This was a decent suspense story, but I don’t know that I’d consider it a thriller. I liked watching the story unravel and events come to light, but for the most part there was nothing that was in the moment suspenseful and where there could have been the situations resolved quickly. I feel like it dragged in the middle and then went very quickly and almost too easily for the story line at the end. The book did keep me guessing and was an interesting read so I still gave it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I squealed in public when I got the ARC for this new one by Gillian. One of my favorite authors and she did not disappoint with, Famous Last Words. What would you do if your spouse was in a hostage situation, and he was the hostage taker? I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and could not put it down until I unraveled the mystery. Very thought provoking as well! 5/5 stars. Thank you Gillian McAllister, netgalley, and William Morrow for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, Penguin, & Gillian McAllister for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was an enjoyable thriller that provided many twists and unanswered questions that kept me interesting in the story. The beginning starts off strong, but kind of slows down towards the middle. I found Cam’s behavior at times questionable with how she never tried to find out certain things about her husband. A lot of the characters were likable, but served no real purpose. It was a fun story that kept me interested, however one things were revealed, I was left with some questions that were never answered. For that reason, I would rate this a 3.5, but have to choose 3 since there are no half stars on goodreads.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister is a heart stopping thriller that will grip you from the very start. The novel centers on Camilla, a new mother whose seemingly perfect life is shattered when her husband, Luke, becomes the gunman in a shocking hostage situation. What follows is an exploration of secrets as Camilla races against time to unravel the mystery behind Luke's actions. This book is full of suspense along with emotional depth, delving into the complexities of relationships. This is a brilliant and addictive read, with twists you won’t see coming!

This author is brilliant, first of all. I will read anything she writes. I especially enjoyed this thriller because 1) I always appreciate a book where I don’t guess the twist (or at least all of the twists 😉) and 2) her ability to build a simmering sense of anxiety/dread was spot on & made me keep turning the page.

This novel is a WOW thriller that had me from the first pages where new Mom, Camilla returns to work following maternity leave.
It's a busy morning getting ready when she realizes that her husband has left the house with only a note that leaves her wondering "Why didn't he say Good-bye"?
Then.. while at work this morning, she finds out her husband is in the middle of a hostage situation. Horrifically he is the kidnapper
The story continues and while Camilla tries to resume her life through the years, there is an ongoing investigator, Niall who tells of this journey forward.
It is definitely an interesting, ongoing story that had me deep into the pages of this book!
Everyone who enjoys mystery and thrillers will love it!

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @William Morrow for this ARC and allowing me to provide my own review.

New mother Camilla is faced with a horrible situation. Her husband Luke has three hostages and it’s up to her to figure why. His seemingly nonsensical last message to her was hastily scribbled on a notepad and she must decipher what he meant and what the note signifies. Meanwhile, Niall the hostage negotiator on the scene of his attack is haunted by the entire debacle and he races against time (and the police themselves) to figure out what has happened. Is Luke still alive, and was this all a giant misunderstanding?

Gillian McAllister is a master at setting the scene in a thriller and Famous Last Words is no different. The story of the hostage crisis is taut and unfurls in exciting twists and turns. The strange note conveys a very good mystery. The characters of Cam and Niall the hostage negotiator are well developed and interesting. Only Luke, Cam’s husband is a bit of a question mark, but this serves its purpose as he is a big part of the puzzle of the hostage crisis. His actions as it relates to this central plot point become more clear the closer you get to solving everything. I guessed a few small details, but overall the story was solid. All in all a good thriller.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

A solid new thriller from Gillian McAllister. Imagine your husband has gone missing and you find out a gunman has three people held hostage. You’re concerned about your husbands safety and then you find out he’s the gunman. Page turning, interesting, loved the book within the book. I might have easily figured some things out but it was still enjoyable.

That only happens to other people. That is of course, until it comes knocking at your door!
It’s Cam’s first day back at work following a lengthy maternity leave. All she just needs now is a loving pep talk from her husband Luke and she’ll be ready to hit the ground running.

Only he’s nowhere to be found and not answering his phone or texts. As she readies their daughter to drop off at daycare she finds a very short and disturbing note from Luke. She has no time to dwell on it, she must get ready to face the day…alone.

