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.

Fasten your seatbelts; you are in for a wild ride. Camilla, a book agent, is back at work for her first day after maternity leave. She begins to worry about her husband when she can't get in touch with him all day. The next thing she knows, the police arrive at her door and inform her that her husband is involved in a hostage situation. As she attempts to understand their words, they then inform her that he is the gunman. Gillian McAllister never lets me down. Rating should be 4.5.

I was so thankful to receive an advanced copy, thank you! Gillian McAllister is one of a kind and a truly talented author. Famous Last Words was no exception to Gillian’s work and I loved every minute of it. The multiple time lines and thought provoking subject of how life can change in an instant keeps the reader engaged and on the edge of their seat through the twists and turns eagerly waiting to see what happens. I couldn’t put it down!

**Famous Last Words**
by Gillian McAllister
Release Date: 02/25/2025

I’ll keep this review brief since we have just 90 days until the US release! Gillian McAllister is one of my top authors—I always auto-buy her books and absolutely jumped for joy when I got that widget!

Meet Cam, returning to work after an incredible 9 months of maternity leave (seriously, is this standard in the UK? In GA, you don’t even get a day!). As a literary agent, she’s in the perfect position to discover the next big bestseller. Talk about a **DREAM JOB**! 📚✨ She’s married to Luke, a talented journalist turned ghostwriter and a loving dad to their daughter Polly. Life seems perfect.

But on her first day back, everything changes. Cam learns about a hostage situation—and discovers that her husband is right in the middle of it.

Enter Niall, the dedicated hostage negotiator who lives for his job. Unfortunately, he makes a critical mistake during Luke’s crisis, leading to a tragic turn of events. Suddenly, the question looms: is Luke alive?

This thrilling tale is a complex puzzle full of twists and connections that will keep you turning the pages!

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New mother Camilla anticipates the most stressful part of her day will be returning from maternity leave. She certainly didn’t expect her husband to make the news for being the gunman in a hostage event. Now her entire world is crumbling around her as she tries to reconcile the husband she married with the man on the news.

The book is narrated from the perspectives of Camilla and the hostage negotiator Niall, both profoundly affected by the incident. We are introduced to both on the day of the hostage event and again after a seven-year time jump. Cam and Niall are compelling characters, and the suspense builds throughout the book, keeping the reader on their toes. The result is a well-constructed book fans of the author have grown to expect, and first-time readers will understand the hype.

**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.**

I loved this new psychological thriller from Gilliam McAllister! New mom Camilla is headed back to work after her maternity leave, but husband Luke isn't at home to see her and baby Polly off and wish Camilla luck. Only a partial cryptic note is left. Camilla is soon drawn into an unbelievable situation where she is helping hostage negotiator Niall try to talk her husband into giving himself up. How could this possibly be happening with lovely Luke who Camilla truly loves?

This book works because of great pacing, realistic and relatable portrayals of each character vs. overwritten caricatures, and the existence of a good secondary storyline involving Niall. Also, we like the characters we are reading about. I dislike reading books about awful people - who can get emotionally invested in those?

The ending was a tiny bit weaker for me, but author McAllister writes a complex storyline that doesn't feel gimmicky or rely on violence as a plot vehicle. Definitely a recommended book for any psychological thriller lovers out there. 5-stars.

The description of this book completely hooked me: a woman with a normal wife wakes up to find her husband is not home and that there is a hostage situation -- and he is the hostage taker.

The book draws you in from the start. It makes no sense that this happy go lucky guy would do such a thing, and the journey to find out what happened is a wild one. The book alternates between two perspectives - the wife and the hostage negotiator, both whose lives have been permanently altered on this day.

The second half of the book really picked up, and at that point I could no longer put it down. The story was woven together well, and is very clever. I am amazed that authors like Gillian McAllister can think of stories like this.

I haven't read the author's other books but I do own her last bestseller Wrong Place Wrong Time so I'm looking forward to reading that one soon.

Thank you William Morrow Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

this is prob one of my favorite books from Gillian!!!! absolutely so well done and sooo hard to put down from the start!!!

This is the first book I have read by Gillian McAllister although I do have Wrong Place Wrong Time on my shelf. I will definitely be jumping into that one after reading this. This was such a great thriller. Read it!

Gillian McAllister does it again! This book was so good - it follows the players involved in the siege as they try to solve the mystery of what happened that day and why. This book was so fast-paced and full of twists! Some were predictable, others not, which was a great mix.

This is Cam’s first day back at work since her maternity leave and her daughter’s first day in daycare. Cam is both excited and nervous. Luke, her husband, seems to have left early before Cam was even awake and left her without any support on this important day. There is breaking news of a hostage situation. The police arrive at Cam’s office and she fears that Luke is one of the hostages. Luke is not a hostage but he is the one holding the hostages at gun point. Niall is the hostage negotiator. The story is told from two perspectives…Cam’s and Niall’s. The story moves forward in time seven years and deals with the aftermath of that day. As with any good mystery there were surprises along the way. This is the first book I have read by Gillian McAllister but I will now go back and read her other novels and will look forward to future novels.

