I was so excited for this book since I’ve loved Gillian McAllister’s other work! It started strong, but as the story progressed, it felt overly complicated—especially toward the end. The plot became muddled, and the addition of more characters seemed to serve only to tie things together rather than enhance the story. While I appreciate McAllister’s complex storytelling, this one didn’t quite land for me.

So so boring! Nothing interesting happens. I wish this author would go back to writing scifi thrillers. I would not recommend.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley

Wow, this book really caught you from the beginning and didn't let go!
Cam goes back to work after being on maternity leave, and drops her daughter off at day care. When she wakes up her husband is not there and he left her an odd note.

Then she hears the news about a hostage situation that is developing. The police show up and tell her that her husband is the gunman and that they want her help to talk to him.

The story grabs you and is very well written! I really enjoyed it.

<i>Famous Last Words</i> is easily my favorite Gillian McAllister to date. This family drama / thriller felt unique amongst all of the other thrillers out there. It will stand apart as one that I will remember because of its storyline.
On the day that Cam ends her maternity leave and drops her daughter off at daycare for the first time, her loving and doting husband is nowhere to be found. He isn't there to send them both off, wish them luck on their first days, give them a hug for reassurance as they walk out the door. Shortly after Cam gets to work, the police arrive for her and her life changes forever.
The story follows the timeline of the hostage situation and the police investigation at the time. Then 7 years later, Cam is ready to file her husband as dead so that she can sell the house and move on. Once she starts the process, it triggers other things and the once cold case because hot again. Cam never truly believed he was capable of what he is being accused of, but is he really still out there?
This was definitely a fun one to follow. There were a couple of things that I suspected but wasn't sure of, but there were also a few things that did surprise me and I had to go back and reread what I had just read to make sure I understood it. Love when a book surprises me like that.

You wake up. Your husband is gone. Instead of a good-morning kiss or a "Don't forget the baby wipes," he leaves you a cryptic note. Weird. Then the news breaks: there’s a hostage situation in London. Even weirder. The police show up at your door. Turns out, your husband isn’t one of the hostages. Nope—he’s the guy holding the hostages.

Excuse me, WHAT?!

That’s the nightmare Camilla walks into on what was supposed to be her first day back from maternity leave. One minute, she’s navigating daycare drop-offs and inbox anxiety; the next, she’s questioning everything she thought she knew about her life, her husband, and whether she’s somehow starring in an extended episode of Black Mirror.

What I Loved
- The Mystery Keeps You Hooked
The central question is fascinating: How does a loving husband and father go full-blown hostage-taker overnight? (Spoiler: He doesn’t. There’s always more to the story.) The book does a great job unraveling this, keeping you second-guessing everything.

- Cam is Relatable
She’s not your typical "wife in distress" thriller protagonist. She’s sharp, determined, and just as confused as the rest of us, which makes her easy to root for.

- The Big Twists (Mostly)
Okay, one major twist was obvious. (If you read enough thrillers, you’ll spot it a mile away.) But it’s more of a how than a what, and that part stays gripping.

What Didn’t Work as Well
- Mild Predictability
Like I said, I saw one of the twists coming. Did it ruin the book? No. Did I give myself a smug little nod when I turned out to be right? Absolutely.

Would I recommend Famous Last Words? Absolutely. It’s fast-paced, gripping, and has just enough twists to keep you flipping pages. Even if you figure out the big "aha" moment early, you’ll still want to see how everything unfolds.

⭐ 4/5 stars – because every marriage should come with a “Just In Case I Become a Hostage-Taker” disclaimer. ⭐

This story really took off and I could not stop. There were a ton of surprises and full body chill moments and it really held my interest. Read this book!

I have read a lot of crappy thrillers this year, so I'm so glad to have come across this one. I enjoyed the refreshing premise. The missing spouse trope is tired (looking at you, Beautiful Ugly), but the hostage-taker spouse is a whole new thing. McAllister's writing is thoughtful without being overly sentimental, though it sometimes comes close (Yes, we get it, you love him). The inclusion of Polly and Cam's sister added a nice layer, and I found Niall likable if a bit one-dimensional.

I didn't guess any of mysteries, and the ending was satisfying.

I purchased the print book and an audio CD for my library and have been sharing. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

4.25 stars
I was hooked from the beginning simply because I had to know why he did what he did! I enjoyed the unraveling and how everything was pieced together. It all made sense. I would only say it’s not 5 stars because there wasn’t a lot of “action”. I don’t mind that and it’s actually amazing how bingeable and unputdownable it was given the lack of action!

This is my favorite McAllister book. This is a fast paced thriller with a love story at the center of it and a hostage situation. Man oh man this kept me engaged to the very end. Easy read, likable FMC and satisfying ending.

This is the third book I’ve read by this author and my final attempt. Her writing style is just not for me. Once again, this had a promising premise: a married couple with a young baby have their lives Thurber upside down when the husband one day leaves the wife a note stating “It’s been lovely with you both, L xx” and then disappears. Soon after she discovers that her husband is involved in a hostage situation, and he is the one holding the hostages. Sounds like it should be a shocking thrill ride, right? While there is a good bit of time spent trying to unravel the situation, too much time is spent on Cam (the wife) inner monologues and her relationship with her sister, which in the scheme of the story feels kind of irrelevant.
I’m not sure if it’s just that I’ve read so many thrillers that I’ve come to expect so much from them, but this just fell flat. It did pick up somewhat in that last 40 ish percent but that’s too much time wasted. I rounded up to three only because it wasn’t a total wash out by the end.

