On Cam's first day back work after maternity leave, she wakes up and her husband is already gone. When the police come to her office, Cam knows that it's bad. She assumes that her husband is one of the hostages in a situation unfolding near his office. She is shocked to find out that he is, in fact, the hostage taker.

There's always more to books by Gillian McCallister than meets the eye. Famous Last Words is told from multiple points of view both during "the seige" as it is dubbed and 7 years later. Everything unfolds in typical McCallister style: everything Cam knows and everything we think we know as readers is questioned. For a good portion, I wasn't sure where the story was going, but I was sure glad to be along for the ride. The way in which the narrative unfolds and tiny bits and pieces of the whole story are revealed is everything I love in a mystery/thriller. While the book does have some tense moments, I would lean toward this being more of a mystery to unravel.

Thank you to William Morrow, NetGalley, and Gillian McAllister for an advance copy of Famous Last Words in exchange for an honest review. This was my first Gillian McAllister book and it did not disappoint!! I was sucked in from the very first chapter and couldn’t stop thinking about the book until I finished it. The whole storyline fell together nicely and I loved the way it wrapped up. This was one of my last five star reads for 2024 and I can’t recommend it enough.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC!
I’d like to first start off by saying, the beginning was very fast paced. It took off, and I thought it would be setting the tone for the rest of the book. Unfortunately, it was quite slow in some spots. However, it did pick up near the end, and the twist had my jaw on the floor, I was not expecting that.
I did find it hard to keep interest in it when it was slower, which sucked, but it was a super easy, quick read.
When it got near the end, I was turning page after page to find out what happened next.
I really enjoyed Camilla’s character. I think she was very strong willed, and a great asset to the story.
I liked that there was a time jump that actually made sense, though I wish it would’ve explained a little bit sooner that they never found Luke.
Overall, it was good, and had a good solid plot line and characters, but it just did not blow my mind like I had hoped.

Gillian McAllister holds the reader hostage with her newest book!

A wife/mother is living life with her young daughter when one day, her husband leaves a cryptic message and ends up being the perpetrator of a hostage situation that goes terribly wrong.

I went into this book blind as possible. As I knew with any Gillian McAllister book, nothing is as it seems and you’ll never guess what is going to happen next. This book started off with a bang and didn’t let up with the pacing.

I really enjoyed the alternating POVs from two of the main characters of this story with one being Camilla, the wife and one other POV that I won’t reveal in this review.

This book was high stakes with lots of intrigue. I found myself constantly turning the page because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. There were so many twists and turns in this novel that by the end, I didn’t see the ending coming.

Gillian McAllister has wowed me with her last 2 books. This one is definitely my favorite of hers that I’ve read so far!

4.5 stars!

Review:
Ummm…WOW! Gillian McAllister knows how to deliver a riveting and thrilling story making readers want to devour one engrossing page after another, late into the night. This is definitely a FIVE star read as well as an immediate MUST READ!

Summary:
Camilla and Luke are a married couple readjusting to life after the birth of their daughter. Cam is going back to work as a literary agent after her nine month maternity leave. Preparing to drop her daughter off at nursery for the first time, Cam is a little irritated and worried that her husband is already gone when she wakes up. She grows more and more concerned when Luke isn’t responding to her messages. Why doesn’t he seem interested in his wife going back to work and more so, interested in his daughter’s first day at nursery?

When Cam gets to work, there is a news bulletin saying someone has taken three hostages in a nearby building. When police officers show up at her work, Cam’s stomach drops as she imagines the worst - her husband is one of the hostages. But she’s in disbelief as she’s told her husband is the one who has taken the hostages.

Cam can’t understand what would make her husband do such a terrible thing but she’s determined to find out!

