This was a classic Gillian McAllister thriller, complete with plenty of twists and multiple timelines and viewpoints. The night before she is set to return from maternity leave, Camilla's husband is a gunman in a hostage situation, and disappears before the police can apprehend him. Although it was long-winded at times and could have used some additional tightening up of dialogue, overall it was a really unique thriller with a twist I didn't see coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Camellia is going back to work after being on maternity leave, after dropping her daughter at daycare she arrives at her office. Soon afterwards to her surprise the police are there wanting to talk to her. At first when they tell her there is a hostage situation , she assumes her husband is being held hostage, but no they tell he is the one holding others hostage. This was a fast paced thriller and very well written, withs lots of twists. Thank you Netgalley for this arc.

2.75 rounded up

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-arc of this book.

Unfortunately, this is my first book of Gillian McAlister's, and it was not a big hit for me, even though the premise of the book sounded great. The book starts out pretty interesting when it comes to finding out about the main character's husband and during the hostage situation, but for the majority of the rest of the book it is very slow and focused on the different characters instead of completely advancing the plot throwing in extraneous information just as filler.

I found my mind wandering while reading it, especially during the negotiator's narration, as it was very drawn out, and I couldn't stand the character. The story also seems to focus on Cam and her love for her husband throughout the majority of the middle of the book taking you away from the thrilling elements of the book and making it seem more like a forlorn romance.

By the time I got to the ending, I was just ready to find out what was going on and be done with it. I did not guess the ending, so that was at least a plus so I could be somewhat surprised, though I can see how it may be predictable to some. This will not deter me from reading the author's other work, and if you are a fan, still read it as you may like it, but it could have been better.

It is June 21st, the longest day of the year, and new mother Camilla’s life is about to change forever. After months of maternity leave, she will drop her infant daughter off at daycare for the first time and return to her job as a literary agent. Finally. But, when she wakes, her husband Luke isn’t there, and in his place is a cryptic note.

Then it starts. Breaking news: there's a hostage situation developing in London. The police arrive, and tell her Luke is involved. But he isn't a hostage. Her husband - doting father, eternal optimist - is the gunman. What she does next is crucial. Because only she knows what the note he left behind that morning says..

This was so good! The beginning starts out with a bang. While there's a slowdown in the middle, it all gets pulled together in a brilliant way at the end as the mystery builds. The twists and turns I didn't see coming were phenomenal. I loved every bit of this book! 4.5⭐

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

What if. What we do if a loved one was in a horrible tragedy? What if that person was guilty? Questions…no answers…this talented author has written a suspenseful novel that is a page turner. A new mother…secrets…red herrings…a father…a baby…recipe for this book that is difficult to put down. Thanks Netgalley.

Famous Last Words is the third book by Gillian McAllister and I can say that I did not enjoy this book much like I did her other mysteries. Unlike her prior books, the latest story lacks any suspense but does share meandering dialogue and no character whatsoever with the protagonist feeling lifeless throughout and the biggest crime of all: an uninteresting mystery.

A little bit long-winded, but I enjoyed this thriller! I felt like I was just barely a step ahead of where the book was leading which works just fine for me in a thriller.

A woman ending maternity leave and about to reenter the workforce finds out her husband is the gunman in a hostage situation. Her husband, who is also a loving father, has left her a weird note. What ensues are twists and a great plot with fantastic character development. I was so so so wrong on all of my assumptions. Even so I loved this book and I really love when an author keeps me guessing until the end. That's the ride I'm interested in and Gillian McAllister delivered! Thank you to William Morrow and Net Galley for the advanced copy. It is much appreciated!

I hate saying this but I feel like I have to so often with thrillers/mysteries...this had so much potential.

What do you do when your husband ends up holding people hostage at gunpoint?? I mean, come on. That's so interesting and fun and chaotic and a great premise for a book! But this fell so flat for me.

I think what really started me finding this book quite "meh" was the beginning. How this book started. The start of this story is very slow, especially for what I feel like a thriller should be. You need to hook me right away with a thriller, your premise alone won't keep me around. I need to be on the edge of my seat, needing to know what's going to happen next THE ENTIRE TIME. And this book just didn't do that. It was quite "okay."

I also found some characters to be quite annoying at times and I really didn't want some of their POVs for that reason.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

I loved it! Gillian McAllister is now an automatic read for me! This was so twisty, anytime I thought I knew what was going to happen, it quickly came apparent that I in fact did not see the twist at all! So good!

I really enjoyed this new book from Gillian McAllister. It was different from any book I’ve ever read. It is about a small family whose husband goes and fires an unthinkable thing. It’s completely out of character for him and his wife can’t figure out how it could possibly be true.

The story slowly comes together and builds to an exciting ending. This story is about not giving up, trusting your gut, and believing in something even when others doubt you. This was shown is the three different marriages in the book.

The book was well written. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister is a fun ride.

We begin the story by jumping straight into the action as Camilla (Cam) Deschamps takes her infant daughter for her first day at daycare and waits for her husband, Luke, to join her as he had planned. He doesn’t show up, call, or text. Just as her worry and dread hit full tilt boogie, the police arrive at Cam’s workplace to tell her that Luke is embroiled in a hostage crisis, and he is holding three people at gunpoint.

