**Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for approving me to read and review an advance copy of this novel, due for release February 25, 2025.**

I loved this new psychological thriller from Gilliam McAllister! New mom Camilla is headed back to work after her maternity leave, but husband Luke isn't at home to see her and baby Polly off and wish Camilla luck. Only a partial cryptic note is left. Camilla is soon drawn into an unbelievable situation where she is helping hostage negotiator Niall try to talk her husband into giving himself up. How could this possibly be happening with lovely Luke who Camilla truly loves?

This book works because of great pacing, realistic and relatable portrayals of each character vs. overwritten caricatures, and the existence of a good secondary storyline involving Niall. Also, we like the characters we are reading about. I dislike reading books about awful people - who can get emotionally invested in those?

The ending was a tiny bit weaker for me, but author McAllister writes a complex storyline that doesn't feel gimmicky or rely on violence as a plot vehicle. Definitely a recommended book for any psychological thriller lovers out there. 5-stars.

The description of this book completely hooked me: a woman with a normal wife wakes up to find her husband is not home and that there is a hostage situation -- and he is the hostage taker.

The book draws you in from the start. It makes no sense that this happy go lucky guy would do such a thing, and the journey to find out what happened is a wild one. The book alternates between two perspectives - the wife and the hostage negotiator, both whose lives have been permanently altered on this day.

The second half of the book really picked up, and at that point I could no longer put it down. The story was woven together well, and is very clever. I am amazed that authors like Gillian McAllister can think of stories like this.

I haven't read the author's other books but I do own her last bestseller Wrong Place Wrong Time so I'm looking forward to reading that one soon.

Thank you William Morrow Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

this is prob one of my favorite books from Gillian!!!! absolutely so well done and sooo hard to put down from the start!!!

This is the first book I have read by Gillian McAllister although I do have Wrong Place Wrong Time on my shelf. I will definitely be jumping into that one after reading this. This was such a great thriller. Read it!

Gillian McAllister does it again! This book was so good - it follows the players involved in the siege as they try to solve the mystery of what happened that day and why. This book was so fast-paced and full of twists! Some were predictable, others not, which was a great mix.

This is Cam’s first day back at work since her maternity leave and her daughter’s first day in daycare. Cam is both excited and nervous. Luke, her husband, seems to have left early before Cam was even awake and left her without any support on this important day. There is breaking news of a hostage situation. The police arrive at Cam’s office and she fears that Luke is one of the hostages. Luke is not a hostage but he is the one holding the hostages at gun point. Niall is the hostage negotiator. The story is told from two perspectives…Cam’s and Niall’s. The story moves forward in time seven years and deals with the aftermath of that day. As with any good mystery there were surprises along the way. This is the first book I have read by Gillian McAllister but I will now go back and read her other novels and will look forward to future novels.

Another amazing book! I think this one wasn’t as obvious as wrong place wrong time. It had things that really stood out, but they hide other aspects so well! I really enjoyed the mystery, and I loved the love story that was in here as well.

3.5/5

Good read.
Lots of twists and turns. Once you think you know what is happening it turns. Sometimes, you could see the twists coming. I loved that her sister got her happy ending! The characters are incredibly likable and you root for Cam and Niall the whole book as they investigate things from different sides.

4.5 stars

Camilla (Cam) is dropping her infant daughter Polly off at daycare for the first time and returning to her job as a literary agent after months away for maternity leave. So, it seems particularly out of character for her husband Luke to not be there that morning to see them off.

In his place is a cryptic note. One side reads “If anything” but it’s been crossed out. The other side says “It’s been so lovely with you both. Lx.”

She sends him a message. No reply.

She sends another. Silence.

Cam has a pit in her stomach-a feeling of dread.

And, then everything happens at once as the Police are outside her office as BREAKING NEWS comes across the television screens. A hostage situation is developing in London and the Police have arrived to tell her Luke is involved—not as a hostage-but as the gunman.

And, the hostage negotiator, Niall, wants her at the scene.

This story unfolds in three parts. The pace of Act One, “The Siege” is LIGHTNING FAST and I felt every one of Cam’s emotions from shock to bewilderment as she tried to make sense of the situation.

The second part dragged just a tiny bit for me, as the narrative became very introspective as both Cam and Niall dealt with the fall out from the day that would change both of their lives forever.

And, in part three the pace picks up again as this very CLEVER story came together as we learn the TRUTH about what happened that day. Sure, some suspension of disbelief is necessary but the characters are so well drawn that this story feels plausible despite that.

This is definitely one of the better stories that I have read lately in the THRILLER/SUSPENSE category, and I have no hesitation in recommending it!

