I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

In Famous Last Words, Gillian McAllister masterfully crafts a gripping psychological thriller that explores the fragility of trust and the unforeseen darkness lurking beneath the surface of a seemingly perfect life. New mother Camilla is ready to return to her career as a literary agent when her world is shattered by a shocking revelation: her husband, Luke, is involved in a hostage situation in London—not as a victim, but as the gunman. With a cryptic note left behind and the authorities descending upon her, Camilla is thrust into a harrowing situation that forces her to question everything she thought she knew about the man she loves.

As events unfold, McAllister skillfully builds tension, unraveling layers of secrecy and presenting readers with a complex portrait of love, deception, and the lengths to which one will go to protect their family. Camilla’s desperate race against time to uncover the truth behind Luke’s actions drives the narrative forward at a breakneck pace. Famous Last Words is a gripping read that will keep you on the edge of your seat, perfect for fans of psychological thrillers who enjoy a deeply emotional and thought-provoking plot.

This is a total gem! It sucked me in right from the start, and I couldn’t put it down! The way it blends suspense and emotional depth is just chef's kiss. Camilla's world gets flipped upside down when she finds out her husband is involved in a hostage situation, and it keeps you guessing about what’s real and what’s not. The twists? Wow, just wow! I mean, I thought I had it all figured out, but then it just kept throwing surprises at me!

The characters are so relatable, especially Cam. You really feel her panic and confusion as everything around her spirals out of control. I loved the dual perspectives, too—it added such a cool layer to the story! Honestly, it made me think about how quickly everything can change and how well we really know the people we love. 💔

If you’re looking for a thrilling ride with unexpected twists and some emotional moments, you need to grab this one!

Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

A well-written mystery/thriller with a surprise happy ending as well! I have read a few books from Gillian McAllister and I have not been disappointed. There was quite a few twists and turns in this book and each one made my jaw drop! The happy ending also wrapped it up in a nice little bow and made the hopeless romantic in me swoon. I will definitely be recommending this book!

Fast paced, edge of your seat action from beginning to end. Most of the story is told by Camila, a young mother who wakes up on the last day of her maternity leave to find her loving, gentle, work-at-home husband has already left the house without waking her. She's a little irritated, but not worried as she struggles to get ready for work and get the baby to daycare. Later, at work, a phone call from the police turns her world upside down. They say her husband has taken three hostages and is holding them at gunpoint. Camila thinks it must be a mistake until a camera shows her husband with the gun in his hand. Her home is searched, her friends and family interrogated. Part of the story is narrated by Niall, the police hostage negotiator, who struggles to end the siege and get the hostages out alive. Famous Last Words kept me guessing and surprised me with unexpected twists all the way to the end

4.5⭐️
I am soooo excited for this one and squealed when I got it in the mail.
Gillian McAllister does it again!!!
When I tell you I couldn’t put this book down….very addictive and fast paced. It will have you on the edge of your seat. And the twist?! Soooo good. I did NOT see it coming. A bingeable thriller that I will be highly recommending!

As a big fan of Gillian McAllister, I was thrilled to receive this ARC and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT. What a good time, I read it all in 2 days!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Coping With Uncertainty and FAMOUS LAST WORDS by Gillian McCallister

Cover of the book Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister, used as a teaching example for coping with uncertainty
When Camilla wakes up, her husband Luke isn’t there. It’s weird and slightly worrisome that Luke left early on their daughter’s first day of daycare following maternity leave. But, Camilla reasons, Luke is reliable and steady—a good husband and father. Everything’s probably fine. Daycare drop-off is hard and unremarkable, and the first day back at work is busy. Camilla’s worries abate.

Then the police arrive, and Camille sees the news. Luke is holding three people hostage. He ultimately releases one hostage, kills the other two, and escapes – disappearing without a trace and leaving his family behind to deal with the consequences.

Years pass with Camilla wondering. Is Luke alive? Will she and her daughter ever see him again? Why did her seemingly wonderful husband take hostages and murder people? What else doesn’t she know? The uncertainty is destabilizing.

Uncertainty is when a person has limited knowledge and a weakened ability to make plans, predict, or control the future. The inability to accurately impact or predict expectations is distressing and leads to increased stress and anxiety. Uncertainty is always a part of life, and some people even find a certain amount of uncertainty exciting. But, when uncertainty becomes overwhelming, there are positive steps you can take.

Here are tips for coping with uncertainty:

Avoid Generalizing: Uncertainty can seem to expand into all life domains. Write a list of what is uncertain and another of what is concrete, understood, or known.

