This book was so good! I woke up multiple times in the middle of the night to read just a little more because I couldn’t wait to see what happened. When husband and new dad Luke does the unthinkable, his wife Cam and the hostage negotiator Niall are left to pick up the pieces. The story alternates between their POV and over 3 parts, spanning multiple years.

The main characters are just so real and believable. From Cam’s grief about missing Luke tied into the disbelief that he could’ve done what it looks like he did; to Niall, who feels like he messed everything up with both his job and his marriage on the same day, I felt deeply for both of them. Cam’s relationships with her husband as well as her daughter and sister gave me a deep understanding of her character without drawing away from the overarching story. The mystery was sound, with plenty of twists and turns that, while often surprising me, made complete sense when explained. I loved that the book spanned a period of time and we could see how the characters developed over the passage of time. I thought the end of the book was great; it managed to be both poignant and hopeful at the same time.

Overall, I loved this story and will miss these characters as I move on to the next book. Would recommend for those who like domestic suspense as well as mysteries. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very twisty suspenseful mystery thriller that I couldn’t put down! I loved her book Wrong Place Wrong Time. But I have to say I think I like Famous Last Words better. It had me guessing and trying to figure it out and then the story changed and I had it all wrong. Love these types of novels. I was fully engaged the whole time.

It’s June 21st, Camilla Deshamps first day back to work after maternity leave and the day her life will change forever. She awakens and her husband, Luke, is not there to help her get their baby, Polly, ready for daycare. She finds a cryptic note from Luke that she cannot figure out what it means. Then the breaking news of a hostage situation is developing in London. The police show up at her work to inform her Luke is involved and is holding three hostages at gun point.

The hostage negotiator Niall, wants Camilla at the scene

This story is in three parts. I really felt for Camilla and how hard to grasp that her husband she knows so well is holding people at gun point. He doesn’t even own a gun she thinks or even knows how to shoot a gun. Her emotions of shock to bewilderment as she tried to make sense of what is happening. She wants answers to understand the situation and so does Niall.

I highly recommend this book for a great suspenseful thriller.

Thank you to William Morrrow and NetGalley for providing this digital review copy of an unputdownable thriller in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I read and loved this author's previous two books so I was excited to read this one. And while this one is also a mystery, it's a much slower burn than the other two. And yet I still loved it.

Cam's husband takes three people hostage, kills two of them and disappears. Then, seven years pass. And you're like WHAT? Seven years. Hostages are never identified. Her husband is never caught. Cam and the hostage negotiator both cannot move on and this book alternates between the two.

I loved McAllister's writing. I loved the intrigue of the story. Can't wait to read more of McAllister.


with gratitude NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to preview this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

This domestic thriller follows Cam, the wife of a man who inexplicably takes hostages one random morning, and Niall, the hostage negotiator assigned to the case. The events of that day deeply impact both of their lives, and the story resumes several years later, with both characters still affected by the past.

The plot is filled with many twists and turns. Will love prevail? Is Cam's husband truly a bad guy? Stay tuned to find out.

Overall, the story held my interest, and I enjoyed spending time with these characters and their families.

What a great book that will grab you right from the start and takes you on a wild ride!

Camillia goes back to work after nine months of maternity leave and doesn't even make it to lunch before her world is turned upside down. Not only is her husband involved in a hostage situation, he is apparently the gunman! After the hostage negotiator fails to prevent the worst, Luke disappears and no one can find him.

Fast forward to years later and Camillia is still trying to put her life back together but odd things start to happen and she wonders.....is Luke still alive or is someone messing with her. There are multiple twists and turns as this action packed thriller moves through the chapters. I promise you are not going to be able to put this book down.

