Another fabulous read from Gillian
She always manages to keep you intrigued throughout.
I loved the concept of this story and kept asking myself what would I do if this was me!
Thank you so much for allowing me to read for a review

I love Gillian’s books so much. I was excited to dive into Famous Last Words after reading the synopsis. Obviously nothing is as it seems and there are lots of twists, and turns to the story. I loved how pacy the book was and I read it in a matter of days. Highly recommend!!

A compelling page turner packed with twists and turns! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley fir this ARC.

Right from the off I was absolutely hooked. What a tremendous premise for a crime novel. It absolutely captivated me. Straight away I started thinking about how I would feel in that situation. Just imagine if your partner, the person you love most in the world, alongside your new born baby, were to be caught up in a hostage situation. Then try to imagine the feeling you’d have if you learnt that this loving, funny, cheerful partner is currently holding a gun on three hostages.

That’s what Camilla Deschamps faces after taking her daughter Polly to her first day at nursery and then heading back to her role as a literary agent; a return to work after her maternity leave. It is the height of midsummer and the sun is high in the sky. She has slightly worried about where Luke went this morning; he’d left her a short, unfinished note. But perhaps he was out running, or meeting one of his clients for whom he is a ghost writer. There’s so much going on Camilla’s feet aren’t really touching the ground today. Still, Luke isn’t responding to her texts and the concern niggles away at the back of her head.

Then Camilla’s whole world implodes when the police pay her a visit to tell her that Luke is the gunman at the hostage situation her colleagues have been telling her about this morning. The longest day of the year is about to feel a whole lot longer.

The Police want her to come down to the hostage situation, in the hope that she can get through to her husband and find a peaceful resolution to this stand-off.

Famous Last Words is a dual perspective novel. McAllister creates a narrative that is both intricately structured and emotionally charged. The novel’s structure, centred around three stages, creates a fascinating interplay between past and present over a seven-year period, while the development of the central characters adds depth and a strong emotional dimension to the story.

Camilla is Luke’s wife and a very successful literary agent in her own right. She is in fact Luke’s agent. She’s a brilliant character. There’s nothing she enjoys more than diving into a new book and losing herself in the pages. What she loves is the writing and the story; this is one literary agent who doesn’t care overmuch about genres or what the commercial market is looking for. She loves her husband and their daughter and is close to her sister.

The novel explores Camilla's shock and grief; her journey in the aftermath of the hostage situation, and the psychological impact on her life. Camilla is an immediately relatable character, torn between her memories of Luke and the reality of life seven years on. McAllister skilfully portrays Camilla’s incredulity and shock as she fails to understand how this can have happened and what would have driven Luke to the point he reached. McAllister lays out the consequences of Luke’s act on Camilla and Polly’s lives, making her a character the reader can empathise with. Through Camilla, the novel explores themes of loss, motherhood, and the search for closure.

The second principal character is Niall. Niall is a hostage negotiator and a workaholic. A decent man with sound judgement and good instincts, he will be devastated after the hostage situation ends in a manner he was not in control of. To cap it off, he’d gone to work that day without even remembering it was his wife’s birthday and that day, for her, was the straw that broke the camel’s back – and their marriage.

Niall’s perspective is important, because he sees everything through a police lens. He is rational and unemotional and it is these traits that make him a perfect foil to Camilla, who is an emotional wreck for most of the years following, though she tries her best to take her sister’s advice and ‘move on’.

Gillian McAllister does a great job of making this a genuinely suspenseful novel, as Camilla can never give up trying to understand why Luke would have been at the centre of the hostage situation.

The alternating timelines serve to highlight the emotional and psychological toll of the murder on Camilla. As she navigates the aftermath of the terrible event, she reveals her deep sense of loss and confusion. The contrast between the early Camilla, in love and so optimistic and the later Camilla, trying and failing to understand and move on, creates a really poignant contrast.

The timelines also help to increase the suspense of the narrative. McAllister’s careful pacing ensures that the tension builds gradually, as small details from the past timeline take on greater significance when juxtaposed with the revelations of the present. The reader is constantly drawn back and forth between these two perspectives, making it difficult to trust anything at face value. Each timeline holds its own secrets, and just when it seems like the truth will be revealed, a shift occurs that adds more layers to the mystery. The climactic moments of the novel are particularly well-executed, with a final twist that is both surprising and satisfying. The gradual unfolding of the mystery, combined with the shifting timelines, keeps the reader on their toes and ensures that the novel’s ultimate resolution is as satisfying as it is surprising.

I love this author’s books so was absolutely thrilled to receive an ARC of this latest read. What a read it is, I literally have no fingernails left, I think for the last 10% of the book I held my breath, not knowing how the ending was going to go. I was worried about two incidents, that left me breathless. So thank you for such a read Gillian.

I am lucky in some ways as I am currently housebound unless someone takes me out so I had the pleasure of reading this without having to do anything or go anywhere. This is what you need some spare time where you can lose yourself in this book.

