A review by bethreadsandnaps
Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

4.0

This had a great premise. New mother Cam is going back to work as a literary agent after maternity leave, and on the first morning she’s going to take her daughter Polly to daycare, she can’t find her husband and sees an ambiguous note left for her. She has a sinking feeling despite pretending to be upbeat, and then finds there’s a hostage situation going on. Her husband Luke isn’t being held hostage. He’s the one keeping three others hostage, and he ultimately ends up escaping. 

I enjoyed getting to know the character of Cam and particularly liked learning about hostage negotiator Niall. Seven years and a divorce later, he’s still obsessed with this case. Niall has also sought therapy, which is very endearing. As both Cam and Niall try to move on with their lives, they can’t because the ghost of what happened with Luke keeps nagging at both of them. 

As I said, I enjoyed the characters, and even the side characters like Cam’s sister Libby infuse some realism with her fertility struggle. The plot started out fast-paced with the hostage situation, and it did slow down when time jumped to seven years later. I did figure out where one of the plot strands was going (related to Luke’s occupation) pretty early on, but that didn’t take away my enjoyment of the novel. 

My 4 star rating is really that I thought this was a solid thriller, but I doubt it will rise to my favorites of the year.  

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS publishes February 25, 2025. 

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