FAMOUS LAST WORDS by Gillian McAllister

Thank you @harperaudio for my #gifted copy

Listening to Famous Last Words felt like putting together a complicated puzzle, with each chapter adding a new piece. Just when I thought I had the full picture, McAllister flipped everything upside down! This slow-burn psychological thriller follows Camilla, a woman whose husband vanishes, only for her to discover he’s the gunman in a shocking hostage situation. As she searches for answers, the truth unravels in unexpected ways.

The full-cast audiobook narration was engaging and packed with emotion. I was especially impressed with narrator Emilia Fox, who perfectly captured Camilla’s growing desperation. The structure of the story, with its layered reveals, worked so well in audio format!

While this one doesn't quite compare to McAllister's debut Wrong Place, Wrong Time (which remains one of my all-time favorite thrillers), it was still an intelligent, intricately-plotted, and surprisingly touching story. Well worth the read!

📌 Out now!

Gillian Mcallister is one of our new queens of mystery and I'm here for it. She has weaved another tale of mystery and suspense that will leave readers on the edge of their seat.

Thanks to HarperAudio & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I started off with the digital ARC but couldn't get into it; switched to the audio and Emilia Fox really made the book come alive for me (I had heard her in another performance that was also excellent). She imbues Cam (who is a teensy bit annoying) with emotional relatability.

The plot has some holes and moments where you think, "This could never happen," but I tend to flick those thoughts away and try not to figure out the twist. It's a solid idea, but it does get a little bogged down and repetitive in the middle. In the 3rd act, we're back on track and things get exciting again.

Highlighting the interior life of the hostage negotiator was a choice. It was interesting as well as necessary to advance the plot, but I did not really care about his broken relationship with his wife. I think that was meant to be a mirror to the relationship between Cam and Luke (how Niall would feel if he were in their situation is repeated frequently), but we don't go into enough depth (or maybe their situation is just kinda boring ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) for me to care.

Overall, I enjoyed the book more than I expected to, and would read more by this author, especially with Emilia Fox narrating. 3.5 stars rounded up

This was one of the most exciting audio books I've read in a long time. The narrator helped the story as well. The premise was original and characters were well developed, keeping the reader/listener engaged. Loved it.

I have enjoyed all of the McAllister books I have read and this is no exception. The mid book time jump threw me for a loop a bit, but the pacing picked back up in no time. The narrator was spot on! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Woah this book was a wild ride!! It was full of twists and turns I didn’t see coming (even though I was guessing one of the twists). It was SO good. The narration was on point!!

Camilla's maternity leave is over and she has to go back to work, leaving her 9 month old at daycare. Luke, her husband, is already gone having left an odd short note, saying "It's been so lovely with you both," and so Camilla heads off solo to drop the baby at the center and head into her job as book editor/agent. Someone has the news on in the office and a breaking story about a hostage situation is on. In short order, the police arrive at her office to tell her Luke, her husband, is involved. Immediately assuming he is a hostage as his sometime office is in that part of town, Camilla is horrified to learn that he is, in fact, the hostage taker. And he has a gun.

She has no choice but to call her sister to collect her daughter and go with the police. She doesn't like to call her sister to help with baby Polly because of her sister's struggles with infertility. As the standoff continues, Cam is absolutely horrified to learn that her husband killed two hostages. And disappears. Luke has always been the happiest, most settled person Cam knows and she is completely gobsmacked by what has happened.

Camilla tries to put her life back together. Seven years pass and she's still clueless about where Luke is and why he did what he did. Cam is actually dating again and decides to put the house up for sale. She can't do that until Luke is declared dead though and the paperwork for that is overwhelming. But after she starts the process she gets an odd text with a location and time to meet. She thinks maybe Luke is finally contacting her and goes, but he doesn't turn up. What she doesn't know is that the Niall, the police hostage negotiator, hasn't given up and is still monitoring her phone. He intercepts the text and changes the time. When Camilla receives an awaited second book from an author (and thinks it's great), puzzle pieces begin to fit together.

This well-thought out book is a suspenseful read you'll want to race through. If you listen to the audio book read by Emilia Fox, you'll enjoy the listen. Fox frequently narrates thrillers and crime books.

I honestly don't know how Gillian McAllister can keep the twists coming, but she is transcendent in this aspect. In Famous Last Words, we meet Camilla, a new mother (somewhat reluctantly it feels like sometimes) as she is heading back to work for the first day after maternity leave. She is annoyed that her husband Luke is not there to see her off and she finds a weird paper that looks like the start of a note, but is dying to get out of the house and back to work so doesn't pay much attention. Not long into her day, she's confronted by the fact that Luke has taken hostages and her life is thrown for a loop. The first section of this book goes a mile a minute and draws you in immediately as Camilla is brought by the negotiator, Niall, to try and get her husband to give up. The second and third sections deal with the fallout and twists so I won't go into them, but even when you expect twists from her, McAllister always surprises. I both read and listened to this book to preview for my library and would heartily recommend both. Emilia Fox does a great narration and the physical book allows you to better flip back to see how you missed clues. A big thank you to William Morrow, HarperAudio, and NetGalley for the early access in exchange for my honest opinion. 4.5 stars

I liked Gillian McAllister's last book, and definitely looked forward to Famous Last Words. I must say that it did not disappoint - indeed I liked it even more than her last effort. Famous Last Words has an unusual structure for a thriller, both in terms of POVs and in terms of time periods. I could see this as being off-putting for some readers, but I really liked the way it built complexity into both the mystery and the development of character. Though I slightly preferred Cam's POV, I was also very interested in Niall's sections. They complemented each other well and weren't repetitive in terms of reveals of information. In all, I liked the way this book is in many ways a "classic" thriller in terms of combining domestic life with mystery, but also goes beyond all the usual tropes. And for those considering the audiobook, the narrator is excellent!

The premise of this book caught my attention and kept me hooked until the very end -- as a mom of two young kids, I related to the main character and cannot imagine being placed in her situation.

I had some issues with pacing and character development. The ending left me wanting more answers because the plot took a few unexpected turns that I didn't necessarily love -- but it was fun talking to my friends that read it as well. Would make a good book club book or a quick binge read on vacation!

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

Enjoyable mystery with good narration.

Loved this book! The twists were unpredictable and the audiobook was easy to follow. I will continue to look forward to more books by the author

I really Liked this book. I think it was a great blend of genres. This Is my first by Gillian McAllister and I will read another one. Thank you for my copy. I really enjoyed the narrartor too.

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.