FAMOUS LAST WORDS had a great premise that promised intrigue and suspense. The action was immediate and left so many open questions. The change in timeline was surprising but made sense given where the plot was going. There were a couple of twists that felt far fetched but overall enjoyed how this one ended and how it got there.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review FAMOUS LAST WORDS.

Gillian McAllister is always on my list of TBR for her new books, and WOW did she out do herself with this one. It was just phenomenal. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book. My husband was evening asking what was happening. Wonderful story!

I loved this book so much. I was intrigued as soon as I started reading and could barely put it down. I needed to know why all of this happened.

The POV goes between Cam, the wife of the man who took people hostage, and the hostage negotiator. There was also one other POV occasionally, but I don’t want to give anything away.

There were a few times I thought I had it figured out about halfway through, and I was half right.

I don’t know why, but something that stood out to me, and this isn’t important at all, just something I found interesting, was that she described adrenaline as ‘fizzy and sharp.’ I really liked that description. It’s simple, but that’s exactly what it feels like.

One thing caught me off guard a little. Cam’s sister has fertility issues, and surprisingly, early menopause was mentioned. I have been going through fertility issues for the last two years, one being early menopause, and this was a little hard for me to read. It was a very large part of the plot (although it doesn’t necessarily further it. It does give you insight into Cam and Libby’s relationship) so if you also struggle, just be aware. I think that Gillian wrote Libby’s feelings about it well. Infertility really is envy and grief that hurts you physically and makes you feel things about others that you really wouldn’t otherwise. It changes you. It didn’t really “trigger” me (I hate that word, but I don’t know what else to use) because I think it was all written well, but I just wanted to mention it because we are all different, and infertility is such a hard thing in different ways for everyone.

Anyway, all that being said, I did really enjoy the book. It was a very fast and easy read. It kept me hooked the whole time. I never had a moment when I felt like I would rather do something else than pick it up and keep reading. There were a few things that I predicted and a few things that I didn’t. But aren’t all thrillers that way? It was captivating, thought-provoking, and had great twists. It was just great. I loved it.

thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for letting me read an advanced copy of Famous Last Words.

Gave me with whiplash with its unexpected twists and turns. If you read one thriller this year, make it Gillian McAllister's Famous Last Words!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book, but the last half was a bit of a slog. I didn’t find myself interested in the crime, the reason behind it, etc. Just not my type of mystery. However, the writing was great and it kept me entertained. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC. I’ve enjoyed all of Gillian McAllister’s books and this one did not disappoint. This reminded me a little of The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, Same sort of plot. And even though I could see some of the plot twists, I couldn’t put this down and finished it in 24 hours.

Luke and Camila live a moderately happy, married life, together. They’ve recently had a child, Polly, and are struggling through the difficulties of having a newborn.

Maternity leave has come to an end for Camila. She wakes up on the morning she is to return to work, with a faint memory of Luke kissing her goodbye in the early AM (this isn’t totally abnormal). Camila takes Polly to daycare and heads off to work, something nagging in her brain about the cryptic note Luke left her.

A while into being back at the office, Camila is visited by policemen. There’s an ongoing incident with Luke and they’d like her to accompany them to the location. She’s confused, doesn’t understand how the husband she knows is wrapped up in this crime. We find out shortly later that the negotiation has failed, Luke has shot and killed two hostages, and he has disappeared.

The story fast forwards 7 years into the future where Camila is trying her best to re-start her life. She still has no answers around what happened that day (hostages were never identified) but is trying her best to connect with a new beau and make a life for her daughter.

The hostage negotiator from that day, though, has not been able to let the nagging feelings of the odd facts (or lack thereof) of the day of Luke’s siege and is desperately trying to find and piece facts together that explain what happened that day.

4.5
I'm fondly reminded of Let The Great World Spin in that kind of self-referential, encountering old friends and suble tie-ins, warmish kind of way. But. There was a situation that was clearly set up to be a twist which read much more like a bump, or perhaps a crack that is in no way offset or threatening.

This was a solid hostage thriller with a twist! Unfortunately, I guessed most of the twist halfway through the novel. It was told in alternating perspectives between the wife of the hostage taker and the hostage negotiator. I thought that the point of view of the hostage negotiator was pretty slow and boring - and I wasn't really invested in his story at all. I enjoyed the perspective of the wife much more. Overall, an interesting read.

Cam doesn’t hear from her husband Luke until cops show up at her job. Luke has taken three hostage, but why? This is a slow burn mystery! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy.

“Famous Last Words” by Gillian McAllister is a thoroughly enjoyable heart pounding thriller. The story revolves around a mom returning from maternity leave, who on her first day back to work as a literary agent, wakes up to find her husband missing, along with a mysterious note by her front door. As her strange day progresses she hears of a hostage situation taking place and two of the three hostages are killed. When the police arrive at her office, she finds out the gunman is her beloved, sweet husband. As the mystery unfolds the tension escalates and it is impossible to stop reading as there is a jaw dropping twist in every chapter.

It is hard to say more without giving anything away other than to say thank you to Ms. McAllister who puts a thrill in her thrillers every time she writes one!

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Famous Last Words is a thriller that starts off strong. Immediately, I was engaged in the story and was excited for its potential. Cam heads to work like any other day, only she isn’t sure where her husband is. While at work, she discovers her husband is holding people hostage, and the world she knows is immediately gone.