Once at work, and still not able to reach Luke, Cam catches a glimpse of a T.V. in the background covering a current hostage situation. Suddenly the police are in front of her! “Oh no! This can’t be happening! Is Luke a hostage?”😱

Bad news for Cam. It’s so much worse than that!

Wow! This book grabbed me right from the start! I flew through it! Simply unputdownable!
I had no idea how Luke got caught up in this situation. And all (well most of) my guesses were wrong.

Gillian McAllister did an amazing job with the lead characters. Told from the perspectives of Cam and the hostage negotiator, Niall. I enjoyed each POV equally and how this fateful day affected their lives.

I’ve only read a few of her previous works, but this was by far my favorite (so far). And you know I’ll be reaching for some of her previous reads sitting on my shelf.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow

I was hooked from beginning to end. Wrong place wrong time still holds first place in my heart due to its uniqueness, but this one was captivating. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking plot wise, but the way it was written was special. It never lulled, even through the “uneventful” periods. The ending was fulfilling and satisfying in regards to each of the characters. Having Niall’s POV was extremely interesting

The author is usually a pretty reliable source for crowd-pleasing thriller/suspense and she’s likely delivered again here.

It’s the summer solstice and an auspicious day indeed as Camilla is taking her infant daughter, Polly, to daycare for the first time as she returns to her work as a book editor. When she wakes up that morning her husband Luke isn’t at their home and he has left an odd note. She finds all this unusual but she goes on about this big day.

Then, she’s at the office, and, breaking news….there’s a hostage situation. The police arrive at Camilla’s office and her heart sinks; she expects to be told Luke is among the hostages, but it’s so much worse.

The book moves along at a nice pace, other than the fact the author tells us Camilla is introverted about seven-elventy times. Got it. It’s well-written and I didn’t figure anything out, however it just felt a little…flat to me for a reason I can’t seem to put a reason to. My opinion won’t matter, though. I would think people will like this a lot.

It’s Camilla’s first day back to work after the birth of their baby Polly, but her husband Luke is not home when she wakes up and that’s unusual. As she starts to really worry Cam learns her husband is in a hostage situation along with three others, but he’s the one who’s the hostage holder. Skip seven years in the future and you really have to suspend belief for the rest of the book at the level of scrutiny the police department is still using against Cam. They’re still monitoring her phone calls, following her, all to make sure Luke is not dead and trying to get in touch with her. Seriously, what police department has the resources 7 years in, but if you can get over this fact, the pace is fast, and the book’s an easy read.

This one is outstanding! I could not put it down. The central characters, Cam, Luke, and Niall, were so well written. The plot had me guessing up until the very end. As a book lover, I loved that Cam was a book editor and that she could lose herself in a story. That is exactly what I did with this book…no laundry got done, no dinner got cooked- I had to finish this book! Thank you for the ARC!

This book started off so so strong and got my attention for the rest of the story. The book follows Camilla, a literary agent and brand-new mother, who wakes up one day to find that her author husband Luke gone. She goes about her day until she is approached by some police officers that tell her that her husband is involved in a hostage situation--except Luke is the one holding them hostage...This shocks Camilla as Luke is a happy, normal man with no secrets or violent past, and she works with the police to try to defuse the situation and later to find out what secrets Luke was hiding.

Along with Camilla's POV the book follows the perspective of hostage negotiator Niall, who can't let go of the Luke hostage case despite his failures. Camilla spends the next few years missing Luke and trying to put her life back together while Niall continues to investigate the events leading up to the hostage situation and discover what really happened that day.

The first third of the book was so thrilling and unique. I feel like some thrillers put an event like a hostage situation at the middle or end of the book and slowly build up to it, but putting it at the very start gave the book a strong opening. I was fascinated by Camilla and Niall's actions during the event and it made me very invested in the rest of the book. I got a little lost in the middle section with all of the names mentioned (there were like 6 men with basic names?) but could follow well enough. The plot twists made sense in the context of the book and didn't feel like they were pulled out of thin air.

This was one of the best thrillers I've read (and that number is over 100 so far). I just added Wrong Place Wrong Time by McAllister because I know her other works will be just as good. Highly recommend to thriller lovers.

