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Book Summary and Reviews of Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

Famous Last Words

A Novel

by Gillian McAllister

  • Critics' Consensus (10):
  • Readers' Rating (2):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2025, 336 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

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)

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"A first-rate, fiendishly clever suspense novel that fans of Lisa Jewell, Megan Miranda, and Laura Lippman will eat up with a spoon." —Library Journal (starred review)

"McCallister hits another one out of the park…all the puzzle pieces click together for a satisfying ending." —Booklist (starred review)

"Though the pace can drag and certain twists are a bit convoluted, the gut-wrenching plight of McAllister's three-dimensional heroine will keep readers flipping pages. This satisfies." —Publishers Weekly

"A totally fresh read that kept me guessing until the very end!" —Ashley Flowers, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of All Good People Here

"Gillian McAllister [is] one of my favorite authors working in the genre. McAllister is 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, #1 New York Times bestselling author

This information about Famous Last Words was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Gillian McAllister

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. 

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