Tons of twists and turns to keep you up all night reading! I am definitely buying more by this author.

Gillian knocked it out of the park with this book! A new mom going back to work since having the baby. Getting a called that your husband is involved in a hostage situation but not as a victim but the gunman. Camilla will do anything to find the truth. This was not only a story of a crime, but of secrets in a marriage. Prepare to be take on a ride....

This had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was fast, mysterious and suspenseful. I loved that there was no inkling of what was coming next.

Told from the points of view of the two main characters, we are thrust into the topsy turvy world of an unsuspecting wife.

Filled with secrets and some twists you will not see coming, I recommend this to thriller lovers.

4.25 stars
This story starts out casually with an average couple adjusting to life with a baby, but then a shocking event changes their lives forever. The book is told from new mom, Camilla's point-of-view, as well as that of DCI Niall Thompson, a hostage negotiator. Cam is a literary agent and her husband is a ghostwriter for famous politicians and celebrities.

The book is suspenseful and held my interest from the beginning to end. I think it's better not to know too much about the plot, so I'm not going to give any details. There are several twists and turns in the story. From the clues given, I was able to predict a few of them, but there were definitely some surprises. I liked Cam's character, but really liked Niall. He isn't perfect, but is determined to learn from his mistakes and make things right in his personal and professional life. It was also interesting to see part of the story told from the point-of-view of a hostage negotiator. I enjoyed this fast-paced thriller and loved the satisfying ending.

I received an advance copy of this ebook for review consideration from NetGalley and William Morrow Books. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

Thank you, Netgalley, Gillian McAllister, and William Morrow for the ebook. Wow! An amazing psychological thriller that will have you turning pages late into the night! This will take you on a wild ride. I honestly felt so sad and defeated throughout and then so much hope and anxiety until the very end!

This story had me hooked. The story is about Cam, a new mother, and what happens one day when she wakes up and her husband isn’t home or answering his phone. That same day, he commits a heinous crime and shoots two people point blank. Cam’s life with her infant is turned completely upside down.

I loved this book! I enjoyed the characters. I loved guessing as we went along what may have happened. It was a fun read, quick, and it kept me wanting more. Highly recommend!

McAllister delivers an emotionally taut, multi-perspective domestic thriller that is nothing short of addictive with FAMOUS LAST WORDS. The carefully crafted tale of a woman blindsided by her husband’s actions one morning takes both her and the reader down a twisted road with secrets, lies, and duplicitous behavior.

This is now the third book by the author that I have read, and they keep getting better. Though the opening few pages didn’t grab me, by the end of the second chapter, I was hooked. Feverously flipping, my mind was in overdrive trying to figure out the truth of what happened on the day which changed everything for Cam and her family. What struck me as so expertly written was the emotional ups and downs of Cam. There is an honesty in this character that grounds the craziness she has been thrust into.

With just the right placement for the big reveals, the author weaves a suspenseful thriller that progressively builds to a perfect ending to the arc of this story. McAllister is quickly becoming a go-to author for me.

Audiobook Note: Having spent a little time listening to this book, I can say it does the narrative justice. Although, with Emilia Fox as the narrator, I can’t truly be too surprised. Personally, I have enjoyed many of her audiobooks over the years, and this one is no different. The pacing was exactly what you would want from a book like FAMOUS LAST WORDS.

Given the book blurb, I went into Famous Last Words expecting a tense, fast-paced thriller—after all, a hostage situation and a missing husband should make for a compelling read. Instead, I found the pacing surprisingly sluggish, making it harder to get through than I anticipated.

The biggest twist left me feeling conflicted. It was both predictable and, at the same time, hard to believe, especially in terms of how the characters reacted. While I enjoyed Wrong Place Wrong Time from Gillian McAllister, this one felt quite different. I wasn’t expecting such a heavy emphasis on the romantic storylines, and unfortunately, I didn’t really find them all the compelling. I can see how this aspect might resonate with some readers, but for me, it took away from the tension that I was hoping for.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister is a heart-pounding thriller that'll grab you from page one.
The story is engaging and packed with twists while remaining logical.
The characters were very well developed and real. I could understand their motivations and felt like I was in their minds.
Her books are always eagerly anticipated and never is there a letdown.
She hooks you right from the first page and does not loose your attention at all through the book. I couldn’t put it down.

This was one of my most anticipated books for 2025! This was a fun and suspenseful read that I couldn’t put down. It is Camilla’s first day back at work after maternity leave and she finds out her husband, Luke is the gunman in a hostage situation. Her whole world is turned upside down. In the second half of the book, the timeline jumps 7 years in the future. I love that Niall, the hostage negotiator, is questioning things in this timeline. The characters were wonderful, the plot moved along nicely, and I enjoyed reading this. I did guess some of the twists towards the end, but some did catch me off guard. Another great McAllister read!

I was intrigued by the premise of the hostage situation (siege) and enjoyed the first part of the book that detailed that action. However, after that the book was a bit of a slow burn for character development. There was too much discussion about her relationship with her sister and her struggle to move on with her life which dragged for me overall. About page 300 it picked up again to wrap it all up in a decent (though a bit quick and high-level) way, but I think the middle of the book was lacking momentum to keep me intrigued.

This is my second book by this author and further proof I need to read more of her backlist.

This book was twisty, mysterious, and had the power of love all wrapped into one. These kinds of books always make me hope I would have the same unwavering hope in my husband if we found ourselves in this insane situation.

This book was what The Last Thing He Told Me wanted to be.

I loved how everything was slowly unraveled to reveal the real story.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister is an interesting premise of a mystery where a woman drops her infant daughter off at daycare only to discover a cryptic note from her husband that later happens to be in the midst of a hostage situation, where her husband is the culprit. I cohabit pass up this mystery after reading that.