As Cam is due back at work after maternity leave, having to drop Polly off at the nursery, which for all mums or most, that can be so difficult, but Cam is surprised that Luke is not there to help her, especially with it being the first day. But she has no idea where he is. But there is a cryptic sort of note on the side as if he had started to say something then changed his mind. Cam is immersed in her work, when police officers arrive to see her, what is it about ?

Cam’s life is about to change dramatically she has been told her husband is holding hostages at gunpoint in a warehouse, but this isn’t like Luke! Cam can’t understand it.

Niall is the hostage negotiator, he is desperately trying to save the situation from escalating, but can he do it? The two gun shots? Where is Luke? Armed officers storm the building, one hostage had been released prior to the shooting. But who are the hostages?

How will Cam alter her life? The man she loved has gone and she has no idea if he is dead or alive. Right from the start this is a thriller where the tension builds. The story is told by Niall and Cam and ironically both their lives changed that day.

This is a brilliantly written thriller that I highly recommend and will continue to recommend. The author has just written these perfect characters, with some terrific twists and turns that will have you on the edge of your seat, completely gripped. I loved the name drop and bookshop mentioned.

Thank you so much to @MichaelJBooks and #Netgalleyfor my copy of this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own, and have not been influenced in any way.

Gillian McAllister you blew me away with this story, you are a literary genius.

Every chapter is so intense, dark and atmospheric. The plot is so tight and revels in revealing so many unexpected twists that it was like slowly stretching an elastic band to breaking point, a bit like my heart.

I loved how the high-octane drama of the siege unfolded effortlessly alongside the beautiful, emotional and, at times, haunting love story of Camilla and Luke.

To me, this was not a novel, but a movie being played out on the big screen. I was on tenterhooks the whole way through and far too scared to even blink, in case I missed one single second of the action.

What a phenomenal writer, and 5 stars seems so underwhelming for a book of this calibre. It will be a travesty if this is not turned into a movie, because this author deserves an Oscar!

It may only be January, but I predict this will be, by far, the top book of 2025!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Loved this. Thrown into the action within the first few pages, this certainly kept my attention. Plenty of twists and turns and I actually felt empathy for the three main characters.

This was my first read of Gillian McAllister, and I really enjoyed it! Great premise ✔️ multiple povs ✔️ time jump ✔️ By about 75% of the way through, I had figured some bits out, but overall I enjoyed the story. It felt well paced and kept my attention. Would recommend for sure 🙂
(Just for note, there is some mention of infertility and loss) Grateful to netgalley and Penguin Random House for this eARC!

Camilla wakes up to find her husband gone and a confusing note left. Only to discover that morning that her loving husband is holding three people hostage but she has no idea why.

A great thriller and suspense novel. Lots of twists and turns along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in the novel, especially Camilla, Luke and the hostage negotiator Niall. I have read a few of Gillian McAllister's novels and have enjoyed them all.

This is a great read. I always have high hopes when Gillian McAllister has a new book out and once again she delivers. Great characters and a clever plot made this just an ideal book for me. Highly recommended.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
Published by: Michael Joseph Penguin Random House
Publication Date 30/1/25
No Spoilers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cracking contemporary page turner. I was gripped from the outset and the story kept my interest all the way through to a very satisfying conclusion. I loved the time jumps and the different character perspective on each chapter, which was always easy enough to follow.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

The author at her very best. Compelling characters, a really fresh plot and some brain-bending twists and turns. Loved it.

Another sterling read from a favourite author!

Camilla has a busy day ahead; her first day back at work and her daughter's first day at nursery but there's no sign of her husband Luke - apart from an unfinished note. Where is he? But with so much on her plate, she doesn't have time to be overly concerned. Reaching work, she is overwhelmed with the welcome from her colleagues and has plenty to do - until, that is, the news breaks that there's a hostage situation in London. Could Luke be caught up in it? Well, no ... Luke's the gunman . . .

I've been a fan of Gillian McAllister's writing since her very first novel; each one is completely different to what has gone before and this is no exception. It's not a scenario I've come across before and it wasn't long before I was completely engrossed and ignoring the clock as the time crept into tomorrow. Stunningly written, as always, this is another story which grabs you and won't let you. Utterly superb! My very highest recommendation and all five sparkling stars.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley.

4.25 stars
As a big fan of Gillian McAllister's previous book, Wrong Place Wrong Time, I was so excited to read her latest release. And I was immediately hooked.
First of all, I liked the use of the dual POVs of Cam and Niall, with the overall story being an interesting and fresh take on the typical mystery/thriller.
We get a really good insight into both Cam and Niall's lives and how that one day has impacted many.
Frustratingly, after an engaging and fast paced beginning, the middle of the book dragged for me, with it only really picking up towards the conclusion.
I did have a feeling that a particular manuscript might not be all that it seemed, but I didn't predict exactly how everything was resolved in the end or who had been involved.
I maybe didn't need quite as much about Niall and his marriage issues. At times this felt a bit unnecessary for moving the plot forwards.
But it was really well written and had my attention the whole way through.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love it that when you start a book by this author, you have no idea where the story will take you, just that you know it will be one hell of a ride!

