Wow - I could not stop reading this book. I loved the sincere, dynamic characters. Even when I thought I knew what was going on, I found surprises along the way. Highly recommend.

Gillian McAllister has been a hit and miss author for me—but Famous Last Words is definitely a hit! The story jumps right into Camilla Deschamps waking up to find her husband already gone to work. By the time she drops off their 9 month old baby and gets to work, there is a hostage situation all over the news—and to her horror she sees her husband holding the gun. The police arrive to talk to her and she genuinely has no idea what is going on. She is complete shocked—this is nothing close to the character of the Luke she’s married to. As the story unfolds, the hostage negotiator, NialI, cannot let go of what happened that day. He is obsessed with finding out the truth. This will bring Camilla and Niall together as they both try to process what happened and solve the mystery.

I enjoyed the suspense and the twisty clues up until the very end. This story is told by alternating characters and I think the multiple viewpoints make for a gripping read. I liked that she kept the reader guessing until the last few chapters of the book.

👉🏻 For my friends who want a love story set during a hostage situation.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS by Gillian McAllister

Thanks, William Morrow, for the review copy via #NetGalley. Available 25 Feb 25

On their daughter’s first day of daycare and Cam’s first day returning to work, her beloved husband takes three people hostage and then disappears. Cam spends the remainder of the book ruminating on her marriage and how she feels about her absent husband. Is she grieving him? Is she angry at him? Is he coming back? Is he still alive? Did she ever know him at all?

We alternate between Cam’s point of view and that of Nial, the hostage negotiator obsessed with how the situation unfolded and the mysteries that follow.

This was a good but slow-paced mystery with deep insight into relationships, trust, marriage, grief, and infertility. I enjoyed Gillian’s writing style; here are some fun examples:

🖋️ …fisselig. A German word meaning “flustered to the point of incompetence.”

🖋️ She likes language in all its forms, and a well-timed swearword is the best.

🖋️ The thing about grief is that, when it happens to you, you go through the looking glass. Suddenly, everyone else lives one kind of life, with one set of problems, and you another.

🖋️ But there is liquid happiness in her chest, gloopy as childhood medicine and just as comforting.

🖋️ …neon Tube signs and graffiti and fire escapes Rapunzeling down the back of buildings.

Whew! This twisty thriller kept me up late - I was dying to see how it would end!

𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗦 is told from two POVs involved in a hostage situation in London. Camilla is a literary agent who wakes up the morning she's planning to return to work after maternity leave to find an incomplete and cryptic note from her husband, who she later finds out is holding three people at gun point. Niall is the negotiator sent to try to save them. During the siege and in its aftermath, the two question everything they thought they knew about their relationships and try to find a way to move forward from this life-changing tragedy, while also wondering why it happened at all.

It was impossible for me not to put myself in Camilla's shoes - imagine waking up on a seemingly normal day and your whole life is upended? Her shock at what was happening and disbelief that the person she loved played a part in it was so relatable and I couldn't help but root for her - and Niall - as they try to uncover the truth. Gillian McAllister builds the suspense beautifully and I love how the book isn't only about the mystery - it's also about writers and the stories they tell. This one is action-packed and moving, and would make a terrific movie or TV series. Hint, hint...

Thanks to William Morrow for the copy to review.

4.25⭐
Genre ~ domestic thriller
Setting ~ England
Publication date ~ February 25, 2025
Publisher ~ William Morrow
Est Page Count ~ 332 (62 chapters)
Audio length ~ 13 hours 5 minutes
Narrator ~ Emilia Fox
POV ~ dual 3rd
Featuring ~ 4 parts (acts), hostage situation

Cam’s husband, Luke, is missing from the house when she wakes up on her first day back to work after maternity leave. Turns out he's involved in a hostage situation nearby. It can't be her sweet, darling husband...what is going on?

In steps, Niall, the hostage negotiator. He makes a decision that'll haunt him for years.

Really enjoyed this one. I was gripped and engaged pretty much throughout. There were a few nice surprises, but I did have the big hoopta figured out, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment at all. Can't say too much more about it.

Very unique and suspenseful thriller!
It did get a bit slow in the middle.
Loved the twists at the end and how everything turned out.

