Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book, but the last half was a bit of a slog. I didn’t find myself interested in the crime, the reason behind it, etc. Just not my type of mystery. However, the writing was great and it kept me entertained. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC. I’ve enjoyed all of Gillian McAllister’s books and this one did not disappoint. This reminded me a little of The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, Same sort of plot. And even though I could see some of the plot twists, I couldn’t put this down and finished it in 24 hours.

Luke and Camila live a moderately happy, married life, together. They’ve recently had a child, Polly, and are struggling through the difficulties of having a newborn.

Maternity leave has come to an end for Camila. She wakes up on the morning she is to return to work, with a faint memory of Luke kissing her goodbye in the early AM (this isn’t totally abnormal). Camila takes Polly to daycare and heads off to work, something nagging in her brain about the cryptic note Luke left her.

A while into being back at the office, Camila is visited by policemen. There’s an ongoing incident with Luke and they’d like her to accompany them to the location. She’s confused, doesn’t understand how the husband she knows is wrapped up in this crime. We find out shortly later that the negotiation has failed, Luke has shot and killed two hostages, and he has disappeared.

The story fast forwards 7 years into the future where Camila is trying her best to re-start her life. She still has no answers around what happened that day (hostages were never identified) but is trying her best to connect with a new beau and make a life for her daughter.

The hostage negotiator from that day, though, has not been able to let the nagging feelings of the odd facts (or lack thereof) of the day of Luke’s siege and is desperately trying to find and piece facts together that explain what happened that day.

4.5
I'm fondly reminded of Let The Great World Spin in that kind of self-referential, encountering old friends and suble tie-ins, warmish kind of way. But. There was a situation that was clearly set up to be a twist which read much more like a bump, or perhaps a crack that is in no way offset or threatening.

This was a solid hostage thriller with a twist! Unfortunately, I guessed most of the twist halfway through the novel. It was told in alternating perspectives between the wife of the hostage taker and the hostage negotiator. I thought that the point of view of the hostage negotiator was pretty slow and boring - and I wasn't really invested in his story at all. I enjoyed the perspective of the wife much more. Overall, an interesting read.

Cam doesn’t hear from her husband Luke until cops show up at her job. Luke has taken three hostage, but why? This is a slow burn mystery! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy.

“Famous Last Words” by Gillian McAllister is a thoroughly enjoyable heart pounding thriller. The story revolves around a mom returning from maternity leave, who on her first day back to work as a literary agent, wakes up to find her husband missing, along with a mysterious note by her front door. As her strange day progresses she hears of a hostage situation taking place and two of the three hostages are killed. When the police arrive at her office, she finds out the gunman is her beloved, sweet husband. As the mystery unfolds the tension escalates and it is impossible to stop reading as there is a jaw dropping twist in every chapter.

It is hard to say more without giving anything away other than to say thank you to Ms. McAllister who puts a thrill in her thrillers every time she writes one!

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Famous Last Words is a thriller that starts off strong. Immediately, I was engaged in the story and was excited for its potential. Cam heads to work like any other day, only she isn’t sure where her husband is. While at work, she discovers her husband is holding people hostage, and the world she knows is immediately gone.

About 100 or so pages into the book, the pacing became off for me. There were a few side stories that were being told and the fast paced thriller vibe was lost. It seems that the book went from thriller to more of a romance, as Cam was constantly thinking about how she still loves her husband. Personally, I could’ve done without the different side stories because they took away from the mystery and suspense of the main plot.

Thanks to NetGalley an d William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Gillian did not disappoint! Loved how this was told from multiple perspectives and how the high-intensity hostage situation unfolded. Definitely would recommend this to anyone who loves. a thriller with a romance twist!

Love a book that grabs you from the first page, and doesn't let go until the end! Just what I needed to get out of my reading slump. I preferred this to the authors last novel. Thanks to NetGalley and the author and publisher for this ARC! Pick this one up if you enjoy a domestic thriller with great twists and turns.

It is a normal morning. Cam wakes up to take her daughter to her first day of daycare. She can not get in touch with her husband but figures he must be busy with work. When Cam arrives at work later that morning she sees on the news there is a hostage situation happening and she soon learns her husband is the kidnapper of the hostages. Cam can not wrap her head around the fact that her husband would do this on his own free will.

This was a great fast paced mystery book. I was hooked from the beginning! Great plot twist and love how everything pulled together. Would definitely recommend!

Camilla wakes up on an important day and can't locate her husband Luke. Their 9-month-old daughter is starting daycare and Cam is returning to work after maternity leave. Luke's not at home or answering her messages. She finds an odd note from him and goes about her day. At work, there is a live broadcast showing a hostage scene. When police arrive, Cam is worried Luke is being held hostage but the truth is worse, he is the gunman. Cam is shocked and can't think of any reason her sweet husband would be capable of this. He ends up letting one hostage go, shoots the other two, and escapes never to be seen again. As the book skips ahead, Cam feels nostalgic for her marriage but also at times angry with Luke. The hostage negotiator Niall relives the day two people were shot and regrets his decisions of the day. I liked the clues that were left along the way and felt the characters were well-written. Cam isn't just a mourning single mother, she also has a complicated relationship with her sister and struggles with the idea of dating. Niall is in counseling dealing with the fallout of the hostage situation and how it affected his marriage.

