Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister had me guessing from the outset and I never knew where or how the book was going to end. A wonderful mystery novel filled with plenty of twists and turns.
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…
Gillian McAllister odes a wonderful job structuring Famous Last Words using distinct acts which effectively breakup the story while allowing different moments of discovery and action within the story. Each act peels back layers of mystery surrounding motivations and past secrets. These acts compel us as the reader to constantly reassess what we believe we know about Luke alongside Camilla’s journey toward truth-seeking clarity. The division into acts also provides natural pauses for reflection without disrupting momentum—a testament to the author’s skillful pacing throughout most parts of the book.
Famous Last Words is a story filled with twists at every turn—each twist more shocking than its predecessor. McAllister’s vivid characterizations intertwined well within the plot developments crafting a tale that you never really knew where it was headed. When I thought I may have guessed something, the author tosses a wrench into that thought to turns me the other direction with ease.
While some can argue that certain middle sections slightly drag—especially after the initial adrenaline rushes subside post-introduction events—the overall pacing remains consistent across remaining chapters leading up towards a satisfying resolution ultimately tying together the threads of the book. Famous Last Words is a page turner mystery that was hard to put down.
Famous Last Words is a twisty, turny, mystery we can come to expect from Gillian McAllister. With the wonderful writing, overall great pacing and a number of mysteries hard to guess, this latest novel by McAllisters hits on all fronts. By the end of Famous Last Words, I was thinking about how well you really know people and what would really go through my mind if this book was about me.
Famous Last Words hits bookstores everywhere on February 25, 2025 from William Morrow. The audiobook is available for pre-order on Libro.fm!