Camilla is going back to work as a literary agent after being on a long maternity leave. Her husband Luke is already gone when she wakes up and is trying to get her daughter Polly ready for her first day of daycare. When she makes it to work she sees a hostage situation on the news but doesn’t pay it much attention until the police show up and tell her Luke is involved in the hostage situation- he is the gunman. This goes against everything she knows and feels about Luke. The book goes between chapters from Cam’s POV and Niall’s. Niall is the hostage negotiator. This story really grabs your interest and the suspense moves you along - desperate to see what will happen. The characters are very well written. It was very hard to put the book down! I give the book 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on February 25, 2025.

You need to read this book! I read it one sitting, its one of those you can't put it down until you get to the very end! So twisty and thrilling, it's perfect for thriller readers. This was one wild ride. Get your snackle box, your water, and settle in for an addicting and shocking story!

THIS WAS BORING! The weird thing is, I was captured in the beginning with the thrilling scene of the siege. And then the tempo did not keep it going. in the 2/3 of the books the theme it seemed more of grief and moving on, familiar relationships, etc. Why did we need to worry so much about the sister and the infertility issues, or the negotiator and his relationship trouble? I signed up for the drama of the murder and solving it.

All that to say, it's a heartfelt murder mystery. A bit unbelievable, with how all of it unfolded but I'm ok with that. It added that drama effect this book needed. But seriously, everything seemed to be drawn out, like for example: as a publishing agent it seemed like she was reading the manuscript too long, If it was that good, wouldn't you stay up half the night to finish it? Us readers sure do stay up too late to read it all.

Quick take, not my type of book.

Camilla is a new mother and has just dropped her daughter for her first day at daycare when she hears about a hostage situation and finds a cryptic note from her husband.

This one starts very exciting with a hostage situation but once that’s over it slowed down for me a lot. I know a lot of people enjoyed it, so please try for yourself but I just had a hard time staying involved. I liked the hostage negotiator’s chapters more than the wife’s. I wanted to know what was going on, and more was hinted at as time went on, and that was appealing and helped to build suspense.

“These are the same lines she cannot cross, and here they are. Because, despite everything - everything - she believes her husband to be good.

Famous Last Words comes out 2/25.

I was hesitant about starting this book because, in general, I didn't like police procedurals; however, while reading this, I was engaged and loving the depth of the story and it's characters. I loved the love story hidden within the action packed story of hostage negotiation and an unsolved siege that made a loving husband and father into a fugitive and murder. There were so many layers to this story and that kept me turning the pages. In the end, I'd say that some parts were predictable while others were surprising. Nevertheless, this novel is a great read and it had me engaged from start to finish. Solid ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really like McAllister's work, which pairs suspense with interesting family dynamics. This one explores an old but still relevant idea: how much do we really know the people we love? Literary agent Camila is returning from maternity leave the day her husband commits a horrible crime- taking 3 people hostage in an abandoned warehouse. After the fallout, the book jumps ahead. Camila has put her life back together when a mysterious manuscript arrives at her door with clues about the past. I don't want to say more and give it away! The book is full of twists and tension. Worth a read!

I love a good twisty mystery. The author had me very entertained and fooled on some plot points. This mystery is uniquely different from other mysteries, I have read. From the start, I was lured into the story so easily by Cam, the innocent young wife and mother who knows nothing about why her husband would hold 3 people hostage in some old warehouse in London. Then shoot 2 of them dead and disappear. Cam was likeable and interesting to follow through the story as she unravels this mystery. It takes a good while and the case goes cold. I never gave up hope that Cam would solve the mystery somehow.

But would her husband be alive? Go to jail? I had way more questions than this as the story unfolded. Late into the night on my Kindle, I couldn't stop turning pages. And I enjoyed the police procedural aspects of the story. Niall, the cop with a hunch, then its an educated hunch, then his life and career are on the line.

Eventually there was a powerful plot twist which I never saw coming. Then more twists as the mystery unravels. To me this is golden. I absolutely love it when a pivot changes everything.

Gillian McAllister has crafted quite a suspenseful novel which is thrilling and entertaining. It was un- put-down-able !

Another riveting book by Gillian McAllister! I sped read this one because I couldn't wait to see how it ended. It shows the faith that we have in those we love, no matter what things appear to be. Told between 2 main perspectives of dynamic characters, this was a twist and turn story that I couldn't put down.

