Famous Last Words has a very interesting premise about a hostage negotiation situation gone wrong and the fallout afterwards. The first part of this book flew by for me; however, the pace slows way down during the second part. I found that certain parts of Cam’s story felt superfluous, but I loved Niall’s POV and wished more chapters were written from his perspective. I had a few guesses for what the twist was going to be and I found myself pleased when the twist was revealed. The writing is strong and the pacing picks back up in the third and fourth parts. I thought the exploration of the different types of grief and how the characters handle it was interesting and felt realistic. I’d recommend this book for fans of thrillers and mysteries that don’t mind things getting a little emotional. (4/5)

**This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

On June 21st, the longest day of the year, Camilla's life is about to change. After spending months on maternity leave, she is ready to return to her job as a literary agent. Today, she will drop her infant daughter off at daycare for the first time.

However, when Camilla wakes up, she finds that her husband, Luke, is not home. Instead, she finds a strange note that worries her. Before she can think about what the note means, she hears urgent news: there is a hostage situation in London. The police come to her house and tell her that Luke is involved. Shockingly, he is not a hostage; her husband, who is a loving father and always optimistic, is the gunman.

Camilla realizes that what she does next is very important. She is the only one who knows what the note says and could help in understanding why Luke acted this way.

This book follows Camilla’s struggle to understand the events of June 21st. It also includes the story of the hostage negotiator and how the day affects his life. With many twists and turns, it explores love and the bonds of family. From the first line, this book captured my attention. Gillian has proven herself to be a fantastic mystery writer, and I enjoyed reading this book.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for this advance reader copy (ARC).

I am so in outlier islands, but I just couldn’t get it. It took me a long time to get familiar with her writing style and then it was kind of too late for me. So I called it quits after the halfway mark, which is disappointing. Still, I think this book will have its niche and be really popular.

I loved the premise of this story from the very beginning. Camila looks to have everything, a new baby, a caring husband and a great job but one fateful day her whole life is upended. A hostage in taking place and as her and her coworkers watch with a curiosity that soon turns to horror when Camila learns her husband is a part of the hostage siege. As events unfold we learn her is not the hostage but the hostage taker and the perspective changes from Camila to Nial the hostage negotiator who has his own demons. The book is in a 3 sections of now, 7 years later and a wrap up 7 years after that and this interesting time shift keeps the book fast paced and exciting. Is Luke the criminal or the victim and how well do we really know anyone else??

Another fantastic thriller by Gillian McAllister!! I was so hooked throughout this entire book! I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives and how the story follows characters across time. There were so many shocking twists that made me audibly gasp!!

I was enjoying Famous Last Words right along, but I found it too predictable at the end, and what’s with the repetitious references to Cam as an introvert? There will be plenty of fans of this book, but it’s just a 3 on a 5 point scale for me.

**Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for approving me to read and review an advance copy of this novel, due for release February 25, 2025.**

Another thriller from Gilliam McAllister? Yes I will take this one too. This story works very well in the terms of dual POV, great pacing, realistic characters that are easy to relate to and great writing. You start to question the motives and whether everything is as it seems.

The ending overall for me was a little bit weaker and could have been a bit stronger, but overall this was a great story and I will still give it 5 stars

Famous Last Words is a thriller that keeps you guessing all the way through it.
Cam think life is decently normal adjusting to having a baby in the house and continuing to work until one morning her husband, Luke appears to be holding three people hostage . She leaves the baby with her sister Lucy as she tries to figure out what is happening as she feels there is no way her husband would do such a thing. The hostage situation goes bad and her husband disappears leaving her to raise her baby alone.
Seven years later with the help of the hostage negotiator she figures out things weren’t how they appeared.
Gillian McAllister does a great job keeping you on the edge of your seat. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy for my opinion.

I could not get enough of this book! I loved that we got to be on the other side of the story. Typically we always hear from the classic victim, but this time we're hearing from the killer's wife and the law enforcement on the case. I thought I had it figured out but then the time skip took me by surprise and threw me for another exciting loop. Easy to read in one day because you simply will not want to put it down. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this book. Great characters, the story moved along well and the twists worked. I liked the jump in time. There was something about the ending that felt a little rushed, but overall I really liked the way it wrapped up.

