📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 336 / Genre: Domestic Thriller
Release Date: TOMORROW! February 25, 2025

Cam is living the dream. She has the perfect husband and the perfect baby girl. She’s dropping her daughter off at daycare for the first time and going back to her dream job as a literary agent. And then her entire life implodes. The police come to her work. Her husband has taken three hostages at gunpoint. She watches him on the CCTV and it’s beyond a doubt her sweet, gentle soulmate. What is happening?!

I loved this domestic thriller! It’s a bit of a slow burn in the lead up to the action, but I enjoyed the journey. I liked getting to know Cam as well as the hostage negotiator, whose life was also forever changed after that fateful day. Once the ball gets rolling it doesn’t stop. I loved all the clues and twists that finally led to all the answers. Gillian McAllister is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Thank you, @GillianMAuthor, @WilliamMorrowBooks, and @NetGalley for my free copy.

This was a thriller unlike any I’ve read before because it was centered around a hostage situation. I really enjoyed the premise and found it unique and interesting. Cam was a well developed main character with lots of depth and feeling. I also enjoyed Niall’s point of view because it added layers to the story.

I did think there were a few slow points especially with Cam’s sister. There were lots of twists I didn’t see coming but the ending seemed a little quick. I wish the reveals were drawn out a little more and the ending could have had more description

Overall this was really unique and different with a twisty ending I didn’t see coming.

The author herself described this book as a love story set in a hostage situation. This is a completely accurate summation! It was such an unusual concept and I loved it!

Camilla and her loving husband Luke have a lovely marriage and a new baby daughter. It is Camilla's first day back at work after completing her maternity leave and she awakens to a strange note left by Luke but no sign of her husband. When she gets to work, she hears of a hostage situation taking place in London and when the police arrive at her office, she thinks her husband must be one of the hostages but learns that he is actually the gunman. Niall, the hostage negotiator (and probably my favorite character) wants her at the scene and the action regarding "The Siege" takes place. It is super intense and very fast paced.

The second half of the book is more introspective as it describes the aftermath of the siege from the perspective of both Cam and Niall. The second half dragged a little bit, but that may just have been because the first part was so exciting. Trust me though, you want to keep reading to find out exactly what happened and why. One of my qualifiers for a great book is when there is a satisfying conclusion and this book did not disappoint. There was a point where I thought I had maybe figured some of it out because of a red herring employed by the author. Suffice it to say, I wasn't even close!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the digital ARC.. And thank you also to Gillian McAllister. This was my first book by this author but it definetly won't be my last!  Publication day is TOMORROW so Happy Reading!

Happy pub week to Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister! Wrong Place, Wrong Time is one of my favorite thrillers of all time, so I’m always excited to have the opportunity to read something else by the author. I’m so grateful to @williammorrowbooks for a e-arc and to HarperAudio (@harpercollins) for an ALC of this one. It comes out tomorrow!

On the day new mom, Camilla is supposed to go back to her job as a literary agent after maternity leave, her life changes forever. Her sweet, easygoing ghostwriter husband Luke is involved in an armed hostage situation and the authorities tell Camilla Luke is the one holding the gun.
That’s the set up and I don’t really want to say anything else about the book. It’s kind of a hard one to talk about without giving away plot points. What I will say is that I think McAllister excels at writing love stories masked as thrillers. Which is not to say this is a romance. It isn’t. There are plenty of twists and turns—some I saw coming, some I didn’t. But the beating heart of the novel is Camilla’s love for Luke and her quest to figure out if she was wrong about the man she fell in love with.

I loved the characters and I loved the writing. McAllister really has a way of creating characters that stick with me long after I finish the book and I’m not sure any thriller author creates a sense of yearning in me quite the way she does. It didn’t surprise me to see that Emily Henry had written a blurb for this book because, even though their books are completely different genres, they are both masters of that yearning element. In terms of plot, there were a lot of moving parts and I’m not sure I believed all of them. But I will absolutely remember Camilla and Luke.

This book had me gripped to the very end. The way the story was woven together was nothing short of incredible. I was suspicious of everyone, and still surprised at the end!

The character development was great, pacing was spot on, and the twists and turns didn't stop coming. It was a little bit slower of a book than I usually like, but there was so much development that happened, that I think it was perfect for this story. Plus, what's not to like when a book starts out with a hostage situation!?

I highly recommend for anyone who loves thrillers or mysteries.

TW: death, murder, stalking, abandonment, infertility/miscarriage

**Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.**

Thank you to William Morrow Books for the finished copy and to LibroFM / HarperAudio for the ALC to review.

I am a huge fan of Gillian McAllister’s books and really enjoyed this one. I listened via audio and with the time jumps, I did have to follow along with the book to make sure I understood what was going on, especially with the first one. The audio was excellent though, and I highly enjoyed listening to it! This is one you definitely need to pay attention to, but with that out of the way, it is an enjoyable read that I honestly did not figure out and thought it was very well done.

This is fast paced, especially the first third, slows a bit for the middle, and then picks back up again for the final third and is very intense. Oh, and I loved how it all came together due to writing. Cryptic? Yes, but you’ll have to read this to know what I mean. This one is out tomorrow, and you do NOT want to miss it!