Thank you to William Morrow and Gillian McAllister for my copy of this book. Its about new mother Camilla and her first day back from maternity leave. She is going to drop her daughter off at her first day of daycare and go back to her job as a literary agent, when breaking news comes out. There is a hostage situation developing in London where a man has taken prisoners. Then she gets a call from the police, and she fears the worst, that her husband Luke is held captive. But things are worse than she ever imagined, because Luke isn’t a hostage, he’s the gunman.

Thoughts: This book had such an intriguing premise and grabbed my attention from the start! I had no idea why anyone was doing what they were doing, and the book started off full of action and intrigue. Unfortunately it did slow down quite a bit, and even when it started to pick up, you had to suspend belief to get back into it. I thought the premise was amazing, but the details left me wanting more.

There was lots of action which was good and I did like characters in the story. I felt for Camilla, even though seven years was a long time to not be able to let go or move on. It also annoyed me how she made assumptions and treated Charlie badly, and then expected him to be there no matter what. Regardless, I did like the plot, and it was a fun story. 3-stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
5 STARS!
I devoured this audiobook in 24 hours! This was my first book by McAllister, and it certainly won’t be my last. The suspense is masterfully built, keeping me guessing until the very end with twists that I never saw coming. The story had me on the edge of my seat, unable to put it down for even a moment. McAllister's writing is addictive, and I can’t wait to dive into more of her work.
Pub day is Feb 25, 2025...add it to your TBR list now—you won’t regret it!

Gillian McAllister's latest novel is a quick and twisty thriller that will delight fans of her previous works. When new mother Camilla learns of her husband's involvement in a shocking crime, she knows in her gut that there must be some mistake. Luke then disappears without a trace aside from a short and cryptic note left behind, and for seven long years, Camilla must shoulder the weight of motherhood along with the never-ending cycle of grief. Knowing she should move on, she attempts to have Luke declared legally dead, but then mysterious events begin unfolding at an alarming rate. Told from both Camilla's point of view and that of the hostage negotiator on the day of Luke's disappearance, Famous Last Words pulls the reader/listener in from the very beginning. One thing that I really appreciated about this book is that McAllister's characters are so easy to empathize with. It often felt like I was reading about something that happened to a friend rather than a fictional character. Perfect for fans of domestic thrillers, but twistier than most! Thank you to William Morrow for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Cam's first day back at work as a literary agent after maternity leave doesn't exactly go the way she planned. But no one plans for the police to come looking for them because their husband is holding three hostages on the other side of town, do they? Luke is the last person she'd have expected to be in that situation, and her world is shaken to its foundations. The hostage negotiator insists on getting her to that warehouse, and what happens there has consequences that ripple outward for years.

This book had me in a grip! I was captured immediately by the POV characters who both have such rich depth and interesting vantages on what takes place. The author gives just enough away at a time to leave you right at the edge of the seat, mind buzzing with ideas of why, how, and what happened, and what might happen next.

Cam is a now-single mother having to make decisions for herself and her daughter she never expected to have to make. What does she tell her about her father? How do they move on from this?

Niall is the hostage negotiator navigating an impossible work/life balance. Something about this particular case bothers him, and he can't let it go until he finds out the truth of what happened in that warehouse.

I am so grateful I had the opportunity to read this book early as an arc reader through netgalley and the publisher. Gillian McAllister wrote my favorite thriller read of 2024 (Wrong Place Wrong Time), and this one has left just as impressive an impression as that one did. I couldn't put it down!

This was pretty good. Loved the story plot and the ending. I’ve read several books by this author. Every one of them have been super good!

Camilla is returning to work after maternity leave and it's also Polly's first day at nursery so Cam is understandably anxious, on top of all that husband Luke has done a disappearing act and all Cam can find is a very cryptic note left by him, what she doesn't know is very soon her life and the life she has known with her family will never be the same again. Just after she arrives at work she hears breaking news that a hostage situation is happening in London and then the police arrive to inform her that Luke is involved but, he's not a hostage, he's the gunman...

Famous Last Words is the latest thriller by McAllister and it hits the ground running on the day of the siege. Told in four parts and from a multi perspective, this is a very cleverly laid out plot which, in true author style, keeps you guessing throughout. With Cam and Niall, the hostage negotiator, brought together through this seemingly unbelievable act by the kindest and most laid back man that Cam has ever met, we see her life descend into absolute chaos and years down the line Niall is determined to get to the truth, whatever the cost to his career. This is a fast paced rollercoaster ride of a read that we've come to expect from McAllister and she delivers every time.

I'd like to thank William Morrow and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.