Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

Camilla wakes up to find her husband Luke missing and prepares her toddler for daycare. She is a literary editor, anxious about work after maternity leave, and he is a successful ghostwriter; a well-liked, loving couple living a simple life.

Suddenly, Scotland Yard investigators are at her door, breaking the news there is a hostage situation in a London warehouse; three victims have been hooded and bound, and CCTV proves the gunman is Luke. How well did Cam actually know her husband? They arrive at the scene to find negotiator DCI Niall Thompson and a media frenzy. One hostage is released, but the other two are shot, and Luke completely vanishes. The investigation turns up little, except that his laptop had been wiped that morning, and the two dead men will oddly never be identified.

Seven years later, Cam has gone back to her maiden name and is dating again. She has never gotten over the shock and mystery of the events, so completely against the man she knew. Niall is divorced and haunted by PTSD from that day. Officially off the case, he begins to watch Cam for some clue Luke is alive—and he gets it. She has been given a manuscript that seems to hold clues to the answers. And someone is trying to contact her.

Unlike some modern thrillers, this focuses on building the characters, rather than pace. Cam's fears about dating again, Niall's therapy journey. There are the requisite twists, which thriller readers will clearly see coming. Solid writing, but slowing the momentum of the case, which holds little payoff in the end. McAllister is a good writer, but I was hoping for more originality.

2025 / Tradeback / 328 pages