Identify the Feelings Uncertainty Provokes: Next to each item on your uncertainty list, write the specific feeling provoked, which might include frustrated, weak, scared, startled, lonely, etc.

Engage Targeted Coping Skills: Respond to feelings with impactful healthy behaviors. For example, if feeling lonely, spend time with friends; if feeling weak, try empowering experiences.

Focus on the Present: Uncertainty encourages worry about the future. Deal with a wandering mind by redirecting it to the here and now and focusing on your current surroundings.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

Love Gillian McAllister? Me too. Check out my post on Turn Towards To Strengthen Relationships and JUST ANOTHER MISSING PERSON by Gillian McAllister

Not going to lie, I am here for anything Gillian McAllister writes. But unlike some of my other long term mystery and thriller writers favorites, McAllister's novels just keep getting better and better and better. My recommendation for Famous Last Words is to read it as soon as it is released but do not - and I repeat do not - read any reviews that may spoil even a scintilla of the carefully crafted clever plot. Highly recommend and thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book well before publication date.

The book moves along at a nice pace, other than the fact the author tells us Camilla is introverted about seven-elventy times. Got it. It’s well-written and I didn’t figure anything out, however it just felt a little…flat to me for a reason I can’t seem to put a reason to. My opinion won’t matter, though. I would think people will like this a lot.

Gillian McAllister has done it again. This will keep you on the edge of your seat and second guessing what you think will happen in the next chapter. I appreciate this fresh and new, orginal story line that hasn't been done before for a thriller. It will keep you guessing until the very end!

This book was not what I expected, in the best possible way. A woman with a new baby wakes up to a note from her husband, only to discover that he is the hostage-taker in a situation that's dominating the news. I was hooked right from the start.

It was fascinating to see the perspectives of both the wife and the hostage negotiator. The twists at the end were unique, and the story was well executed. This book is perfect for those who enjoy police procedurals and thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know if it’s because I was sick or super busy while I read this book but this book just dragged on. It felt like we were at a snails pace as the story developed. very slow and then the conflict was just over.

Another win from one of my favs!
Thank you, William Morrow Books, for the gifted copy of Famous Last Words {partner}

Genre: Mystery
Format: 🎧📖
Pub Date:  2.27.2024
Pages: 336
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆.5

“Sometimes solving a case stops the demons.”

I don’t think I’ve ever hit ‘read now’ as fast as I did when this gem popped into my inbox. It was THE book I had been waiting for, and it came at the perfect time - a vacation in the mountains with nothing to do but read. I devoured this book - it was addicting in all the best ways and had me eagerly flipping through the pages, trying to figure out the truth behind what happened to Luke. 

Like McAllister’s last titles, Famous Last Words was perfectly paced — the tension kept building and building with every chapter. I felt like I could see all the puzzle pieces start to come together the closer I got to the end. I had theories on what might happen but could not figure it out. But Gillian McAllister knew what she was doing, and I finished the last page, blown away by the path she had paved. 

This book has a little something for everyone, and I just know Famous Last Words will be a hit in 2025. 

Read if you enjoy:
🕰️ Multiple timeline
✌🏼 Dual narration
💨 Fast-paced
😵‍💫 Complex Family Dynamics
👏🏼 Perfect Pacing

I recommend reading Famous Last Words if you enjoyed reading The Last Thing He Told Me.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister had me guessing from the outset and I never knew where or how the book was going to end. A wonderful mystery novel filled with plenty of twists and turns.

It is June 21st, the longest day of the year, and new mother Camilla’s life is about to change forever. After months of maternity leave, she will drop her infant daughter off at daycare for the first time and return to her job as a literary agent. Finally. But, when she wakes, her husband Luke isn’t there, and in his place is a cryptic note.

Then it starts. Breaking news: there's a hostage situation developing in London. The police arrive, and tell her Luke is involved. But he isn't a hostage. Her husband - doting father, eternal optimist - is the gunman. What she does next is crucial. Because only she knows what the note he left behind that morning says...

Gillian McAllister odes a wonderful job structuring Famous Last Words using distinct acts which effectively breakup the story while allowing different moments of discovery and action within the story. Each act peels back layers of mystery surrounding motivations and past secrets. These acts compel us as the reader to constantly reassess what we believe we know about Luke alongside Camilla's journey toward truth-seeking clarity. The division into acts also provides natural pauses for reflection without disrupting momentum—a testament to the author's skillful pacing throughout most parts of the book.

