4.5 Stars--Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister is a gripping and emotionally charged thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Following the story of Camilla unfolds with twists and turns that are as heartbreaking as they are captivating, pulling you deeper into a world of secrets and suspense. Each chapter leaves you craving more wondering what is Luke's story?, with its compelling characters and shocking revelations. McAllister masterfully crafts a narrative that is both thrilling and poignant, making this book a must-read for fans of fast-paced, emotional storytelling. I have never rooted for a character more to have a happy ending.

This book gave me everything that I love about her books. It was tense, frustrating in a good way, and in the end hopeful.

This was such a fun thriller. Twisty enough to keep me engaged through the end. The characters were the right mix of likeable and maybe a little not on the straight and narrow that a good thriller requires. I really liked this book. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the review copy. This is my favorite thriller so far this year. I had never read a Gillian McAllister novel before, but I've added more to my list after this one.

Gillian knocked it out of the park with this book! Emilia Fox did also as the narrator! 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....

Overall great read. Lots of information and lots of back and forth from past to present.

The story itself was great and suspenseful. Lots of wondering how it would end.

It definitely leads you to believe early on that this is a set up and the husband is still alive. But lots of missing pieces. So you’re still guessing till the end.


Thanks NetGalley for the copy.

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.

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.

Cam wakes up one morning and when she starts to take her daughter to daycare she finds a mysterious note from her husband Luke. Later that day the police inform her Luke is involved in a hostage situation - and he is the perpetrator.

This book was so fun to read and had so many twists and turns. I enjoyed being along for the ride and really liked Cam as a main character.

The audiobook was exceptional. The narrator did such a good job and was very pleasant to listen to.

Tropes:
* Twists and turns
* Hostage situation
* Multiple POV
* Cryptic Note
* Missing Person

Gillian McAllister is a masterful storyteller, and this captivating, twisted novel shows just that. When Camilla wakes up and her husband is gone, she hears about a developing hostage situation involving her husband. What Camilla "Cam" is even more shocked to learn is that her husband, Luke, isn't a hostage but the hostage taker. This was a very involved plot with so many unexpected twists! The narrator of the audio was great! This did start to drag a little for me, and got to be a little long, but was definitely worth it!

Camilla wakes up on the morning she returns to work after 9 months of maternity leave to find her husband, Luke, gone. He leaves a note, but isn’t answering any calls or texts. Perplexed, Cam gets her and her daughter ready and renters the world as a literary agent. At work she hears about a hostage situation taking place in a warehouse nearby. When police officers arrive to question her, Can immediately fears for Luke’s safety. Except, to her complete shock, they tell her that Luke is the gunman.

Fast forward seven years and Cam is still living in a limbo of sorts, unable to let go of what happened in that warehouse and forever questioning why. She is attempting a new relationship, but can’t forget how happy she and Luke were and how impossible this new reality seems. But Cam isn’t the only one who can’t move past that fateful day. Niall, the hostage negotiator, has also been haunted by the events and hasn’t stopped looking for explanations. As the two discover new information they start to think that Luke might actually be alive and perhaps everything they assumed was wrong.

Famous Last Words is a stellar slow burn thriller. It isn’t constant twists and turns and shock and awe, it’s well constructed, slowly unspooling tension. The character development is fantastic, you get to know Cam and Niall so well while knowing very little about Luke, which I thought was calculated and fascinating. This book has atmosphere for days and will hook you immediately. Definitely a must read for anyone who enjoys thrillers and character driven plot.

I'm a fan of Gillian McAllister's work, so I was excited to have the opportunity to review this ARC in audiobook format. I ended up binge listening to it in only a day, and it definitely did not disappoint! The book starts off with a hostage situation, but deep down this is a love story about a woman who simply could not believe the love of her life could be capable of such a heinous crime.

Cam is a sympathetic MC, and I also appreciated the character growth of hostage negotiator Niles. I found myself rooting for both of these characters throughout the story, and was satisfied with how McAllister was able to weave together the present situation with the backstory to provide a satisfying ending.

Would highly recommend this if you've read McAllister before and liked her writing style, and would urge anyone who likes cleverly executed plots to give it a try.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the chance to review this ALC and provide an honest review!

So, this setup is a really exciting premise- Cam starts her day (a stressful day already as it's her first day back after maternity leave and dropping her daughter off at nursery is STRESSFUL) with her husband gone, having left just a note, and before too long, she learns that her husband is in the middle of a hostage situation- no, strike that. He appears to be the hostage taker. So the first third or so (Part I) does feel like a thriller, as we are taking each piece of information in while this unfolds. We meet a hostage negotiator, Neill, and his group of investigators trying to quickly bring this hostage situation to a halt.
And for a while after? ehhhh, the mystery/thrill of it kind of fell flat for me. The middle 1/3-1/2 was more of a romantic mystery if at all, but it was a bit slowly paced, and there were two big reveals that felt pretty obvious to everyone but Cam herself, who narrates half of it. What I *did* like about the second half or more of the book is how it almost turns into more of a romance and journey of growth for Cam- and even somewhat for Neill. Anyway, I thought it was an interesting story and was woven together really nicely, but many of the twists just felt obvious, so the story, fallign a bit flat, gets a 3/5 from me.
But, as an added bonus, I had the benefit of getting to enjoy this story as an audiobook. The narrator (Emilia Fox) was fantastic- often, I don't love when there are multiple POVs written but only one narrator, but this woman was able to bring a lot of emotion and depth to each perspective. I think her pacing was great, both with narrative sections and with dialogue scenes. Even at times when I felt the story was dipping in pacing, I held on in part because of Emilia's emotional narration. Her hope and perseverance with Camila, even when she feels so lost with everything Luke is/was accused of doing.
Honestly, Emilia's narration adds a level to this story, so I'm rounding up to a 4/5, especially as this review is primarily for the audiobook, not just the story itself. If you are someone who wants a romantic mystery and doesn't mind if isn't as thrilling/fast paced, and want an audiobook? this is for you. You'll love this narrator!
I want to say a huge thank you to Harper Audio and William Morrow for the Advanced Listener Copy, and this was my honest review.