This book had me wanting to constantly read a little bit more and I did not know what the final outcome would be, even following all the clues. A few bits I worked out, but certainly not how it all came together seamlessly at the end.

Gilliam McAllister is great at creating ‘human’ characters who leap off the page into your mind and in this plot, I was desperate for both Niall and Camilla to get some closure on their turmoil.

I won’t say anything about the plot (avoiding any spoilers) except to say that it takes place mainly over a seven year period. The settings were realistic and I could clearly visualise the topsy turvey house and the half and half bedroom.

This is a brilliant thriller, expertly combining a fast pace with gradual plot development. A unique multi-layered storyline adds to the ‘must read’ strong recommendation!

This is an excellent, pacey thriller that I found really hard to put down. I try not to figure out what is happening with books like these, instead just go with the story......this way tension builds, there are usually shocks and surprises and there were definitely a few gasp out loud moments in this story. The twists and turns were insane.

As well as the tension and reveals , there were also some really lovely explorations of love and grief. I couldn't help but think of my own husband while reading.....I have to say though, I hope to goodness I'm never in a situation like this one.

Overall, a brilliant, exciting, thrilling race to the finish, it's a hard recommend from me!

I received an ARC of this story in return for an honest review.
I enjoyed it, initially, though had guessed a couple of the plot twists.
Cam’s husband Luke behaves completely and inexplicably out of character, and her life, and that of her young daughter, are turned upside down. You know there has to be an explanation…. Jump seven years, Cam has had to get on with her life but never fully believes that there is no rational explanation for Luke’s behaviour. Then a seemingly coincidental set of events set both Cam and one of the original police team to wondering….all going great, an absorbing read….4, 4.5?….until the ‘tell-all’ where everything is revealed.
Several eye-rolling emojis and a good number of ‘Eh? Seriously?’s later…. I just could no longer buy into the plot at all.
I like McAllister’s characterisation and and writing style, but felt let down by the lack of plausibility at the end. Probably won’t stop me reading other books of hers though.

Camilla is excited to get back to work after her maternity leave. She's not quite as excited about having to leave her baby daughter at daycare but, it's time. She wakes on that morning to find husband Luke has already gone - to work she assumes - he's left a note but it doesn't make much sense. Anyway... she drops off her daughter and proceeds to work.
And then it all kicks off... It appears that Luke has been caught up in a hostage situation. The police inform her of this. But then comes the punchline... he's not a hostage, he's the gunman.
Camilla can't believe it, won't believe it, and then all too soon the situation is over, Luke is missing, having fled the scene, and we pick up the pieces years later...
Along with Luke and Camilla, we also hear from Niall who is a hostage negotiator whose life is rather colourful...
And that's all I am saying. To get the very best from this book, you need to go in as blind as possible, trust the author all the way through, even if what you are reading is confusing, hold onto that and wait for all to be revealed, and it will be, in all its glory. Fantastic!
I have read, devoured, and loved every single book this author has written. It's almost like she writes just for me they are so perfectly matched to what I need from a book. Well plotted narrative acted out by some crackingly well crafted characters and delivered in a perfectly paced way for maximum reader engagement. All culminating in a wholly satisfying conclusion.
I could wax lyrical about this book and indeed this author forever. If you have read her books before, you know what to expect and, believe me, she will deliver. If you haven't then, where have you been? Me, I'm now just hanging for the next book...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Camilla is returning to work after maternity leave and it's also Polly's first day at nursery so Cam is understandably anxious, on top of all that husband Luke has done a disappearing act and all Cam can find is a very cryptic note left by him, what she doesn't know is very soon her life and the life she has known with her family will never be the same again. Just after she arrives at work she hears breaking news that a hostage situation is happening in London and then the police arrive to inform her that Luke is involved but, he's not a hostage, he's the gunman...

Famous Last Words is the latest thriller by McAllister and it hits the ground running on the day of the siege. Told in four parts and from a multi perspective, this is a very cleverly laid out plot which, in true author style, keeps you guessing throughout. With Cam and Niall, the hostage negotiator, brought together through this seemingly unbelievable act by the kindest and most laid back man that Cam has ever met, we see her life descend into absolute chaos and years down the line Niall is determined to get to the truth, whatever the cost to his career. This is a fast paced rollercoaster ride of a read that we've come to expect from McAllister and she delivers every time.

I'd like to thank Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for inviting me to read this, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The story begins with Cam finding out that her husband has holding people hostage at gunpoint. She finds this hard to believe and is shocked and trying to understand why this is happening.

Then, seven years later, the reasons why that situation happened begin to come clear.

The story had me hooked, turning the pages to read what happens next. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep you reading.

I highly recommend this book.