Famous Last Words is a story filled with twists at every turn—each twist more shocking than its predecessor. McAllister's vivid characterizations intertwined well within the plot developments crafting a tale that you never really knew where it was headed. When I thought I may have guessed something, the author tosses a wrench into that thought to turns me the other direction with ease.

While some can argue that certain middle sections slightly drag—especially after the initial adrenaline rushes subside post-introduction events—the overall pacing remains consistent across remaining chapters leading up towards a satisfying resolution ultimately tying together the threads of the book. Famous Last Words is a page turner mystery that was hard to put down.

Famous Last Words is a twisty, turny, mystery we can come to expect from Gillian McAllister. With the wonderful writing, overall great pacing and a number of mysteries hard to guess, this latest novel by McAllisters hits on all fronts. By the end of Famous Last Words, I was thinking about how well you really know people and what would really go through my mind if this book was about me.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Famous Last Words.

I have a complicated relationship with this author, I enjoy her premises but the execution leaves something to be desired.

The same with Famous Last Words; great potential and interesting narrative.

Camila's happy life and marriage is shattered when her even-tempered husband Luke is caught in a standoff with police during a hostage sitation.

It ends badly and years later Camila s still trying to piece her life back together again.

But the story doesn't end there, and what happens next depends on how well Cam knows Luke.

The first half of the narrative was engaging, suspenseful and held my interest.

The typical tropes were there; a police force committed to believing Luke is the bad guy; one cop who is suspicious and rebels against authority to continue investigating the case on his free time, a conspiracy.

I guessed the twists easily since I read these types of genres 99% of the time and yes it takes a bit of disbelief suspension.

For example, why did it take the cop seven years to realize the database was tampered with? I figured it out right from the start.

The writing was fine and the dual POVs worked in tandem with each other, though I wasn't a fan of the shrink sessions with the cop but I understood it was to help him work out the case. He didn't have anyone else to talk to.

I did like Luke was a decent guy; most times the men in these narratives are scumbags so that was a nice change.

What I didn't like; the mafia/crime family theme which felt random and out of nowhere.

This wasn't bad but it does take a bit of disbelief suspension as most of these books tend to do.

I was so excited to be approved for this title as I loved Wrong Place Wrong Time and I certainly wasn’t disappointed with this one either albeit in a very different way from my first interaction with her books.

The FMC Cam was very easy to connect with and root for her along the way. That is what kept me engaged in the duel narrated novel. The other POV is from a hostage negotiator Niall who did make the story drag a bit. I just didn’t care about his passages at all. However, he did provide a much needed sub plot as well as the viewpoint of the police department aspect.

A lot of the action happened within the first 20% of the book and then it slows down into more of a romance type novel a bit. However, Cams chapters propelled me to keep reading as I needed to know what happens.

As always McAllisters books are filled with twists and turns. It’s a wild ride that really is an “unputdownable thriller” as the prose is worsen and edited very well.

While the masses will have to wait until February 25th 2025 to read this great thriller, get it on your TBR as it’ll
Be perfect to get you through the winter doldrums if you’re in the northern hemisphere!
I am thankful to have gotten the eARC for free from Netgalley and William Morrow so I can leave my voluntary review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

Cam is set to go back to her first day of work after maternity leave when she is called away by the police. Her husband Luke takes hostages at gunpoint. Who was Luke, why did he do this? Was he not the loving, caring husband Cam thought he was.

Great book told through the point of view of Cam and the hostage negotiator, Niall. Highly recommend.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister is an edge of your seat suspense read that I did not want to put down. Luke and Camilla are married with a nine month old daughter, living in London. Cam is a literary agent, Luke a ghost writer and seemingly, the most easy going, sweetest man alive.
One day, Cam gets news that her husband is holding three people hostage in a warehouse. It ends in death and Luke on the run. Fast forward seven years later, and Cam is moving on with a new boyfriend Charlie, putting the past behind her by going back to her maiden name and omitting her past story to new acquaintances. The police have never completely given up on the search for Luke, and things start happening that make Cam start wondering where Luke is and what really happened. Readers are taken on an exciting ride to the truth of what happened and why.
I found this a lot easier to follow than Wrong Place,Wrong Time by McAllister yet still typical of her if she is one you enjoy. Fans of Lisa Jewell would enjoy this. Thanks to NetGalley and William and Morrow for my ARC.

Very very very good! You'll be addicted

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!