Happy pub week to Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister! Wrong Place, Wrong Time is one of my favorite thrillers of all time, so I’m always excited to have the opportunity to read something else by the author. I’m so grateful to @williammorrowbooks for a e-arc and to HarperAudio (@harpercollins) for an ALC of this one. It comes out tomorrow!

On the day new mom, Camilla is supposed to go back to her job as a literary agent after maternity leave, her life changes forever. Her sweet, easygoing ghostwriter husband Luke is involved in an armed hostage situation and the authorities tell Camilla Luke is the one holding the gun.
That’s the set up and I don’t really want to say anything else about the book. It’s kind of a hard one to talk about without giving away plot points. What I will say is that I think McAllister excels at writing love stories masked as thrillers. Which is not to say this is a romance. It isn’t. There are plenty of twists and turns—some I saw coming, some I didn’t. But the beating heart of the novel is Camilla’s love for Luke and her quest to figure out if she was wrong about the man she fell in love with.

I loved the characters and I loved the writing. McAllister really has a way of creating characters that stick with me long after I finish the book and I’m not sure any thriller author creates a sense of yearning in me quite the way she does. It didn’t surprise me to see that Emily Henry had written a blurb for this book because, even though their books are completely different genres, they are both masters of that yearning element. In terms of plot, there were a lot of moving parts and I’m not sure I believed all of them. But I will absolutely remember Camilla and Luke.

Emilia Fox narrates the audiobook for this one, and I always love listening to books set in England. The narration was wonderful and it immediately grounded me in the story. I would definitely recommend the audiobook!

Camilla wakes up following her last day of maternity leave and realizes her husband isn't home, only leaving her a cryptic note. Though odd, Camilla continues on with her busy day. But her life drastically changes later in the day when her husband is identified as the gunman in an active hostage situation. From there, the book follows Camilla dealing with the backlash of the event and trying to figure out what really happened that day.

The book started out really good and captured my attention. Unfortunately, around mid-way through or so, it became a bit dull. Towards the end, it became a bit predictable. I hate to say it even dragged a little bit. I tend to enjoy books that have more surprising twists at the end. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thanks Harper Audio Adult, NetGalley, and Gillian McAllister, for the eARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! The twists in this were so unexpected! I had such a good time trying to figure out where this was going and how it would end, but I was so very wrong! The narrator was also so talented, and I'd love to listen to more books by them. Thank you so much to NetGalley and to the publisher for my audio ARC!!

There were times when I loved this book and then times when I really just started to zone out because it was just bland. The times I enjoyed, were when Cam was first finding out what was happening with the hostage situation, the big resolution of that situation, and then Niall, the hostage negotiator doing his best to get everyone out of the situation alive, and then getting involved in the case again years later. The thing that I did not enjoy, was just Cam and her personality and how one-dimensional she was, while also being repetitive in her "my husband did it, but didn't actually do it even though he was visible doing it on camera and then disappeared for years" mindset.

The first half of the book was way more interesting than the second half as well. During the hostage situation, I was constantly on edge, even though I was annoyed with Cam, I wanted to keep paying attention during this part of the book. However, in the second half of the book, we just end up jumping forward in time, a few years, while also skipping over a lot of the immediate fall-out and consequences of what happened. I just feel like that part could have been delved into a bit more, and shortening the last part of the book. It just fell flat after the hostage situation and I was disappointed in that.

Thank you to Gillian McAllister, HarperAudio, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

This is a smart, twisty, and suspenseful thriller. The main character is easy to root for and empathize with. I liked the multiple perspectives and the depth the characters had. The story was skillfully told, it definitely kept me guessing and turning pages trying to figure out the mystery. I'll be recommending it.

Gillian McAllister is one of my must-read authors, but Famous Last Words is without a doubt my favorite yet. No spoilers with this review, but the way that Luke communicated with Cam is pure genius. Not only did I love that aspect, but also the fact that even though you can watch something on video, can witness it with your own eyes, everything isn’t always as it seems. I love this well-crafted twisty thriller.

Wow, what a great read it had everything: wonderful characters, lots of plot twists and it was about the book world, Cannot give it any more praise. Another great read from Gilliam McAllister!

Book Review: Famous Last Words
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 out of 5 stars)

Famous Last Words is a thrilling ride that kept me guessing until the end. I’ll admit, I didn’t quite see the puzzle pieces coming together the way they did, and that twist was brilliantly executed. The author masterfully weaves a fast-paced narrative that keeps you on your toes, making it hard to put down.

The story’s suspenseful atmosphere and clever plotting make it a standout in the thriller genre. If you’re looking for a captivating read with unexpected turns, this one is definitely worth picking up.