Gillian McAllister does it again and shows readers why she is such a talented author. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I think I love Gillian McAllister's thrillers so much because they consistently transcend the genre and its expectations. It's not just about mystery or suspense, there's always underlying themes related to family dynamics, relationships, identity, etc. This book especially appealed to me because there was a unique love for fiction and literature within every chapter and character, and that theme was a foundation to the story itself. Having such a rich book with plot, theme, and other ideas, it's impossible not to fall deep inside and become hooked.
I also really enjoyed the structure of this novel, and the parts it was separated into. It gave me fun waves of shock and surprise to see time pass and experience the different perspectives -- that is another aspect of her novels I adore. This structure coupled with everything else incredible about this novel made it an immensely enjoyable experience. It started slow and mysterious, escalated quickly into extreme surprise and shock, and continued down a suspenseful and steady path until it finished.
I loved the ending because it was an imperfect close to the characters' lives, rather than a form of happily ever after. Down to the last few paragraphs, the ending was just as complicated and hard to distill as all the other relationships and phases of character journeys earlier in the novel.
To portray humanity, relationships, motherhood, love, fiction, and murder, of course, all so well and all simultaneously is a shocking skill and creates a masterpiece of fiction.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers at William Morrow for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

WOW!!!!! What a ride!!!!!! Gillian McAllister has done it again!!!!! Wrong Place Wrong Time is still a top favorite of mine, and Famous Last Words is right here with it! The twists and turns and little bombs she drops at the end of chapters ... AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

Cam wakes up to what she thinks is a normal day with her daughter, but she doesn't know where her husband is. It's her first day back at work and to take Polly to daycare. She is very frustrated with him because he knew how hard this day was going to be for her, but he isn't answering her texts or calls. She makes it to work and is getting settled in again when some unexpected visitors arrive and turn her world upside down. That's all you need to know about this book. Just jump right in from there.

I highly recommend reading this book over listening to the audiobook. There were so many times I had to go back and re-read because of the little twists she adds. I also highly recommend you set aside time to read. This isn't a book to read a chapter here and a chapter there. You won't get the same experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for sending me this digital review copy of Famous Last Words, an absolutely fabulous book by Gillian McAllister. When people ask me for thriller recommendations, this will hands down be one that I tell them to read.

Loved Gillian McAllister's first novel Wrong Place Wrong Time, so I was excited to read her upcoming release. Unfortunately the pacing fell short and I didn't particularly care for the characters. Struggled to finish. Thank you NetGalley for this arc

Gillian McAllister always delivers. Camilla and Luke are new parents to Poppy. On the morning that Poppy is to start daycare, Luke promised that he'd be there to help ease the agony. That morning, she wakes up and discovers that Luke has already gone to work but has left a cryptic note behind. She quickly realizes that he's in a hostage situation, but he's not a hostage, he's the one holding everyone hostage. Camilla is grappling, trying to figure out what's going on. She needs to piece things together and figure out what's going on, as she works with Niall, the hostage negotiator. After these events, the story continues with the aftermath of hostage situation.

The character development in this book is unremarkable. I couldn't put this book down. Every time that I thought I had the book figured out, it'd take another turn. This book alternates between Niall's and Camilla's pov.

A big thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for this arc in exchange for my honest review

A suspenseful and original story that had me hooked, with great characters that I actually cared about.

Famous Last Words is a great twisty read and I never knew what to trust. What sets this book apart is its ability to keep readers guessing. Every new revelation adds a new wrinkle to the story, creating a sense of urgency that made it nearly impossible for me to put the book down. For fans of twisty, character-driven mysteries, this book is a must-read. It’s not just a story about solving a horrible crime—it’s a deep exploration of trust, redemption, and the lengths we will go to uncover the truth. If you’re looking for a novel that will keep you up all night, this one delivers in every way!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Hardcover for this advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Camilla heads back to work after maternity leave. Before she can get there she gets downstairs and her husband Luke is gone. A half finished note is left from him. Later she learns that Luke is caught up in a hostage situation where he is actually the gunman. Camilla's once normal life is turned on its head and she is forced to take a hard look as all she thought and believed about life, her marriage, and the world.

The book's premise was very promising, and the first half was engaging. However, the second half fell flat. The beginning drew me in quickly, as it revolved around a husband who went missing and was later discovered to be a perpetrator holding three hostages. In contrast, the second half lacked the same excitement, and I forced myself to the end. It felt more like a love letter to the husband rather than a continuation of the suspense established in the first half. This book was a miss, but I would read more of the author's books in the future

Thank you to NetGallery and to William Morrow for giving me a copy.