This book starts at a rapid clip and keeps at that pace for the first third before going into more of a dual-character study that bounces between the lives of Cam and her daughter, Polly, and the hostage negotiator, Niall, who can’t get this case out of his head, even as it destroys his personal life.

The characters here are portrayed in a way that lets you get to know them and care about what happens. Sure, there are major decisions that Cam makes that I would not have made in a million years, but at least I cared about her as she made them.

This is a thriller, it’s also a mystery that had me guessing until the end, but it is also a love story. How much do you really know those you love? How deeply can you believe in someone even if every single thing is telling you and showing you that you are wrong?

Some points in that love story go a little into sappy land or maybe I am jaded. Lol! All in all this book was good and I will check out more by this author.

4.5 rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Marrow for the advanced copy to read and review.

This is another good book by Gillian McAllister. It's an intense thriller about Cam whose husband holds three people hostage. How can this be happening? Her husband Luke is a good man, and they just welcomed a baby girl, Polly, 9 months ago. Riall, the hostage negotiator does not believe the shooter will shoot. He almost loses his job after this. Cam and Riall are two likeable people who meet under bad circumstances.

The second part of the book takes place seven years after the shootings. Both characters are trying to move on. Cam's husband is missing but she still loves him and just doesn't believe he could have done this. She finds out some details about Luke's life that she didn't know about. She does some searching on her own while at the same time Niall is also looking into the shootings even though his bosses want him to give it up.

The third part of the book is when more is revealed. I found the main characters were very real. You are rooting for them the whole time. I did think the final reveal was a little rushed. I really liked this book, and I would recommend it to anyone that likes to have a fast-moving thriller that makes them think.

I want to thank NetGalley and William Morrow for my early Arc ebook.

I was so excited when I received "Famous Last Words" and the book did not disappoint. I love Gillian McAllister's way of creating characters I care about right away. I also love how I couldn't put the book down. There was enough intrigue early on to keep me hooked throughout the story. I particularly liked the ending and how Luke wrote clues for Cam within his book. Thank you for the ARC - I will definitely recommend it to others.

After loving 2 of her other books I was super excited to get this "Thriller" unfortunatley, i did not enjoy it at all. 10% in and I could not have cared less about the MC. 20% in, I was looking at my kindle like ugh. when is this going to get better. 30% in I was forcing myself to read. 40% i was forcing myself to care. 50% I was calling it quits. Too slow and draggy.

I was so excited for this book, I love anything Gillian McAllister touches. Imagine one morning you wake up and your husband leaves a cryptic note and is gone? Fast forward to a few hours later and you find out he is holding hostages?! That is what happened to Camilla and her life will quickly change. I do not want to give anything away, but you will not be able to put this book down. Four stars because I felt it dragged a bit and to be honest, a bit unrealistic. Lots of twists and turns in this one!

I really enjoyed this book! I found it to be a fun, easy read! Although I suspected there was more to the story right away and also saw one of the plot twists coming I was totally hooked by page one and found myself unable to put it down. As a mother of 4 I could relate to the struggles of the new parents and also found my heart breaking for the characters who were encountering struggles, which was nearly everyone! Loved that there was a happy ending for several of the main characters. I do not feel like that happens much anymore and I am always happy when it does. I would definitely recommend this book to friends!

4/5 ⭐️s
Coming February 2025! Famous Last Words centers around a hostage situation, mostly focusing on the aftermath of the people directly and indirectly involved. I really loved the way the author painted these characters, especially Cam and Libby. Good amount of unexpected twists! The story kept my attention and I just wanted to know what the heck happened!! Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my review!

4.5 glorious stars.

I love mystery/thrillers. They are what got me back into reading about 10 years ago. However, I don’t read a lot of them anymore because they have become pretty predictable. This one was not predictable. Sure, I figured out some things. I had nigglings about certain characters and plot points and what their significance may be to the story, but I couldn’t put it all together.

Luke, calm and loved husband and father, wakes up early one morning and takes 3 people hostage. No one knows why. It makes no sense. The book is told from the perspective of his wife, Cam, and the hostage negotiator, Niall. The book also features a 7-year time jump.

This book was FUN to read. So fun. The first act had my adrenaline pumping it was written so well. While the second act was slower, all the pieces starting coming together and questions began to get answered. I felt like a detective trying to piece together things that I knew were important but just couldn’t quite figure out how they were connected.

The solution is satisfying. It’s not some crazy solution for a surprise factor. It makes sense and it was great ride to get there. I highly recommend this book for fans of the mystery/thriller genre. I will also start exploring Gillian McAllister’s backlist because this is the second book I’ve read from her, and I think she’s a bit of a genius!

I will post content about this book on my IG as we approach the release date: instagram.com/kraftykatreads.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister is a gripping and emotionally charged thriller that keeps readers on edge until the final page. McAllister masterfully weaves together suspense, moral dilemmas, and complex character dynamics, creating a story that is as thought-provoking as it is thrilling. The twists are perfectly timed, and the narrative's emotional depth adds layers to the already compelling plot. While a few minor details could have been explored further, the book’s pacing, tension, and poignant exploration of human relationships make it an outstanding read. A must for fans of psychological thrillers with heart.