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

I don’t even know how to say how impactful this book was for me. I started it going through trauma of my own and latched onto it as my escape. I took it everywhere and thought about the book when I wasn’t reading it and even drew it out bc I didn’t want it to end! I did not see any of it coming!!! This is my favorite read this year by far!

I started this book and expected it to be a quickly plotted crime drama set over just a few days with a simple story. I was so wrong. It had great writing and built and built and I did not see the twist until the very end. It was a perfect crime drama, but I also loved the characters and the family storylines that brought it all together so well. This was my first book to read by Gillian McAllister. I will be reading all of her books now.

A love story wrapped around a mystery and a mystery in the middle of a love story. For Cam and Luke, life seems pretty good, both love their careers and they have a new baby. On the day Cam returns to work from maternity leave, Luke is involved in a hostage situation with him at the perpetrator / gunman. After the murder of the hostages, Luke disappears and Cam's must face whether Luke is the man she thought he was. Very readable and enjoyable.

This book was...exhausting. It was also OK. I think my main concern was the time jump. Nobody cared for 7 whole years and then everyone cares and takes action individually in the seventh year..it was just so coincidental and the ending sorta pissed me off because it was so abrupt.
I did enjoy the complex relationships between the characters especially Camilla and her sister Libby.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy.

Imagine answering your phone on an ordinary day… only to find out your husband is holding someone hostage. That’s exactly where Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister begins—and from there, it doesn’t let go.

Camilla has just returned to work after maternity leave when everything unravels. Her husband, Luke, is inside a building with a gun. As the hours unfold, so do years of questions—about who he really is, what secrets he’s been keeping, and whether the life she thought she knew was built on something far more fragile than she imagined.

This isn’t just a domestic thriller—it’s a layered, emotional exploration of marriage, motherhood, and trust. McAllister is so good at capturing that tightrope between love and doubt, especially when the stakes are sky-high. And the pacing? Pitch perfect. Every chapter peels back another layer, and you’re never quite sure who to believe or what the truth really is.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Read If You Like:
- Domestic thrillers
- Psychological Thrillers
- Where is He
- The Why?!
- Twists and Turns
- Unraveling Secrets & Clues

Camilla is a new mother, ready to return to her career as a literary agent, when her life is thrown into chaos on her first day back to work. Her husband, Luke, leaves a cryptic and seemingly half finished note and then takes hostages at a warehouse.

The man she thought she knew has become a stranger, and as the police try to unravel the hostage situation with him, Camilla is left questioning everything—about their marriage, their past, and what could have led him to this moment.

With the story being told primarily through Camilla’s perspective it keeps the story grounded in raw emotion and the underlying love for someone you share your life with, despite what you are being told about them. The story truly challenges assumptions about love, loyalty, and betrayal as Camilla is left to pick up the pieces in the years following her husband’s hostage situation where he left two dead and then fled.

The pacing was so well done, keeping me on the edge of my seat needing to know what would happen next and what the truth was and why he left the famous last words for Camilla.

If you like twists and turns with multiple perspectives I’d definitely recommend this one!

Thanks to William Morrow for my gifted ARC and finished copy!

Camilla Deschamps is ending her maternity leave and returning to work. Her young daughter Polly will begin a nursery program. But where Luke , husband and father, on this auspicious morning? Then Camilla finds an incomprehensible note which says, “ It’s been lovely with you both.” She is too busy getting Polly and herself ready to leave and doesn’t overthink the message. Why would Luke write such an odd note? It all makes no sense. And Luke’s not answering his phone.

Later in the day at her job as a book editor , Camilla becomes aware of a hostage takeover in London and within a short time is informed by police who come to her workplace that Luke is the person holding a gun to the heads of the hostages. There is no way to know the whys or hows of this horrifying event. The pulse escalates; the tension mounts as McAllister creates a nail biter that will keep you on the edge of your seat reading reading and reading.

Enter Niall, a trained hostage negotiator, whose recent mistake in judgment has left him at the lowest points in both his career and personal life. He is somewhat of a pariah annd needs to prove himself worthy in this case or likely lose it all. What’s more, unidentified dead bodies have mysteriously turned up, even after all of the captured hostages have been noted as alive. Who are the dead? Has Luke killed them? Niall must root out the truth of this mystery not only for the sake of justice but also to redeem his good name.

As the tension mounts and a complex plot unfolds little by little, the twists and turns that drive the story are unexpected and ingenious. Ms McAllister is a thriller writer extraordinaire. I couldn’t put this book down, turning pages and never guessing the truth behind what seems to be a senseless criminal act by a man no one would ever suspect of being violent. Famous Last Words is a five star read from the first to last page. Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for providing me with a prepublication digital book in exchange for my honest review. It became available on Feb 25, 2025. Guaranteed not to disappoint !

Camilla's life is about to change on the longest day of the year but it's not because of anything she is expecting. Her maternity leave is up and she is ready to head back to work as a literary agent. Upon waking up she realizes her husband is gone and in his spot is a note that doesn't make any sense. Soon the news shows a hostage situation going on and the police show up telling her Luke is involved. Follow along and see just how Camilla handles the situation, does she tell the police about the note, does she keep the note to herself? This was an intriguing read that kept me guessing the whole way trhough.

Unfortunately I really struggled to get in to this one. It was a DNF 25% in. I have read of others who enjoyed this so maybe it just was not the book for me!