I love nothing more than a British thriller, and Gillian McAllister reliably delivers just that. I went into this book completely blind, which I recommend. I found the suspense and pace of the beginning to be captivating and had me along for the ride. Admittedly there were aspects about the way this story panned out that felt a little over the top to me. Still, there were some very clever breadcrumbs, which I enjoyed getting pieced together.

I received an ARC of this book from William Morrow via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. I LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS BOOK! Easily one of my favorites this year. It grabbed me from basically the first sentence, and I hated having to put it down. Ms. McAllister has a tremendous gift with words, which she gave to all her author characters. I kept wondering if some of the characters' opinions/ points-of-view with respect to books and publishing were a sort of subtle commentary on the author's own feelings. I was imagining her chuckling as she wrote.

I was so afraid the conclusion would let me down, because the entire book was so amazing, but I was thrilled to see it didn't. It made perfect sense.

All the characters are so well-developed and detailed. I loved Camilla & Luke's inside jokes/vocab and also Viv's stray animals.

I was honestly sad when I finished this and feel sorry for my next book which is highly unlikely to live up to this one!

Thank you so much, NetGalley! Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I'm in the minority here, so don't take my word for it, give it a try. For me, it was very slow paced and repetitive. nothing really happened until around 90 percent into the book. I will try another book by this author

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister. Hostage, Love and starting over.

I rated this 4 stars.

June 21st, the longest day of the year and Camilla’s first day back to work after maternity leave. Camilla readies herself and her daughter, Polly, for the day and hoping to receive help from her husband, Luke, but he has already left the house. Did he kiss her goodbye…? Leaving the house Camilla finds a note from Luke with “It’s been lovely with you both”, odd but she puts it to the back of her mind and thinks about her first day back. Camilla is a book editor and Luke is a ghost writer.

Camilla still hasn’t heard back from Luke, now there is a hostage situation on the news and suddenly the police are looking for her. They are there to inform her that he is apart of the hostage situation but not a victim, he’s the gunman.

Gillian did a wonderful job writing a mystery thriller with twists and turns but also a little bit of a love story. Was a great read that kept me interested will definitely recommend this to others.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Starts off with a bang... and then the pace gets tedious. When a wife discovers that her husband has taken several hostages in a warehouse, she questions EVERYTHING she's ever known about him. The note he left, the recent break-in at their house, even the miles he drove. We learn the backstory of the hostage negotiator's relationship, the sister's fertility struggles, a little too much distraction and then the story jumps forward in time. The narrative drags, gets a bit convoluted, and I found myself pushing through just to find out the ending. Overall, it was a decent thriller and the premise is excellent. Not as good as Wrong Place, Wrong Time.

What a story. Honestly in the first part of the book I had no idea where it was going. Although it was a bit slow in the middle, the connections that come out of this book were so good. It really keeps you guessing and the ending will have you on the edge of your seat. My only critique is that it needed to be a bit faster, to really keep a reader hooked but otherwise I really enjoyed it.

"All along, she was looking for the heroes and the villains, and she had them the wrong way around. At the heart of this mystery was a book that solved everything for her, the way they always do. A story that made sense of the chaos of life."

I'm absolutely blown away by this book! From the very first page, I was hooked. This is one of the most gripping thrillers I’ve read in a long time! The pacing is fast, the tension is high, and the stakes couldn’t be more intense.

What I loved most is how the story is told from two timelines and multiple perspectives—Camilla’s frantic journey to understand what’s happening to her husband and Niall, the police negotiator who’s dealing with the crisis. The shifting viewpoints really pulled me in, making it impossible to put the book down.

Gillian's writing is phenomenal, effortlessly building suspense while forcing you to reflect on how well we really know the people closest to us. This book keeps you guessing, offering twists and surprises that’ll leave your jaw on the floor.

I devoured this in one sitting and can’t recommend it enough. If you’re a fan of thrillers with family drama, police procedures, and jaw-dropping twists, this is a MUST-read! It’s binge-worthy, heart-pounding, and truly unforgettable!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.