I saw the premise of this in an email so I was excited to read it. Luckily it was everything I though it would be. I finished it in 48 hours and am now sad that it's over because I enjoyed the ride. Really well done and gripping. Loved it

I was beyond excited to dive into "Famous Last Words" by Gillian McAllister after absolutely loving her previous book, "Wrong Place Wrong Time." From the very first page, the suspense sucked me in and I couldn't put the book down.

However, the ending fell short for me. The final sections introduced a lot of plot elements all at once, which made the conclusion feel a bit overwhelming. I had to slow down and reread certain parts to fully grasp everything that was happening. The use of dialogue to piece together the final puzzle was a bit disjointed compared to the seamless storytelling throughout the rest of the book.

Despite these minor hiccups, "Famous Last Words" is still a fantastic read that I highly recommend, especially to fans of Gillian McAllister’s work. It’s a suspenseful and captivating mystery.

I have read a few books from Gillian McAllister and this was one of the best yet. This has a missing husband, a new mom, and a cryptic note, and add in a hostage situation, what more do you need?!!. This book was like reading an action movie and was super-fast paced, not confusing and just a wild ride. If you love high action thrillers, this is the book for you. I absolutely devoured this and will be buying a physical copy on publication day. Thanks so much NetGalley for this awesome ARC.

It is hard to rate this book. The last 20% is a 5 star (which is why this is 3 stars rather than 1 or 2), the other 80%, it just dragged for me. The center of the story us 'the seige' and it didn't provoke any feelings in me at all. It took me a long time to get through this and didn't grab me at all. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

WOW! I loved this and was not expecting to, which made it all the better!! It was twisty and turny but nothing felt too wholly out of pocket as thrillers can sometimes be. This was a thriller but also a love story, and I really loved that unique perspective.

Set over 21 years, Famous Last Words follows Camilla before and after her husband, Luke, appears to create a hostage situation and then disappears. An alternate narrator is Niall, the hostage negotiator who's career is derailed by delaying the police entry, leading to the death of two unknown men and the disappearance of Luke, The action is fast paced and its a quick read with a few twists - some predictable others not. Recommended for fans of Lisa Jewel and similar family based psychological thrillers.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this one as I really love this author! Overall- I really preferred the second half of the book to the first, and while it was good I did get a little lost in the detail and found it slow to start. I got a bit confused and bored up until I started to see where it was going. It picked up once we jumped ahead in time.

Loved this book! So many twists and turns that kept me guessing. Lots of layers to this book and had more depth and character development than a lot of thrillers do.

Have I already read the best mystery of 2025? 👀

Cam and Luke have a wonderful life with their newborn daughter, Polly. When Cam awakens one morning to find Luke already gone, she assumes he left early for work. Hours later, she’s informed that Luke is involved in a hostage situation. He’s not a hostage, though, he’s the gunman.

When I tell you this book is PHENOMENAL! Told from the point of view of Cam and of Niall, the hostage negotiator, and jumping ahead years after the hostage situation, this book is nonstop action. I was completely captivated from the first pages where Cam wakes to find Luke gone. There are multiple surprise twists as things start falling into place. As out there as the situation is, author @gillianmauthor made the characters real and relatable because the heart of this book is a love story.

ALL the stars! Cannot recommend enough. Add this one to your reading list for 2025!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read in advance!

After an extended maternity leave, Camilla (Cam) Deschamps is ready to return to her job as a literary agent. Her husband Luke, who works as a ghostwriter, isn't home but has left an unusual note: "If anything" on one side and "It's been so lovely with you both." on the other. Concerned about Luke's absence on such an important day, she focuses on taking her baby Polly to her new nursery school and heading out to work. At the office, she sees on the news that there is a hostage situation at a nearby warehouse. Cam is shocked to discover that Luke is the one holding people hostage. How is this possible? When the event turns deadly, Luke manages to escape and disappears. This highly suspenseful story unfolds through the perspectives of Cam and Niall, the hostage negotiator, whose career and marriage are left in shambles. As time passes, Cam is determined to uncover what happened to Luke. How could she have been so wrong about her kind, loving husband?