Look for it on February 27, 2025

Thank You to William Morrow for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

The plot and context of this book was immediately gripping to me. I loved the aspects of the unknown weaved throughout the book. It left me on my seat and guessing throughout most of the story. The concept of how well one knows their partner plays a central role throughout this narrative. I love that the reader is brought along the journey of trying to reconcile what is happening in real time against the beliefs and the idea that a woman knows the person she shares a life with. Is he alive? Did he do what they say he has done? I enjoyed this book immensely and have only one critique. I do wish the author would have thrown in a few more false clues that lead the reader to multiple conclusions. For example, a balanced potential that Luke was dead vs alive. I would have enjoyed being a bit more mislead and wrestling with the outcome. That said, the last 10% of the book had a great plot twist and tied the story up nicely.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

I love Gillian McAllister and this latest novel did not disappoint. Cam is the mother of a newborn, and on the same day her baby goes to daycare, she finds out that her husband is holding two people hostage. He disappears after the situation, and cut to 7 years later, when things start to rear up again from that time. McAllister is great at twists and turns, and I did not want to put this down. I thought the ending wrapped up a bit too quickly but otherwise this was a great read.

I absolutely loved Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister! You’re pulled right into Camilla’s world as she tries to balance being a new mom while discovering her husband might not be who she thought he was. I’ll admit, the beginning was a bit slow, but once it took off, it really kept me hooked. Camilla’s character was so well done—there were moments I felt every emotion with her. There’s plenty of action, and while I did guess the big twist, it didn’t take away from the story at all. This one’s a fantastic read—highly recommend!

I found this one thrilling and intriguing. The beginning felt a little slow, but once the pace picked up I struggled to put it down.

The first third of Famous Last Words is solid if unsurprising. Cam slowly realizes that her husband Luke is suspected of holding three people hostage in a London warehouse. Niall is the hostage negotiator trying to talk Luke down before anyone gets hurt. The siege unfolds … and then there’s a seven year time jump. The rest of the story shows us what happened to Cam and to Niall, both of whom were forever changed and haunted by the siege and all the things they still don’t understand about what happened that day.

I really enjoyed Wrong Place Wrong Time, and I was intrigued by the description of Famous Last Words, so I was excited to read it. But the story didn’t really work for me. The middle third of the story is very slow. There were mysteries about the siege that I thought were pretty obvious, and other mysteries that once explained didn’t make much sense. I liked Cam’s character and her dilemma, and I did not really care about the subplots of either Niall’s failed marriage or Libby’s infertility. I probably would have enjoyed the book more if we could have gone deeper and laser-focused on Cam. Overall, a bit disappointing.

I felt such a strong connection while reading this book because it really brought up the feelings of what I would do if I were in the situation our protagonist is in... My husband shares SO MANY of the characteristics of Camilla's husband, like... so many! Seeing this seemingly wonderful, caring, compassionate, joyful person do horrible things is a very scary situation.

Living the typical life of a new mom, Camilla is just getting back to work after maternity leave. She brings her baby to child care and then gets the worst news... her husband is a lone gunman with hostages. Only Camilla knows what he said in a note before he left...

How does that even compute? This book really sent me. This author has this really incredible ability to turn idyllic life scenarios and completely turn them on their head, making them into something terrifying.

All you get from the synopsis is the baseline of the book, so going into more detail would be a shame. This book was so good. There is so much more to it and I highly recommend it!!

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for the ARC of Famous Last Words! This book had me engaged at the start, but I did find it becoming more difficult to stick with in the middle. There were a lot of details that became a bit difficult to keep up with, and I had to reread a few sections again to make sure I understood the story correctly. Ultimately, the need to find answers kept me going, and I ended up really enjoying the book overall. This was my first book by Gillian McAllister, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries/thrillers with unexpected plot twists!

I wasn’t expected to enjoy this book but I couldn’t put it down. I did get a little confused towards the end with the different characters involved in the original crime and keeping the families straight, which is why is received 4 stars instead of 5

I could not put this book down! So many twists and turns! I wasn’t sure how I’d like the hostage element; but I ended up loving it! I absolutely loved Niall’s POV and his character as a whole.

This was a masterpiece in a solid thriller. This was paced so incredibly well - I never lost interest, I never felt bored. I absolutely LOVED the “acts” that this was broken up into, I found Cam to be SUCH a great main character who felt so real, raw and vulnerable to the reader.

McAllister really came into her own with this one - no notes, utter perfection!

Gillian McAllister’s latest thriller is quite out of the ordinary – in a good way. It begins in the home of Cam and Luke, who have a baby named Poppy. Cam is reluctantly going back to work after her maternity leave is up and her husband is nowhere to be found.

After she drops Poppy off, she goes to work and discovers that there is a hostage situation at Luke’s office – and it turns out that he is the hostage-taker. None of this makes any sense. He’s never been in trouble with the law, and she can’t reconcile the man she knows with this act.

Enter the hostage negotiator, Niall. I actually liked his POV best. His obsession with his job has cost him his marriage, and he isn’t confident that he knows how to successfully talk Luke into giving up. He wasn’t like John Wayne coming in with testosterone and rifles.

Cam’s POV was a little drawn out as she struggled with the impending loss of her husband, knowing he was either going to die or go to jail for a long time. As we skip forward seven years, she’s still struggling with the same issues. I was let down by that.

The time jump was accomplished pretty well, but anything else about it would be a spoiler and I try not to do that. I was a little disappointed in the ending, to be honest. It was a little neat for such an untidy story. But I enjoyed the book and appreciate the fact that it is like no other thriller I’ve read.