Thank you to NetGalley + William Morrow for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Famous Last Words won’t let go of you from the moment you start reading until the last ‘what the what’ scene that you’ll feel compelled to get all the details around. Gillian McAllister’s past books have her firmly at the top of best of Mystery and Thriller lists so I should not be surprised, but this one had me questioning what was actually going on and how it could possibly be resolved.

Opening up fairly quickly to the action at heart, Camilla starts her first day back at work after having a baby when she finds out her husband Luke, who left the house before her despite promising to help see their daughter off at daycare, is at the heart of a hostage situation. As the kidnapper with the gun. Wheeling between denial and disbelief, Camilla is trying to make it all make sense while hostage negotiator, Niall, is trying to diffuse the situation. After the main events, we follow both of these characters as they try to get past what Luke has done and figure out the whys behind it all. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers, but you won’t believe how it all comes together. I especially loved how this book was structured with a seven year jump after the main events and really masterful switching of perspectives between Camilla, Niall, and occasional report from a mystery third person.

This is a mystery worth reading, and I highly doubt you’ll figure it out before the end.

Cam and Luke are about to start the next phase in their lives - their daughter Polly is heading to daycare, Cam is starting back up as a book agent, and Luke is hard at work ghost writing for two celebrities. Other than a baby that they sometimes need to drive around to make the crying stop, things. are seemingly going great, so why is Luke on the television holding three people hostage? And why does Cam have absolutely no idea what all of this could be about? Does she even know her husband at all?

This story is told in two separate timelines with multiple acts and through the eyes of two characters, Cam and Niall, the police negotiator who was involved in the original scene with Luke. The first act is obvious - it's the initial crime which the reader experiences from Cam and Niall's perspective. The next four acts are titled to match how Niall, who has never quite given up figuring out this case, feels about things going forward. It was sad to see Cam and Niall have to deal with everyone around them telling then to stop/give up/move on and know as a reader that something didn't seem quite right. No spoilers here, but it was interesting to see how McAllister handled this.

I absolutely loved this book and was hooked from the start. I got a tad bit lost during Act IV, but otherwise it was a complete winner. I will be recommending this to friends and followers for sure!

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the digital review copy.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS had a great premise that promised intrigue and suspense. The action was immediate and left so many open questions. The change in timeline was surprising but made sense given where the plot was going. There were a couple of twists that felt far fetched but overall enjoyed how this one ended and how it got there.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review FAMOUS LAST WORDS.

Gillian McAllister is always on my list of TBR for her new books, and WOW did she out do herself with this one. It was just phenomenal. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book. My husband was evening asking what was happening. Wonderful story!

I loved this book so much. I was intrigued as soon as I started reading and could barely put it down. I needed to know why all of this happened.

The POV goes between Cam, the wife of the man who took people hostage, and the hostage negotiator. There was also one other POV occasionally, but I don’t want to give anything away.

There were a few times I thought I had it figured out about halfway through, and I was half right.

I don’t know why, but something that stood out to me, and this isn’t important at all, just something I found interesting, was that she described adrenaline as ‘fizzy and sharp.’ I really liked that description. It’s simple, but that’s exactly what it feels like.

One thing caught me off guard a little. Cam’s sister has fertility issues, and surprisingly, early menopause was mentioned. I have been going through fertility issues for the last two years, one being early menopause, and this was a little hard for me to read. It was a very large part of the plot (although it doesn’t necessarily further it. It does give you insight into Cam and Libby’s relationship) so if you also struggle, just be aware. I think that Gillian wrote Libby’s feelings about it well. Infertility really is envy and grief that hurts you physically and makes you feel things about others that you really wouldn’t otherwise. It changes you. It didn’t really “trigger” me (I hate that word, but I don’t know what else to use) because I think it was all written well, but I just wanted to mention it because we are all different, and infertility is such a hard thing in different ways for everyone.

Anyway, all that being said, I did really enjoy the book. It was a very fast and easy read. It kept me hooked the whole time. I never had a moment when I felt like I would rather do something else than pick it up and keep reading. There were a few things that I predicted and a few things that I didn’t. But aren’t all thrillers that way? It was captivating, thought-provoking, and had great twists. It was just great. I loved it.

thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for letting me read an advanced copy of Famous Last Words.

Gave me with whiplash with its unexpected twists and turns. If you read one thriller this year, make it Gillian McAllister's Famous Last Words!