I just didn’t enjoy this one like I thought I would. Not sure if this author is for me..it starts off strong but then I start to zone out and before I know it I don’t know what is happening.

Thank you Netgalley & William Morrow for an eARC ❤️❤️❤️

Camilla's life is already pretty chaotic - she's just gone back to work after having a baby, and her hubby Luke is nowhere to be found. She's trying to juggle her job, her kid, and her household, but things are about to get a whole lot worse.
When Luke leaves a cryptic note saying "It's been lovely with you both", Camilla is confused and a little worried. But she has no idea what's coming next. As she's trying to get her day together, she hears about a hostage situation in London, and her world starts to spin out of control.
And then, the unthinkable happens: the police show up at her doorstep and tell her that Luke is the gunman! I mean, what?! Camilla's whole life is turned upside down in an instant. She's shocked, scared, and completely bewildered.
I loved how the author took this ordinary, relatable situation and turned it into a total nightmare. Camilla's emotions are all over the place - she's scared, confused, and just trying to make sense of everything.😳
I have to say, Gillian McAllister did an amazing job of exploring the complexities of marriage and relationships. Camilla thought she knew her husband, but it turns out she didn't know him at all. It's a real wake-up call, and it makes you think about how well you really know the people in your life.❤️‍🩹

I enjoyed this book a lot. It had the nice twist, chapters that ended in a way that had me keep reading long past the time I was going to stop and I loved how much Cam loved books, how she read them to escape the world she was in. I she definitely needed it after that awful day seven years ago when her husband shot two guys and ran, leaving her and their daughter behind to deal with the effects. It was so easy to relate with Cam and her books, that part especially resonated with me. And I really liked how it ended up tying into the story. I don't want to give too much away since that is the fun of reading this type of thriller but it was well done and nicely unexpected.

Between Cam's and Niall's viewpoints and how they interconnected but still were their own journeys made this a great book that went by really quick, had lots of turns and twists and was fun to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book! Gillian McAllister is a great author for thrilling books and interesting twists.

60% in, I didn’t connect with a single character or feel anything was going on. How many more times would the author repeat that the two hostages were unknown and never found? Or mention how Luke was so good and great even though he became a hostage kidnapper/murderer and abandoned his family for 7+ years? Cam out here waiting 40 min at his coordinates? Couldn’t be me, girl. Wish I had quit it at that halfway point, this was a total miss for me.

This is a thought-provoking and fast-paced book that will appeal to fans of psychological thrillers. Gillian McAllister demonstrates that she is a master at creating complex characters and suspenseful plots that keep you guessing and stay with you after you are finished reading.

This was a typical thriller so if you like reading them, you will likely enjoy it. I like something with a bit more a twist. There is one but it's kinda predictable. That is all I have to say.

This one is hard for me to rate. I read this in one sitting as it is entertaining. The characters were well written which is sometimes a feat with dual POVs. The twists didn’t really wowed me as I saw the big on coming but I know others will enjoy it. While it was unique and had great pacing, I also don’t know if it is a book I will remember a month from now.

Camilla "Cam" is heading back to work after her maternity leave and curiously, her husband isn't home like planned. Luke, her husband, left a strange note, but she brushes it off as he has an important ghostwriting job that requires him to be out the door early. Reluctantly, after not reaching Luke on his cell, Cam takes the daunting task of bringing their daughter to daycare for the first time, but once she does this, and gets back to work, things seem to be normal. The only thing she is wondering about is why Luke isn't answering his cell. Once at work, she notices something on the news. A man has taken people hostage, in London, at a warehouse. Cops visit her work, and before she knows it, she realizes that the man in question is her husband. Obviously, this is shocking and something she can't wrap her head around. The hostage negotiator, Niall, comes and he is certain that Luke, her husband, isn't a violent man; he is a family guy! However, Niall is quickly proven wrong as Luke resorts to violence, and then pretty much vanishes from the scene leaving Cam to rebuild her life without her husband, who has seemingly disappeared without a trace. Gillian McAllister's Famous Last Words is a suspenseful thriller that kept me flipping the pages.

I enjoyed Cam from the start of Famous Last Words; in fact, her job in publishing only added to my enjoyment as she loves all things books. My heart went out to her as she realized her husband's horrible actions and tried to piece together the clues that led him to this. As anyone would do in this situation, Cam starts to question Luke's behavior and wonder how he could do such a thing?

Some of the chapters are from Niall's point of view and this definitely adds some insight into the situation. He also deals with his own personal issues and some post-traumatic stress from Luke's hostage negotiation that did not go as planned. Although, like Cam, he has tried to move on as the years pass, he is still wondering where Luke could be and what happened to him.

While there were some moments where I had to suspend my disbelief, I enjoyed Famous Last Words overall. The clever plot definitely kept me in suspense; fans of McAllister's thrillers will enjoy this one.

