FAMOUS LAST WORDS
GILLIAN MCALLISTER
***
It’s Camilla’s first day back at work, her daughter’s first day at nursery.
But husband Luke is nowhere to be seen. The only trace of him is an unfinished note. Camilla tries to put it out of her mind; there must be a rational explanation.
At work, there are welcomes back, and too many distractions.
Then it starts.
Breaking news: there's a hostage situation developing in London.
The police arrive: Luke is caught up in it.
But he isn't a hostage. Luke - doting father, successful writer, enthusiastic runner and eternal optimist - is the gunman.
What Camilla does next is crucial. Because only she knows what the note he left behind says, and the clues it might hold . . .
MY REVIEW
***
I am a big fan of Gillian McAllister’s books - her unique premises and twisty, gripping plots are always a joy to read. This is why I chose Famous Last Words as my first read of 2025.
Camilla has just started back to work after maternity leave, when breaking news comes on the television – a hostage situation is taking place in a nearby warehouse. But when police contact her that her husband is the gunman, not one of the victims, her whole life is turned upside-down.
I was expecting the majority of this book to be about the hostage situation – we even have split point of view between Camilla and Niall – the hostage negotiator. However, this is only a small percentage of the start of the book before we move forward in time by 7 years. I was actually a little disappointed at this, as the start of the book was so fast-paced and gripping, but the pace really slows down when we jump into the future.
I love the premise of this book – the idea that your husband might not be who he says he is and the doubt sown from that, added to a stereotypical crime trope being turned on its head was really clever. However, the latter half of the plot became too bogged down with the love story between Camilla and Luke and I didn’t understand how she could still love and defend a man that threw everything away, including being there for his very young child and did it all on the most stressful day of her year as she was trying to get back to her career. This made it quite hard to feel empathy with her throughout as I was just wanting her to put her husband behind her and move on! As a fellow introvert, I enjoyed the representation in main character Camilla, but it did feel a little too overstated by the end.
I did think that the conclusion and explanation to the events was a little convoluted and unrealistic as well which was a shame. The finale chapters tied both points of view together a bit too well to feel genuine, and I felt like I still had quite a few questions regarding some plot holes.
Overall, although I love Gillian McAllister’s writing and am excited to read her next book, this one fell flat for me, sadly. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House – Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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