Gillian McAllister's book Wrong Place Wrong Time was one of my favorite thrillers of 2022, making McAllister an auto-read author. Famous Last Words is another exciting, clever novel from this talented storyteller. I had no clue what would happen next and barreled through it, eager to know what put Luke at the center of this horrible crime. My heart ached for Cam as she tried to rebuild her life but could not escape her deep love for Luke. What a ride!

4.5 stars.

It’s new mother Camilla Deschamps’s first day back at work, a difficult day for any mom, but about to be the worst day imaginable for Cam. When she wakes in the morning, her usually attentive husband Luke is nowhere to be found, leaving an enigmatic note in his place and Cam to manage daycare drop off on her own. But her day gets infinitely worse when two police officers show up at her office to tell her that Luke is involved in a developing hostage situation in a London warehouse. But Luke isn’t a hostage – he’s the gunman.

This is such a brilliantly-crafted wild ride! The first section drops the reader straight into the action on the day of the hostage incident. Cam is incredulous that her husband could possibly be guilty of such a shocking crime, but there’s no mistaking his face on CCTV. The reader goes on a roller coaster of emotions along with Cam through shock, dread, unease, and shock again as Luke vanishes. Seven years later, Cam is trying to have Luke declared dead so she can move on with her life, and that when things start getting weird and scary again. There were so many twists and turns, red herrings and dead ends, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! The execution was perfect, with revelations that both surprise the reader and tie up all the loose ends too. This just may be McAllister’s best book yet!

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me an advance copy of this book.

I’ve always found McAllisters books to be slow-burn thrillers that turn out totally worth it in the end. This book is no different from her others; it was a slow thriller until 75% the way thru when it started to pick up speed, and then again at 90% it really ramped up. This book had a great plot twist and I really enjoyed the characters! I was invested in Camilla from the beginning as an introvert, a mom, and a book lover. We watch her go thru a traumatic experience as her husband mysteriously disappears and is found taking hostages in a warehouse building. Then we fast forward 7 years and see how Cam is getting along as a single mom, still looking for clues about her missing husband. The twists and turns of this book made me want to keep reading, I was invested and needed to know what happened. Over all, this novel was a bit too slow for my liking, but the twists made it totally worth the read! Thank you to the publisher, the author, and Netgalley for the ARC!!

Famous Last Words
4.5 ⭐️

Gillian McAllister has to be one of my favorite thriller writers now. I’ve loved her last several books and this one was no different!

Cam is headed back to work from maternity leave when her husband disappears. She soon finds out from the police that he’s caught up in a hostage situation— but he is the one holding others hostage.

This book totally left me reeling on what would happen in my life if someone I knew did a 180 and did something totally out of character. I loved all the little twists and the short chapters had me flying through it!

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC!

I enjoyed McAllister's "Wrong Place Wrong Time. " It had an original premise and good plot twists that kept me guessing. I wasn't sure she could top that, but while "Famous Last Words" isn't anything like "Wrong Place Wrong Time," it is equally as entertaining.

Camilla returns to work after a lengthy maternity leave when breaking news of a hostage situation captures her attention. She is astonished to find that her husband, Luke, is involved--not as a hostage, but as a gunman. How could this be? The hostage negotiator, Niall, calls Cam to help diffuse the situation, but before she can get involved, the situation escalates, and Cam's life is forever changed. Cam's quest for answers takes her on a perilous journey where every decision she makes has unintended consequences.

This psychological thriller explores the moral dilemmas the characters face and tests the marriage bonds. Told mainly from Cam's and Niall's points of view, it is a situational study of marriage, love, and personal and professional relationships. It made me wonder what I would do in similar circumstances. It is a quick read with twists and "oh, wow!" moments that kept me turning pages. 4/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is February 25, 2025.

I love this author but this one was just a tad too much of a slow burn mystery for me. I’d definitely go into blind that may help some. Thank you netgalley for an early release!

