I really enjoyed Gillian McAllister’s thriller Wrong Place Wrong Time when I read it last summer. But then I read Just Another Missing Person, and it was good, but nowhere near as good. So when I saw Famous Last Words, I went back and forth. Would it be another okay but not fantastic one? Would I feel a little disappointed by it, even though it was fine, just because Wrong Place Wrong Time had been so good that it spoiled me? In the end I decided that the chance that it was even near as good was worth the risk.
This is the story of Camilla, a happily married new mother who is about to drop her adorable daughter off for the first time at daycare to return to work. But her day is not going to progress according to plan, because when she gets up it is to discover that her husband, Luke, isn’t there. She didn’t know he had left, which is unsettling in itself, but further to that, he has left her a note she can’t figure out the meaning of.
Her day is just going to get worse when a hostage situation that is developing London turns out to be the work of her own husband, the man she loves and trusts more than anyone, the happy-go-lucky, cheerful father who adores his family and would never, ever do anything to hurt them. Or to hurt anyone. So how can this possibly be happening?
So begins a twisty-turny story full of intrigue, strange occurrences, and unanswered questions. It had me guessing right up to the end, and definitely delivered on the “thrill” part of its genre! I can’t say it quite lived up to Wrong Place Wrong Time, but it was very close. Definitely worth reading if you’re a fan of her work, or just looking for an exciting and surprising thriller!
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) – Goodreads
Book Title: Famous Last Words
Author: Gillian McAllister
Series: No
Edition: Audiobook (Libro.fm)
Published By: William Morrow
Released: February 25, 2025
Genre: Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Family, Relationships
Pages: 336
Date Read: June 20-23, 2025
Rating: 7/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.74/5 (79,974 ratings)