Have you read Famous Last Words? Are you a fan of Gillian McAllister? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

It’s the morning of Camilla Deschamps’ (Cam) first day back at work after maternity leave, and she finds her husband has left for the day without saying goodbye. She then finds a strange, cryptic, and seemingly unfinished note he left on the counter. These things are out-of-character for her husband, but Cam is able to mostly brush them off until later that day. Tuning into the news about an active hostage situation, she sees that the perpetrator is none other than her husband.

Anddd this is why Gillian McAllister is one of my auto-buy authors! I fully enjoyed this book. It starts tense right out of the gate, and holds that tension until the very end. It’s told through the POVs of Cam and the hostage negotiator, Niall. Both characters were flawed and relatable, and I loved how their stories juxtaposed one another. I judge a good dual POV novel by whether or not I find myself skimming one character’s chapter to get to the other’s, and I am happy to report I did no such thing with this book.

I had absolutely no idea where this book was headed, which made it so much more engrossing. I couldn’t begin to guess the ending twist because of that, either (which I loved). It was gripping, twisty, unpredictable, and everything I’ve come to love about Gillian McAllister’s work.

Big thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the gifted eARC!

Five stars for this clever thriller that will keep you guessing until the end!

Cam and Luke are a married couple with a nine month old daughter named Polly. He is a writer and she is a literary agent. They live a simple, peaceful life. Until one day they don’t.

On her first day back to work after maternity leave, Cam is having difficulty getting in touch with her husband. It becomes very clear later in the morning that Luke is in a lot of trouble.

The news is reporting a hostage situation, and Luke is the gunman. From that moment, this book grabs the reader and doesn’t let go until the last page.

This story is also told from the perspective of Niall, the hostage negotiator. Cam and Niall take the reader on an emotional journey that ends with a twist you will not see coming.

I absolutely love Gillian McAllister’s writing style. She describes her characters, places and situations in such a way that the reader feels they know them and are in the story with them. She is an auto buy author for me. Her thrillers are original, and her twists are incredible!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for the opportunity to read this one early. It was an absolutely incredible read! Pick this one up today!

3.5/5
I really enjoyed 'Wrong Place, Wrong Time' so I was eager to get my eyes on 'Famous Last Words.'

For readers who:
- like thrillers
- like thrillers that span several years
- enjoy the why/how more than the 'who'

One minute, Camilla is dropping her 9 month old off at daycare and headed to work, and the next, her husband is...holding 3 people hostage at gunpoint in a warehouse?

The thing is, she cannot for the life if her figure out why. And unfortunately, it's going to stay like that for a while. Until she uncovers something dangerous.

I enjoyed this - I easily read it in less than a day. Although I gave it 3.5 instead of 4, because it was easy to figure out the double agents, the good vs bad, etc (beyond Luke, Cam's husband). The mystery was more in the why and how for this one.

It all came together nicely in the end, so I recommend.

Gillian McAllister is one of my must-read authors, but Famous Last Words is without a doubt my favorite yet. No spoilers with this review, but the way that Luke communicated with Cam is pure genius. Not only did I love that aspect, but also the fact that even though you can watch something on video, can witness it with your own eyes, everything isn’t always as it seems. I love this well-crafted twisty thriller.

I loved Gillian McAllister’s novel Wrong Place Wrong so I couldn’t wait to read the newest title. Famous Last Words Time is completely engrossing. The twists and turns kept me engaged and turning the pages. Told with two viewpoints, this thriller has a deeper, thought provoking theme that adds to the enjoyment..

New mother Cam’s maternity leave is ending and tomorrow is her first day back at work. Her baby will go to daycare for the first time and it will be a big day for the whole family. When she wakes up that morning, her husband is gone. Calls and texts go unanswered, the only clue is a cryptic note.
What follows is a search that only brings more questions as the suspense builds.

Another winner for Gillian McAllister!

This is one of the best thrillers I have read in a long time. It really kept me guessing and turning the pages. It was mostly in the POV's of Cam(the wife), and Niall (the hostage negotiator. Cam & Luke are married and have a 9 month old daughter, Polly. On her first day back to work, Cam wakes up to fine Luke already gone from the house and a weird note left for her. She takes the baby to her first day at day care and heads to work. After only being there for a little bit, police come to find her. There is a hostage situation and her husband Luke is the one holding the hostages. From then on you are on a roller coaster ride. Could her loveable Luke really be a bad person. How could this happen. Then Luke disappears and it is seven years later. Cam is still missing Luke terribly but has gotten on with her life. She is in a publishing company and reads books to find out ones her company may want to represent. Perfect job in my opinion. Her daughter Polly is now seven years old and is the light of her life. In this second part of the story you get to really know the characters. Niall is in therapy for PTSD due to the siege and Cam is thinking of having Luke declared dead so she can sell the house. Then things really take off and you find out things about Luke. People are following Cam but who are they. It of course, becomes dangerous. You hope against hope that things will be okay for Cam and Polly in the long run. But you have to pick up a copy of this book on February 25th to find the answers. It is a whirlwind of activity and fun.
Thanks to #netgalley, #williammorrowpublishing and @gillianmauthor for this awesome read. All opinions are my own.