About 100 or so pages into the book, the pacing became off for me. There were a few side stories that were being told and the fast paced thriller vibe was lost. It seems that the book went from thriller to more of a romance, as Cam was constantly thinking about how she still loves her husband. Personally, I could’ve done without the different side stories because they took away from the mystery and suspense of the main plot.

Thanks to NetGalley an d William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Gillian did not disappoint! Loved how this was told from multiple perspectives and how the high-intensity hostage situation unfolded. Definitely would recommend this to anyone who loves. a thriller with a romance twist!

Love a book that grabs you from the first page, and doesn't let go until the end! Just what I needed to get out of my reading slump. I preferred this to the authors last novel. Thanks to NetGalley and the author and publisher for this ARC! Pick this one up if you enjoy a domestic thriller with great twists and turns.

It is a normal morning. Cam wakes up to take her daughter to her first day of daycare. She can not get in touch with her husband but figures he must be busy with work. When Cam arrives at work later that morning she sees on the news there is a hostage situation happening and she soon learns her husband is the kidnapper of the hostages. Cam can not wrap her head around the fact that her husband would do this on his own free will.

This was a great fast paced mystery book. I was hooked from the beginning! Great plot twist and love how everything pulled together. Would definitely recommend!

Camilla wakes up on an important day and can't locate her husband Luke. Their 9-month-old daughter is starting daycare and Cam is returning to work after maternity leave. Luke's not at home or answering her messages. She finds an odd note from him and goes about her day. At work, there is a live broadcast showing a hostage scene. When police arrive, Cam is worried Luke is being held hostage but the truth is worse, he is the gunman. Cam is shocked and can't think of any reason her sweet husband would be capable of this. He ends up letting one hostage go, shoots the other two, and escapes never to be seen again. As the book skips ahead, Cam feels nostalgic for her marriage but also at times angry with Luke. The hostage negotiator Niall relives the day two people were shot and regrets his decisions of the day. I liked the clues that were left along the way and felt the characters were well-written. Cam isn't just a mourning single mother, she also has a complicated relationship with her sister and struggles with the idea of dating. Niall is in counseling dealing with the fallout of the hostage situation and how it affected his marriage.

I loved this book! Definitely worth the wait. I was very tempted to stay up until the wee hours of the night to finish it. I ended up going over the plot again and again in my mind instead turning over the characters in my mind and trying to see where the book would go. I probably would have been better off just staying up late lol. I ended up finishing it the next day and wow, I loved how it all came together.

This book follows a couple, Cam & Luke in the heart of London where Cams husband commits a crime and then disappears. It reminded me a little of The Last Thing he told me which I also loved. The book follows the aftermath of that crime and the ripples of why until the end when the author spills some answers! This one is a 5 star winner for me, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I went into this book completely blind, and I’m so glad that I did. A happy couple with a meet cute of a story and an adorable baby are disrupted out of nowhere when the husband finds himself the perpetrator in a hostage situation. What could’ve led a sweet and funny ghostwriter to take three people hostage and let only one of them walk away alive?

Follow the story told from the perspective of the wife, left alone at home and trying to sort out who her husband really is and the hostage negotiator chasing the one that got away.

2.5 stars

I'm at the point where I've nearly given up on mysteries and thrillers. Too often, the writing is either atrocious (think The Silent Patient) or just plain boring (Ruth Ware comes to mind). But occasionally, there are writers like Shari Lapena or Freida McFadden, who, while not Pulitzer contenders, can still deliver a fun, suspenseful ride that keeps you guessing.

Then came Gillian McAllister's latest. It had a promising premise: Cam and Luke, a married couple with a newborn baby girl, Poppy, have their lives turned upside down when Luke leaves behind a cryptic note that reads, "It's been lovely wuth you both, Lx."

From there, the story kicks off. Cam returns to her high-profile publishing job after nine months of maternity leave (there are a few interesting publishing-related tidbits here if you're familiar with the industry). The entire world witnesses a hostage situation on TV, where the main suspect is—surprise—her husband, Luke. The setup had potential, and the initial shock is gripping.

However, the rest of the book, which comprises about 65% of the story, drags on and becomes surprisingly dull. The plot shifts focus from the suspense to what feels more like a love story. Cam is in disbelief that her husband could ever do anything so horrifying, and we spend a lot of time in her head as she goes over how much she still loves him. We also get the perspective of Niall, the hostage negotiator, whose personal issues (cue therapy and a crumbling marriage) feel clichéd and unnecessary. Cam’s bond with her sister, who is also dealing with domestic problems, seems irrelevant in the context of the larger, more urgent situation.

While we do spend time trying to unravel what really happened that day, much of the story is bogged down by Cam's inner monologue about her love for Luke. It's as if McAllister was torn between writing a thriller and a romance, and the latter definitely falls flat.

The writing itself felt mediocre, with some scenes so irrelevant that I ended up skimming through to the end—and didn’t miss much. I had figured out the twist well before the final act.

If this book is the one that makes me swear off these formulaic, typical mystery/thrillers, so be it. There are plenty of other genres to explore. That said, it’s hard not to feel disappointed by what could have been an engaging, high-stakes story.

Unique read! A thriller that deals with a hostage situation gone wrong and the fallout that still exists years later. Cam was such an easy character to root for and the complex characters made this book fun to read.