finished reading Final goodbyes, it's only taken a couple of hours. Initially I wasn't overly impressed the first half of the book is quite slow and mostly concentrates on the protagonist, Sophie, dealing with the death of her brother on a suspected murder/suicide case. I skim read a lot of it but the second half of the book is where the action tales place. The pace speeds up and the story gets gritty. I enjoyed the later half and was satisfied with the ending.

I received a free copy. This is my review given freely.
I couldn't put this book down. It is very suspenseful and just keeps you guessing.
Having the dog was an added plus. I love a story that includes a pet. When reading about the dog you can picture it happening because it's told so real.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a suspenseful story.

Final Goodbyes by Signe Christensen is a suspense crime drama about a young woman who loses her brother to a devastating crime. Awoken in the middle of the night, Sophie is told by the police that her brother and his family are dead. They believe that he murdered his wife and child and then killed himself. Sophie refuses to believe that this is what happened and is determined to uncover the truth or at least to show the world that her brother was not a murderer. The desire to pursue the truth drives a wedge between Sophie and her boyfriend Alan, but after the deaths, things have been tense between them and only get worse. Sophie, after hearing some horrific gossip at her job, quits and moves into her deceased brother's house. She's determined to get the police to investigate the murders and prove her brother's innocence. While living in the house, she starts hearing strange noises at night, and strange things begin happening. Who could it be that is "haunting" the house? Is it the killer or just nosy people? Sophie is determined to learn the truth but at what costs?
Final Goodbyes is the first book by Signe Christensen that I have read and overall I enjoyed reading this book. It's a page-turner that is full of suspense and engaging. Sophie is an interesting character and I feel for her quite often. She has known her brother all their lives and it's hard for her to believe he could do something so horrid. She sees how quickly people turn not just on him, but on her as well in light of this heinous act. I can't call Sophie a "strong female character" because she's not. She's a woman who picks and chooses her battles. There are moments of where she is soft and then others where she is hard. She comes off as a realistic character overall though there are moments of where she is highly irrational. I am glad that when it is necessary for her to stand her ground she does.
While I enjoyed reading this book, and it has a good amount of suspense this book is in dire need of an editor. This book does not look like it was proofread at all. There are misspelled words, spacing issues with words of where they run together, and places where the spacing is in the middle of the word breaking it apart. Most of these issues are simple, fixable and easily spotted if one takes the time to read the book. With some proper editing, this book would be a flawless story overall. While I don't like a couple of moments where Sophie flies off in anger, because I feel like it is misplaced when she held it in in another situation, it's not all bad.
Overall I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. It's a good story! The suspense element is there. It's a good mystery of where you read along to try and figure out who actually committed this heinous crime and piece it all together. I just think that it needs a proper proofreading and then it will be all good.

I voluntarily read and reviewed Final Goodbyes. I was under no obligation and my opinion is freely given.

Sophie Weeks was devastated to learn that her brother and his family were murdered, but stunned when the police insinuate that her brother is their prime suspect. Involving herself into the investigation at every turn, Sophie decided to move into her brother's house, with the hopes of finding some clues that the police missed. When it become apparent to the young woman that everything is not as it appears, will Sophie be able to figure out the truth before her perceived danger becomes real?

There were both positives and negatives to Final Goodbyes. The biggest drawbacks to the book were the writing style and the constant grammar errors. Sophie's voice seemed forced, as the dialogue attributed to her seemed to be there mostly to push the story forward. The book would read better with some editing, as the reader will be able to focus fully on the story itself. As to the good points, I was impressed that the police were portrayed in such a positive light. The detective did not jump to conclusions, despite the evidence pointing in a certain direction. Sophie's mental state seemed realistic, especially for someone who had suffered so much loss in her life. Although I thought the book was entirely too short, the author was able to pack a great deal of suspense into it.

Final Goodbyes can serve as a cautionary tale, as it shows that jumping to conclusions can bring more harm than good. Readers who are new to mystery thrillers might like the chance to get their feet wet, while those who love the genre may find the book too short for their liking.

Sophie Weeks brother, sister-in-law, and niece are found dead in their garage. Was it murder by parties unknown or a murder suicide? I found Sophie not very likeable, she seemed to dislike everything and everyone. Still lamenting the death of her parents 10 years ago, these deaths just added to her depression. She felt that no one ever had the appropriate response, but her actions were okay because she was grieving. It was solved in the end, but Sophie left me with no empathy. I received this from NetGalley for review.

Sophia Weeks is awoken to awful news; her brother,Ben, has committed suicide and murdered his wife and daughter. Only if a story was that short, right? Knowing her brother, Sophia decides to move into Ben's home where the crimes were committed to write a book professing his innocence. But after she moves in, things begin to go bump in the night. Is it her imagination or is a killer on the loose? Thank you to NetGalley for this read!

It was alot I didn't want to read and the parts I did want to read were too short... It should have been more the end felt rushed

3.5 Stars

When the phone rings in the middle of the night or when there's a knock on your door at 2 AM, it is never going to be good news.

Sophie Weeks has just been notified that her only brother, his wife and daughter have been killed ...and it was no accident.

The police inform Sophie that they think her brother killed his wife and daughter by slicing their throats and then hung himself.

Sophie cannot come to terms with the idea that her brother would have done anything remotely like what they're saying. It's true they haven't been close for a while, but still....

She moves into her brother's home in order to find some kind of closure, some kind of acceptance.

But then there are the footprints around the garage that aren't hers .... the image of a hand print on one of her windows ... there are bumps in the middle of the night that don't belong to a ghost ...

So what really happened to her family? Did her brother snap and kill his wife and daughter? Did he find them already dead and hung himself in sorrow? Did someone stage it all to look like what the police believe it is? Who would want the entire family dead?

Sophie is not a strong character..and her boyfriend is just too good to be true. There's a fair amount of repetitiveness along the way. This is not a long book, less than 150 pages, but it's packed with suspense. It is somewhat predictable, but a good read, nonetheless.

Many thanks to the author / Netgalley for the digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.