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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 THOUGHTS
Famous Last Words is published by Penguin Michael Joseph and available in ebook, audiobook, and hardback (30 January 2025) with the paperback following on 3 July 2025. My thanks to the publisher for the ARC to review.
Camilla Deschamps is a literary agent, returning to work after maternity leave. Her family of three is a such tight unit that when her normally loving husband Luke suddenly goes off the radar on her first day back she is too distracted to be wholly concerned, maybe he is just busy BUT her day – and her life is about to get a whole lot worse.
The story begins in 2017 but the aftermath continues to unfold over a further timeline. Told from two perspectives, that of Cam(illa) and Niall, the police hostage negotiator, this was a book that hooked me from the beginning. There is an occasional sinister interjection to the narrative from an anonymous voice which intrigued me. What was their connection in all this and more worryingly what were their intentions?
I felt every sympathy for Cam, having to deal with the knowledge that her husband – this violent hostage taker, wasn’t the kind and loving man she thought she knew and she was just left adrift with no answers. With each new revelation causing shockwaves in her life she finds it difficult to move on and trust. Following events in that Bermondsey warehouse Niall’s life has changed too. He is no longer a negotiator however this case still haunts him and he maintains a watching brief, in the hope that something will come to light to give answers to so many unanswered questions.
I don’t want to give any spoilers but there was so much to enjoy and entertain with this story and I think it is probably one of my favourite McAllister books to date. It has intrigue and mystery in bucketloads, main characters with emotional depth that I could get onside with and even though I thought I had worked out part of the plot, I was still caught out by those pesky twists and surprises.
Published today, congratulations to the author for a thoroughly enjoyable and addictive read.
Gillian McAllister is the New York Times bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club Pick Wrong Place Wrong Time, Just Another Missing Person, Everything but the Truth, The Choice, The Good Sister, The Evidence Against You, How to Disappear, and the Richard & Judy Book Club pick That Night. She graduated with an English degree before working as a lawyer. She lives in Birmingham, England, where she now writes full-time. She is also the creator and co-host of the popular Honest Authors podcast.
Author links: Website | X | BlueSky | IG | Facebook | AmazonUK