Famous Last Words is great for those looking to read…
🗒️ Mystery Story
🗒️ Excellent Narration
🗒️ Twists & Turns

I was fortunate enough to listen to the audiobook of this & it was just fantastic. The audiobook narrator has a clear & crisp voice with a lovely to listen to English accent. They brought this story to life in an intriguing way. I have ADHD so I listen at 2x speed, but even if you aren’t a fan or new to audiobooks, this would be a great one to give a shot.

I struggled a bit with the middle of the book thanks to my ADHD, but I was glad that I stuck with it & that it picked back up towards the end.

I highly recommend this audiobook!

Massive thanks to NetGalley, Libro FM & William Morrow for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

3.5 stars

How does literary agent Cam connect the dots between her husband’s disappearance?
Famous Last Words by Gilliam McAllister takes us through every emotion from the beginning of a hostage negotiation involving her husband to 7 years later when clues of what happened re-surface.

I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller! It kept me guessing to the end but didn’t have an outlandish ending. Really liked both points of view throughout this story!

On the day of Cam’s return to work from maternity leave, something terrible happens, and the police call upon her. Her husband has entered a hostage situation, and Niall is the one tasked as the negotiator. After that day, the story picks up 7 years later, and Cam and Niall are both trying to find a new normal. However, they keep getting drawn back to the events of that day. When a new manuscript arrives for Cam to review, it turns out there might be more to it than she was expecting. Niall also finds out there may be more to that day 7 years ago than they knew.

It’s Cam’s big day. Following a maternity leave, she’s returning to work as a literary agent. And it’s baby Polly’s first time at daycare. Her husband, Luke, leaves early for work, she assumes. Cam finds only a short, cryptic note left by him. In the office, she hears breaking news of a hostage situation. After texting and calling her husband and receiving no response, her fear goes into overdrive. Could Luke be one of the hostages?

Instead, the situation is worse. Police arrive to inform her that her husband is part of the hostage situation, but he is the gunman. Cam’s nightmare is only beginning.

This novel is true Gillian McAllister style, with a story that immediately grabs your attention, and you cannot turn the pages fast enough. Luke and Cam an ordinary couple, like so many of us, and are still in love and relishing all the firsts of raising a new baby. So what happened? I loved the tension, the fears, and the guessing as the drama increases until all the pieces start to fit together. This book is an example of masterly story-telling with great characters and more twists than one can imagine.

This story is told in third person and primarily follows two characters, Camilla, a wife and new mother just returning to her job as a literary agent after maternity leave, and Niall, an experienced hostage negotiator who is so bewildered that he misread the situation wrong that he continues to investigate it for years even though it’s not his job. When Camilla gets up on her first day back to work, she assumes that her missing husband has gone to his office to work though he leaves a note with a strange message behind for her. She is later shocked to find out that he is involved in a hostage situation developing in London.

This story really piqued my curiosity. I’m not sure I would say that I was on the edge of my seat throughout, but I was intrigued. I was spinning all sorts of ideas for what was going on and I have to say that I was wrong about most of it. At points I was suspicious of just about everyone, so the fact that I was right on a couple is not surprising. LOL. I’m not sure I enjoyed it quite as much as Wrong Place Wrong Time, but I did like it more than Just Another Missing Person.

Camilla tries to move on with her life after the events of that fateful day, summer solstice, which also coincides with my anniversary, apropos of nothing. But she just can’t reconcile what happened with the man she knew her husband to be. Niall, whose personal life also blew apart that day, is obsessed with finding out what happened, still has nightmares about that day and sees a therapist as he tries to work it all out. I found his story extremely relatable as he tried to figure out that career/life balance that is so hard to find when your job is not just work and you are passionate about what you do.

Recommended to readers that enjoy fitting all the puzzle pieces together.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for a copy provided for an honest review.

**4.5/5, Rounded Up**

Hold on to your hats, and make sure your shoes are secure. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister will knock your socks off. Camilla’s life is forever changed when her husband, Luke, goes missing on their daughter’s first day of daycare. The police inform her that he is holding people hostage, gun aimed and ready to fire. Everything goes downhill from there. Gillian McAllister takes readers on a wild ride through London through the perspectives of Camilla, the hostage negotiator (Niall), and an anonymous source. You better breathe now, as you’ll be holding your breath until the final page.

McAllister fills Famous Last Words with twists—and if you read closely, you’ll see them coming. If you don’t, or you speed through the novel like I did because you can’t put it down, you’ll have the “AHA!” moments. And then you’ll see hints McAllister dropped along the way. I loved, too, the little bits of romance scattered throughout the novel. Never overwhelming, but they give readers glimpses into who Camilla is—and Luke, too. Niall never believed he was a killer. Seven years later, he’s still investigating the case…without approval. He still needs to know why it all happened. For closure, for him and for Camilla.

Camilla is an editor. Clients send her manuscripts, and she helps those authors get published. Camilla spends her free time reading. Always reading. When a client sends her a manuscript in the mail, she thinks nothing of it, as it’s not out of the ordinary. And the draft consumes her. McAllister flawlessly incorporates Camilla’s career into the mystery in her newest novel. I don’t want to say much more because of spoilers.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister is brilliant. Exciting, gripping, and heart-pounding. I loved the characters, the story, the suspense, and the mystery. I predicted a few things, but overall, it’s a can’t-put-it-down, won’t-be-sleeping-at-night kind of novel!

Book: Famous Last Words
Author: Gilliam McAllister
Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025

This book was just not for me. I will say up front I don't enjoy this trope at all so that didn't help. Also I felt like this was more of a love story with a little "thriller" thrown in and I do not read romance either. I am giving it two stars because I think if I had understood the premise I might not have requested it so I hate to give it a bad review.