Book Review
Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
Publisher: William Morrow / HarperCollins
Publication Date: February 25, 2025
Format: Hardcover - 336 pages
Paperback - 528 pages
Audiobook - 13 Hours 5 Minutes
Kindle - 2.6 MB / 332 pages
Nook - 3 MB / 336 pages
ISBN (Hardcover): 978-0063338425
ISBN (Paperback): 978-0063386440
ASIN (Audiobook): B0D384SRMJ
ASIN (Kindle): B0D3CH5FZS
BNID: 978-0063338449
Genre: Thriller
Buy The Book:
Disclosure: I purchased a hardcover copy of the book from my monthly subscription to Book Of The Month.
Book Description:
From the author of Reese’s Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller Wrong Place Wrong Time comes an addictive thriller about a new mother’s world upended when her husband commits a terrifying crime. How well does she truly know the man she loves? And what danger does she face if her entire life has been built on a lie?
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...
Famous Last Words is the story of a crime, a marriage, and more secrets than Camilla ever could have imagined. This novel cements Gillian McAllister’s reputation as “the best at putting her characters in impossible situations and making her readers not only contemplate but feel what it would be like to find themselves in those situations.” (Emily Henry)
My Book Review:
In Famous Last Words, author Gillian McAllister weaves a riveting thriller that easily draws the reader into a dark storyline that follows a woman's years long journey to find out the truth about her husband, who has disappeared after becoming a suspect in a deadly hostage siege.
Set in London, Camilla Deschamps' first day back to work after a nine-month maternity leave doesn't go as planned when police come to the literary agency where she works to tell her that her husband Luke has taken three hostages in a warehouse. Stunned, she knows that's not like Luke to do such a thing, but the siege goes horribly wrong when Luke releases the woman and kills the remaining two men hostages and escapes the warehouse.
Set in London, Camilla Deschamps' first day back to work after a nine-month maternity leave doesn't go as planned when police come to the literary agency where she works to tell her that her husband Luke has taken three hostages in a warehouse. Stunned, she knows that's not like Luke to do such a thing, but the siege goes horribly wrong when Luke releases the woman and kills the remaining two men hostages and escapes the warehouse.
Niall Thompson is the hostage negotiator who tried to talk Luke into surrendering before the siege ended badly. He's determined to find Luke and get to the truth of why the hostage siege took place, even if he has to work the investigation on his own.
Over many years of being under surveillance, Camilla still holds out hope that the truth will prevail, and that Luke is alive and will come home to her. The police let the case go cold, but Niall is determined to solve the mystery of Luke's disappearance. Will Camilla and Niall find the truth that they seek, and will the reason behind Luke's involvement in the hostage scene finally be revealed?
Famous Last Words is a complex and multi-layered tale that is rich in detail and vivid descriptions. It has intriguing and suspenseful twists and turns, and the author plays a clever cat-n-mouse game with the reader as she provides enough clues into Camilla and Niall's journey in search of Luke. As Luke's story slowly unfolds, the author keeps the reader guessing, and with no other option than to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. The dark intensity of the storyline and the complexity of the reason behind the hostage siege kept me thoroughly riveted, engrossed, and guessing as the pieces to the puzzle come together.
With a complex and realistic cast of characters, the author does a phenomenal job of delving into the tangled web of secrets, lies, deceptions, and betrayals. The author transports the reader into this fast-paced white-knuckle storyline with her creative interweaving of a psychological cat-n-mouse game between the characters that leaves the reader trying to keep up with where the story will lead them until the surprising conclusion.
Famous Last Words is one heck of a slow-building thriller, it just doesn't get any better than that!
RATING: 5 STARS
About The Author
She is also the creator and co-host of the popular Honest Authors podcast.