(4.5 stars)
In this tense thriller, Camilla is heading back to work from her maternity leave without a word from her husband. At first, she isn’t concerned, but after he continues to ignore her calls and her texts go undelivered, she realizes something might be wrong. When police show up to her office, she has a terrible feeling that they are there to deliver awful news to her- and she has no idea how right she is. She eventually finds out that her husband has done something terrible, but she can’t believe it’s true, even as she watches it unfold. Told in four parts, this story tells how Camilla puts herself together after her husband does the unthinkable.

I really enjoyed this book! This author writes in a really compelling way that makes the reader want to uncover the mystery and put pieces together. This story really focuses on the love between Camilla and Luke and why Luke might have committed the crimes he did. There is also a large focus on family building, IVF, and infertility- so please approach with caution if this topic is upsetting (however, topics are handled with care and not insensitively). There are several twists and turns along the way, along with time jumps, making this story an exciting and unexpected thriller.

Thank you to Gillian McAllister and William Morrow Publishing for the arc and opportunity to be an early reader and reviewer.

Thank you to Gillian McAllister, William Morrow, and NetGalley for an arc of this novel, in exchange for my honest review, publishing February 25, 2025.

Camilla and Luke seem to have a typical married life. Camilla has been on maternity leave, since giving birth 9 months prior to a beautiful baby girl, and is ready to return to work. Her morning is uneventful, but she notices that Luke is not at home like he normally would be and he left behind a cryptic note. She thinks nothing of it, drops her daughter off at daycare, and heads into the office. Cam is met at her job by police who inform her that Luke, a supportive, mild-mannered husband and a good father, is involved in a live hostage situation. I know I would be terrified...but then we come to realize that Luke isn't a hostage, he is the GUNMAN and he's holding three hostages at gunpoint in a warehouse. Excuse me...WHAT?! Camilla's previously mundane life, turns into an immediate nightmare. How well do you really know someone?

The story is told through the perspective of Cam (the gunman's wife) and Niall (the hostage negotiator). We are taken down a journey of the past and present dynamics of Cam and Luke's relationship, as she tries to figure out Luke's motivation for this situation. The story is fueled with tension, twists, and turns that had me on the edge of my seat, completely hooked and trying to figure out what really happened on that day. I found it to be complex and thought-provoking even after I reached the satisfying conclusion.

Famous Last Words is a whopper of a mystery. What do Luke’s last words scribbled on a scrap of paper mean? New mom Camilla knows something is wrong when her husband disappears, leaving only a cryptic note. She can’t let it go and tries, for years. to look for clues to the truth. Seven years later, little clues start appearing and before long, Camille and the people she knows are in danger! It is a LONG haul through the pages before any real information is revealed, so be prepared for a lot of waiting and suspense. In the end, it was a satisfying and entertaining. Thank you to William Morrow Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Camilla is about to return to work after long months taking care of her newborn, which left her in a state of torpor despite all the help from Luke, her loving husband. It's exactly that state that prevented her from noticing him leave that morning, from knowing what he was up to. That until the police find her at work and reveal Luke has possibly kidnapped three people and holds them at gunpoint.

This was a gripping read. The way the plot is presented to us makes it easy to understand Camilla, to feel that nightmare could as well be happening to us. It's suffocating and exciting.

My big problem with it are some obvious flaws. This wasn't the first book I've read by the author (though it's maybe the first I review, I think?), so I knew what to expect, that as we got to the climax and denouement, the book wouldn't be as amazing as the first half or more. I think it took more work to make sure the explanations worked, there were ways cover those small holes here and there, but knowing the author, it wasn't the perfect story I was expecting. This is more about the experience, the knot in your stomach that will give you Camilla's path to finding out what happened to Luke. As if it's you in her place. And that's where McAllister excels.

Great read to close my year, though it made me unable to do anything else but read and read and read.



Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Famous Last Words was an intense ride with two love stories woven into this edge of your seat, poignant thriller. I loved the character of Camilla and became invested in her story within the first sentence of the first chapter! Cam was such a relatable character with Gillian McAllister’s description of her preparing to return to work on her first day from maternity leave as well as the book introvert description! I am a book introvert and prefer getting lost in books much to my husband’s chagrin! I really enjoyed this one, especially the ending as it all came together. 5 stars for me! Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. Publication Date: February 25, 2025