Another amazing book! I think this one wasn’t as obvious as wrong place wrong time. It had things that really stood out, but they hide other aspects so well! I really enjoyed the mystery, and I loved the love story that was in here as well.

3.5/5

Good read.
Lots of twists and turns. Once you think you know what is happening it turns. Sometimes, you could see the twists coming. I loved that her sister got her happy ending! The characters are incredibly likable and you root for Cam and Niall the whole book as they investigate things from different sides.

4.5 stars

Camilla (Cam) is dropping her infant daughter Polly off at daycare for the first time and returning to her job as a literary agent after months away for maternity leave. So, it seems particularly out of character for her husband Luke to not be there that morning to see them off.

In his place is a cryptic note. One side reads “If anything” but it’s been crossed out. The other side says “It’s been so lovely with you both. Lx.”

She sends him a message. No reply.

She sends another. Silence.

Cam has a pit in her stomach-a feeling of dread.

And, then everything happens at once as the Police are outside her office as BREAKING NEWS comes across the television screens. A hostage situation is developing in London and the Police have arrived to tell her Luke is involved—not as a hostage-but as the gunman.

And, the hostage negotiator, Niall, wants her at the scene.

This story unfolds in three parts. The pace of Act One, “The Siege” is LIGHTNING FAST and I felt every one of Cam’s emotions from shock to bewilderment as she tried to make sense of the situation.

The second part dragged just a tiny bit for me, as the narrative became very introspective as both Cam and Niall dealt with the fall out from the day that would change both of their lives forever.

And, in part three the pace picks up again as this very CLEVER story came together as we learn the TRUTH about what happened that day. Sure, some suspension of disbelief is necessary but the characters are so well drawn that this story feels plausible despite that.

This is definitely one of the better stories that I have read lately in the THRILLER/SUSPENSE category, and I have no hesitation in recommending it!

Look for it on February 27, 2025

Thank You to William Morrow for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

The plot and context of this book was immediately gripping to me. I loved the aspects of the unknown weaved throughout the book. It left me on my seat and guessing throughout most of the story. The concept of how well one knows their partner plays a central role throughout this narrative. I love that the reader is brought along the journey of trying to reconcile what is happening in real time against the beliefs and the idea that a woman knows the person she shares a life with. Is he alive? Did he do what they say he has done? I enjoyed this book immensely and have only one critique. I do wish the author would have thrown in a few more false clues that lead the reader to multiple conclusions. For example, a balanced potential that Luke was dead vs alive. I would have enjoyed being a bit more mislead and wrestling with the outcome. That said, the last 10% of the book had a great plot twist and tied the story up nicely.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

I love Gillian McAllister and this latest novel did not disappoint. Cam is the mother of a newborn, and on the same day her baby goes to daycare, she finds out that her husband is holding two people hostage. He disappears after the situation, and cut to 7 years later, when things start to rear up again from that time. McAllister is great at twists and turns, and I did not want to put this down. I thought the ending wrapped up a bit too quickly but otherwise this was a great read.

I absolutely loved Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister! You’re pulled right into Camilla’s world as she tries to balance being a new mom while discovering her husband might not be who she thought he was. I’ll admit, the beginning was a bit slow, but once it took off, it really kept me hooked. Camilla’s character was so well done—there were moments I felt every emotion with her. There’s plenty of action, and while I did guess the big twist, it didn’t take away from the story at all. This one’s a fantastic read—highly recommend!

I found this one thrilling and intriguing. The beginning felt a little slow, but once the pace picked up I struggled to put it down.

The first third of Famous Last Words is solid if unsurprising. Cam slowly realizes that her husband Luke is suspected of holding three people hostage in a London warehouse. Niall is the hostage negotiator trying to talk Luke down before anyone gets hurt. The siege unfolds … and then there’s a seven year time jump. The rest of the story shows us what happened to Cam and to Niall, both of whom were forever changed and haunted by the siege and all the things they still don’t understand about what happened that day.

I really enjoyed Wrong Place Wrong Time, and I was intrigued by the description of Famous Last Words, so I was excited to read it. But the story didn’t really work for me. The middle third of the story is very slow. There were mysteries about the siege that I thought were pretty obvious, and other mysteries that once explained didn’t make much sense. I liked Cam’s character and her dilemma, and I did not really care about the subplots of either Niall’s failed marriage or Libby’s infertility. I probably would have enjoyed the book more if we could have gone deeper and laser-focused on Cam. Overall, a bit disappointing.

I felt such a strong connection while reading this book because it really brought up the feelings of what I would do if I were in the situation our protagonist is in... My husband shares SO MANY of the characteristics of Camilla's husband, like... so many! Seeing this seemingly wonderful, caring, compassionate, joyful person do horrible things is a very scary situation.

Living the typical life of a new mom, Camilla is just getting back to work after maternity leave. She brings her baby to child care and then gets the worst news... her husband is a lone gunman with hostages. Only Camilla knows what he said in a note before he left...

How does that even compute? This book really sent me. This author has this really incredible ability to turn idyllic life scenarios and completely turn them on their head, making them into something terrifying.

All you get from the synopsis is the baseline of the book, so going into more detail would be a shame. This book was so good. There is so much more to it and I highly recommend it!!