I loved this book! Definitely worth the wait. I was very tempted to stay up until the wee hours of the night to finish it. I ended up going over the plot again and again in my mind instead turning over the characters in my mind and trying to see where the book would go. I probably would have been better off just staying up late lol. I ended up finishing it the next day and wow, I loved how it all came together.

This book follows a couple, Cam & Luke in the heart of London where Cams husband commits a crime and then disappears. It reminded me a little of The Last Thing he told me which I also loved. The book follows the aftermath of that crime and the ripples of why until the end when the author spills some answers! This one is a 5 star winner for me, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I went into this book completely blind, and I’m so glad that I did. A happy couple with a meet cute of a story and an adorable baby are disrupted out of nowhere when the husband finds himself the perpetrator in a hostage situation. What could’ve led a sweet and funny ghostwriter to take three people hostage and let only one of them walk away alive?

Follow the story told from the perspective of the wife, left alone at home and trying to sort out who her husband really is and the hostage negotiator chasing the one that got away.

2.5 stars

I'm at the point where I've nearly given up on mysteries and thrillers. Too often, the writing is either atrocious (think The Silent Patient) or just plain boring (Ruth Ware comes to mind). But occasionally, there are writers like Shari Lapena or Freida McFadden, who, while not Pulitzer contenders, can still deliver a fun, suspenseful ride that keeps you guessing.

Then came Gillian McAllister's latest. It had a promising premise: Cam and Luke, a married couple with a newborn baby girl, Poppy, have their lives turned upside down when Luke leaves behind a cryptic note that reads, "It's been lovely wuth you both, Lx."

From there, the story kicks off. Cam returns to her high-profile publishing job after nine months of maternity leave (there are a few interesting publishing-related tidbits here if you're familiar with the industry). The entire world witnesses a hostage situation on TV, where the main suspect is—surprise—her husband, Luke. The setup had potential, and the initial shock is gripping.

However, the rest of the book, which comprises about 65% of the story, drags on and becomes surprisingly dull. The plot shifts focus from the suspense to what feels more like a love story. Cam is in disbelief that her husband could ever do anything so horrifying, and we spend a lot of time in her head as she goes over how much she still loves him. We also get the perspective of Niall, the hostage negotiator, whose personal issues (cue therapy and a crumbling marriage) feel clichéd and unnecessary. Cam’s bond with her sister, who is also dealing with domestic problems, seems irrelevant in the context of the larger, more urgent situation.

While we do spend time trying to unravel what really happened that day, much of the story is bogged down by Cam's inner monologue about her love for Luke. It's as if McAllister was torn between writing a thriller and a romance, and the latter definitely falls flat.

The writing itself felt mediocre, with some scenes so irrelevant that I ended up skimming through to the end—and didn’t miss much. I had figured out the twist well before the final act.

If this book is the one that makes me swear off these formulaic, typical mystery/thrillers, so be it. There are plenty of other genres to explore. That said, it’s hard not to feel disappointed by what could have been an engaging, high-stakes story.

Unique read! A thriller that deals with a hostage situation gone wrong and the fallout that still exists years later. Cam was such an easy character to root for and the complex characters made this book fun to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. I really liked the format and suspense in Each section. I did guess one of the twists but still enjoyed the read. 3.5 rounded up to 4

4 stars out of 5

Wow, what a fast paced thriller! I could not put this book down and was immediately drawn into the story. I thought the characters were well developed and I really enjoyed reading Cams point of view. We also get to see Neill's point of view (the hostage negotiator) which really makes the story come together. Everything is tied up by the ending and I really thought the ending was perfect. Overall, definitely read this book!

In Famous Last Words, We met Cam whose world was just turned upside down. Her husband Luke was holding 2 men by gunpoint in a warehouse and she has no idea why. After failed attempts to talk him down he kills the 2 hostages then escapes. Luke disappeared and had not been seen for 7 years. Cam had no idea where he went and had no contact with him. But then Cam starts getting weird messages that she think could be from Luke. But is it him after all this time or something more sinister?

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.25-4.50 stars

Very interesting premise - a woman wakes up, ready to return to work after her maternity leave. She finds a mysterious note from her husband and can't reach him by phone or text. Then the news reports a hostage situation....and her husband is the hostage taker.

The book focuses on the wife and the hostage negotiator. A nice mix of domestic suspense and police investigation. Some interesting time jumps. I felt like there were some bread crumbs dropped in the first third that I was expecting to pay off later and never did, so that was a bit disappointing, but overall, I enjoyed this!

This is my third Gillian McAllister book (after Wrong Place, Wrong Time and Just Another Missing Person) and I need to go read the rest of her back catalogue!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review. Publishes on Feb 25, 2025.

Cam's world is turned upside down when she finds out that her devoted husband, Luke, is involved in a hostage situation. Not only is he involved, but he's the one holding the gun. After 7 years with no answers as to what happened that horrible day, Cam starts to receive mysterious messages that could finally answer the questions about what happened to her husband.

This was a fun thriller that provided many twists and turns to keep myself engaged throughout the story. However pacing was a bit of an issue. It starts off strong but once we fast forward into the future, it starts to lull. I just found it odd how Cam didn't do certain things to try to find out what was going on with her husband. While I enjoyed the other characters in the story, they really didn't add anything to the plot. Once the plot unfolded and we learn what happened, some things didn't quite add up nor were they explained. Overall I had a fun time and I think a lot of people who loved Gillian McAllister's books in the past will enjoy this as well.