The book then jumps seven years in the future where Camilla is tentatively dating a man named Charlie while she raises her daughter Polly alone. Knowing she can claim her husband legally dead now, she continues to seek the answers she needs to understand her husband’s actions. He was so good; so kind; so loving. A man she fell in love with when she was working as his literary agent. As she digs deeper, she wonders if her husband was a stranger and is dead or if he was in fact, the love of her life, and is still out there perhaps trying to make his way back home.

Acknowledgements:
Thank you NetGalley, Gillian McAllister, and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this ahead of the proposed February 25, 2025 release date in exchange for a candid review. It was a pleasure!

A woman returning to work after maternity leave has her life upended when she gets a call from the police saying her husband is holding three strangers hostage at a nearby warehouse. Told from the perspectives of his wife and the hostage negotiator, who are both convinced of his innocence, this follows their journey to uncover the truth and clear his name. It kinda lost momentum in the back half, but still a solidly enjoyable mystery/thriller.

Holy shocking twists, Batman! That whole end of the novel had me absolutely gripped and tearing through the pages to see how it all played out! I’m usually a sucker for trying to guess the twists, but this one absolutely blew me away. I will say part of the middle dipped for me and I was a tad bored, and the time jumps threw me for a bit of a loop, but overall this was such a fun ride!

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for my ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

I was addicted from page one! This book had everything, great characters, some crime, plots and twists until the end!

Thank you to @netgalley and @WilliamMorrow for this ARC. On Camilla's first day back to work after her maternity leave when two policemen arrive to question her. Her husband Luke is involved in a hostage situation and he is the one holding the gun. After the hostage negotiator spent too much time analyzing the situation, Luke escapes but not until after killing two hostages. Fast forward seven years, Camilla is finally trying to move on with her life by selling her house and giving away his things when she receives a crypt text. Is Luke still alive? Is he innocent? Man, this was a great read! Never figured it out and read it super fast!!! #FamousLastWords #GilliamMcAllister #WilliamMorrow #Feb2025

Phenomenal story. The depth, character development and overall flow absolutely made this book very binge worthy! Cam is nervous as it is for her first day back to work after having her first baby She wakes up to finding her husband missing and a cryptic note near the door. Maybe he's gone to the office early, but then why isn't he answering his phone? Cam is sure everything is still fine, everything will be okay, right? Not in the least. Especially after the police show up at Cam's work.

What unfolds afterwards is nothing short of a nightmare. The sort of nightmare we will all convinced will never happen to us.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

Posted on IG and Goodreads

WOW! This was amazing! Grabs you from the beginning and kept me on the edge of my seat. I finished it within 24 hours! Loved the unique plot. It had great characters, my heart went out to Camilla and I was rooting for Luke. This was an expertly written thriller! Highly recommend!

Once I started reading this book, I thought I was going to be HOOKED. It had such a strong beginning and exposition. I'll also say that the ending was great too. The in between, however, was so slow. It almost felt like a different book. Like she had written the beginning and the end and then needed to figure out a way to get them to connect. I'm not upset that I read it, but the beginning set you up for a very different novel than what was experienced.

-Honestly, this book was fantastic! One of the best mysteries I’ve read!

Our mystery revolves around a woman fresh out of maternity leave. On her first day back to work she is paid a visit by the police who tell her there is a hostage situation happening downtown, and her husband…he’s the gunman. I thought this story had intrigue, suspense and great character arcs. Almost every chapter ended on a cliffhanger, so it was definitely hard to put down- the best kind of book!
Definitely check it out when it’s released next month. Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

This was an interesting read in the fact that I had no idea what was happening or where it was going! It kept me up all night trying to figure it out!

If you want a book that will keep you reading to see how it all unfolds, this is it!

I was able to figured out one thing Camilla (main character) and I had my suspicions about something else which turned out accurate but everything else was a new twist/discovery as I kept reading.

I really enjoyed it and will definitely recommend to my friends. Thanks for this ARC!!