I have read a handful of Gillian McAllister books. She is one of my go to authors. While this one is not a favorite of mine. It was well written with likeable characters. Unfortunately, for me personally was slow paced.

(3.5) This was an entertaining book, but it was definitely slower than I expected. The beginning was quick and exciting, but the middle portion dragged a bit for me. The ending got more interesting although I have some unresolved questions about why certain things happened. Overall I enjoyed my time reading this, but it’s my least favorite by the author so far. Recommend for people who like slower paced thrillers or big fans of the author!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I found this title to be something of an enigma, part of it presents a fine mystery/police procedural, but other chapters are more in line with a romance of love gone wrong creating a schizophrenic story. The scenes where Cam is totally confused by her husband's disappearance become repetitive along with her love of Polly who comes across as a prop. The big reveal resolution seems to ambush the reader as the identity of the actual bad guys strain believability. There is much positive potential in the novel but the back-and-forth points of view plus alternating time frames make the plot a bit jumbled.

What do you do when the person you know and love more than anyone does something unthinkable?

Gillian McAllister's newest thriller is told from the point of view of a hostage taker's wife and the hostage negotiator. While I loved first's POV, I found latter a bit lacking, so it was okay with me that Camilla's POV chapter were a significant majority of the book. I thought the plot twists were good and made sense, but a tad predictable. And overall an interesting and fast-paced mystery, but I wanted a bit more at the end.

3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars

This was my first read by Gillian McAllister, and I will definitely be reading more. Famous Last Words immediately drew me in, and I loved that I never figured everything out. While it can be hard to surprise an avid reader, I was truly surprised by the turn of events. I really liked the alternating POVs and time jumps. I raced through the beginning and end of the book, but the middle dragged a little bit for me. Overall, I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more of McAllister's previous works.

I was a huge fan of Wrong Place Wrong Time so I was so excited to read Famous Last Words. This was a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I thought McAllister did a wonderful job developing this story. It took a turn I wasn’t expecting, but that just proves how great McAllister is at storytelling. I took off one star because I did feel like the book was unnecessarily long in parts, but I think this one will be a hit with many!

Thanks to William Morrow & NetGalley for the chance to read this book early!!

Wow, this was amazing!! I enjoyed Gillian McAllister's last two mystery/thrillers, but they didn't blow my mind - solid four stars. This one, however, grabbed me with it's premise and never let me go. It was so tightly plotted and fascinating, with incredibly beautiful human moments woven into the story that really made you attached to the characters.

A new favourite thriller!

I was excited to read this one because I loved Wrong Place, Wrong Time. While I thought the premise of this one was super interesting I thought that it was just extremely slow-paced. I thought the twists were good, although mostly predictable. Overall not a bad read, just wish it had been a bit more exciting.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: February 25, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

To keep this short and sweet and save all the goods for you to read I will say I am shook and unsurprised. I KNEW I was going to love this book, I knew before I opened this book it was going to be a favorite of mine. I love Gillian McAllister and all she writes. This book was PACKED with wild twists and turns as well as a rollercoaster of feelings from start to finish. You think you know who it is, but do you really, I don’t think so. Nothing like a hostage situation to get your heart racing and it just goes wild from there. You will NOT be able to put this book down, I guarantee it. I cannot wait to hear how everybody feels about this book because I am OBSESSED. I will recommend this book to all of my bookish friends! They’ll love it!

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as William Morrow.

ave loved all Her books and this one certainly did not disappoint!

Cam’s husband Luke goes to work one day and then is found to be the perpetrator of a hostage situation. He subsequently disappears for seven years leaving Cam and their new infant daughter surrounded by so many questions about what happened that day. She struggles to move on and can’t understand how her husband would do such a thing. Then, out the blue she receives a text messages she believes is from Luke and she is on a mission to find out the truth.

This book was told from two main POV’s - Cam’s and the Nial (the hostage negotiator). There are also a few chapters from an unknown person reporting on the whereabouts of Cam. It adds a lot of curiosity and drama to the story. It was very fast paced and interesting and even those it was not as “twisty” as her other books there were surprises. It was very cleverly written and I thoroughly enjoyed this. I will read whatever she writes. I love her style and ability to capture the readers attention.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.