A taut, pacey thriller that rewards down to the last page. A frazzled literary agent just returning to work after maternity leave has her first day back at the office interrupted by a nightmare: her affable husband has apparently taken three hostages in a London warehouse and is threatening to shoot them. The story unfolds from the dual viewpoints of the bewildered wife and the determined negotiator brought in to de-escalate the siege, which does not end as anyone involved planned...as becomes even more evident years later, as unsolved mysteries and lingering questions still hang in the air: what makes a loving husband and father turn hostage taker and criminal? Finding out the answer had me turning pages long into the night.

I've enjoyed this book. I couldn't anticipate the twists, and the story is engaging and well thought. The characters are well developed, and you get to care for them. My only complaint is that the story gets a little slow and repetitive towards the middle. But overall I recommend it. ATTENTION SPOILER BELOW!! There seems to be a mistake that the editors didn't catch. In the beginning, it says Alexander Hale was found dead with a gunshot wound to his temple, and towards the end, it says he suffered a gunshot wound to his chest. Although it doesn't really affect the narrative.

Camilla is a new mother who wakes up one morning and finds that her husband, Luke, is not there. She doesn't know where he went and then finds an ambiguous note he left her. She wonders what it could possibly mean, but continues on with her day of taking her daughter to daycare! Once at work, the police show up to her job to tell her that there is a hostage situation and her husband is involved. I don't want to give too much away but that story sounded so intriguing to me. The story started out really good but for a good portion of the middle, it fell flat for me. I really wanted to see what was going on so I continued on. It took almost until 90% for it to pick up. It was a character driven book, and throughout it, you'll get a lot of the inner thoughts and monologue of Cam. This has the feeling of the love story between Luke and Camilla. So for me, this wasn't my favorite by her, but I do feel like others are really going to like it and I already see it getting great reviews.

This book was very interesting. I've read so many that its hard to find a good one that I don't want to put down but this is one I had to make myself set down just so I could get stuff done. It's a must read!

Gillian McAllister’s latest thriller is quite out of the ordinary – in a good way. It begins in the home of Cam and Luke, who have a baby named Poppy. Cam is reluctantly going back to work after her maternity leave is up and her husband is nowhere to be found. After she drops Poppy off, she goes to work and discovers that there is a hostage situation at Luke’s office – and it turns out that he is the hostage-taker. None of this makes any sense. He’s never been in trouble with the law, and she can’t reconcile the man she knows with this act. Enter the hostage negotiator, Niall. I actually liked his POV best. His obsession with his job has cost him his marriage, and he isn’t confident that he knows how to successfully talk Luke into giving up. He wasn’t like John Wayne coming in with testosterone and rifles. Cam’s POV was a little drawn out as she struggled with the impending loss of her husband, knowing he was either going to die or go to jail for a long time. As we skip forward seven years, she’s still struggling with the same issues. I was let down by that. The time jump was accomplished pretty well, but anything else about it would be a spoiler and I try not to do that. I was a little disappointed in the ending, to be honest. It was a little neat for such an untidy story. But I enjoyed the book and appreciate the fact that it is like no other thriller I’ve read.

I enjoyed McAllister’s previous books and was looking forward to this release. It didn’t disappoint. Really enjoyed both her writing style and character development. She weaves a story so well and I appreciated all the twists and turns she is known for.

I read 200 books a year and LOVE suspense/thrillers. This book was an excellent sample of this genre. I highly recommend it.

Rating: 4/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pub Date: 2/25 • “Motherhood, for introverts, is a special kind of difficult, the usual escape routes not available, a thought Cam feels regularly guilty about, but is nevertheless true” • Gillian McAllister is a master at creating suspenseful, unputdownable stories. Right form the start, I felt like she was speaking to me because I am most definitely an introverted mom and I totally find it difficult to find my escape from reality on days where I need to. My only escape recently has been through books. I was quickly immersed in this story, just wanting to know exactly what happened. • I love how she jumped forward in time and gave us the aftermath of everything that happened and how a single text message once again flipped her life upside down. I love the lengths that Cam was willing to go in order to get the truth. The characters are fantastic, the pasting is fast and nonstop and the twist and turns were perfectly placed. Such a great ending as well! • I listened to this while bopping between my eARC and my physical copy from my BOTM pick. Emilia Fox was a fantastic narrator for this one!! Most definitely recommend the audiobook if your thinking of checking this one out. • Overall, McAllister has written another fantastic story that will keep your eyes glued to the pages. I was gifted an ALC and eARC of this book.

I enjoyed reading this book. McAllister manages to keep the reader invested and to evoke sympathy for Cam. Also, as in every of McAllisters books so far, the great love the characters experience for their family stands out and makes this not only a gripping thriller, but also an ode to love.

Having read, and enjoyed, some of this authors previous work I was immediately drawn to this - her latest - ‘Famous Last Words! Was I disappointed? No! Will you be? I doubt it… Gillian McAllister is somewhat unique in her approach to writing and psychological plots. In this novel we meet Cam - Camilla - and Luke Deschamps and their new-born daughter Polly; together with secondary characters such as Niall Thompson - the hostage negotiator - who features throughout - in addition to Libby, Adam, Charlie et al, all of whom have a part to play. The Deschamps are book people; he is a ghost writer and she is his agent and a book worm. Their perfect life is shattered when a hostage situation arises in which Luke is the principle player; but he is not the hostage - he is the hostage taker! In four hundred pages the story unfolds over a fifteen year period of edge of your seat suspense and intrigue. Try as I did - I failed to anticipate where the many twists and turns were taking me: complex, clever, compelling and comprehensive (Forgive the alliteration) in detailing those ’twist and turns’; this is a psychological thriller par excellence. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in two sittings. Highly recommended. Bill Brady

The first half of this book is gripping with a storyline leaving you guessing as to where it will go. Unfortunately the suspense doesn’t last and the story is lost some what as in my view we get a far to detailed description of Cam’s relationship with her sister which is completely irrelevant. The story line soon becomes predictable. It is an enjoyable read but nothing thrilling or suspenseful.

Like others, I am a massive fan of Gillian McAllister and her books. This one didn’t disappoint - I read it in almost a day, I was so gripped. I’d guessed a bit of it but I think that’s what good authors do, allow readers to try and work things out so they feel part of the process. Great storytelling and characters 👏👏

Keeps you guessing right through to the end. Gripping, tense, at times scary. I literally couldn’t put this down. Bloody brilliant.