Gillian's writing style always leaves you in suspense.
I’m captivated by this thriller that also weaves in elements of romance.
What do you do when you're a new mother returning to work after maternity leave, only to discover that your husband is a suspected hostage taker? How do you begin to rebuild your life when he suddenly vanishes?
Join Cam on her journey as she clings to hope and refuses to accept the worst about the love of her life.

This book had me captivated from the very beginning. There were times in the middle of the book that it lagged for me, but then it picked right back up and I was back into the story all over again. This was such a good read that I look forward to sharing with others.

Oh wow! This book is a wild, breathtaking rollercoaster of twists and turns that keeps you on the edge of your seat. New mom Camilla’s world spirals into chaos on the longest day of the year when she discovers a cryptic note from her husband, Luke. Suddenly, instead of being the loving father and husband she thought she knew, Luke is revealed to be involved in a hostage situation in London—but shockingly, not as a hostage, but as the gunman. 😱

As breaking news floods in, Camilla is thrust into a whirlwind of chaos and danger. She must decipher the mysterious note and confront deep, dark secrets that threaten to shatter her reality. With each heart-pounding twist and hair-raising turn, she’s pushed to her limits, questioning everything she thought she knew about her husband and herself.

I devoured this book in a breathless 24-hour binge! From start to finish, I was completely obsessed and captivated by Camilla’s harrowing journey. If you're looking for a riveting and suspenseful read, Famous Last Words is an absolute must! 📚✨

This had a great premise. New mother Cam is going back to work as a literary agent after maternity leave, and on the first morning she’s going to take her daughter Polly to daycare, she can’t find her husband and sees an ambiguous note left for her. She has a sinking feeling despite pretending to be upbeat, and then finds there’s a hostage situation going on. Her husband Luke isn’t being held hostage. He’s the one keeping three others hostage, and he ultimately ends up escaping.

I enjoyed getting to know the character of Cam and particularly liked learning about hostage negotiator Niall. Seven years and a divorce later, he’s still obsessed with this case. Niall has also sought therapy, which is very endearing. As both Cam and Niall try to move on with their lives, they can’t because the ghost of what happened with Luke keeps nagging at both of them.

As I said, I enjoyed the characters, and even the side characters like Cam’s sister Libby infuse some realism with her fertility struggle. The plot started out fast-paced with the hostage situation, and it did slow down when time jumped to seven years later. I did figure out where one of the plot strands was going (related to Luke’s occupation) pretty early on, but that didn’t take away my enjoyment of the novel.

My 4 star rating is really that I thought this was a solid thriller, but I doubt it will rise to my favorites of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS publishes February 25, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Content warnings: hostage situation, murder, infertility, stalking, organized crime

What would you do if you woke one morning to find that your husband has become a criminal? This nightmare is reality for Camilla Deschamps, finding only a cryptic note left behind and being informed by the police that he has taken 3 hostages at gunpoint. Meanwhile, Niall, the hostage negotiator in charge of Camilla’s husband’s case, cannot lay the case to rest until he finds the answers that may never come.

What can I say about this book… for starters, both “main” characters (the one’s whose POV we were in) were insufferable, and I don’t think that was intentional. I also sadly saw every one of the “twists” coming from a mile away. Additionally, while the book’s storyline moved fairly quickly, it still managed to come off boring which is a complaint I had with the 1st half of the other McAllister book I’ve read, Wrong Place Wrong Time. The difference is, that one got better as it went on and by the end, I was fully attached to the characters and ended up giving it 4 stars. With this book, it seemed almost like McAllister was going for literary fiction within the thriller genre, but those are two styles that I feel do not mix at all. I found myself caring so incredibly little about Camilla’s sister’s problems and Niall’s divorce. I really just wanted to like this book so badly, but it just absolutely was not for me. In complete honesty, I should have DNF’d, but out of respect to the author and publisher for allowing my an early copy, I stuck it out until the end in order to give a complete review.

Sorry to say, but I’m going with 1/5 stars.