28. Famous Last Words

 

28. Famous Last Words. Gillian McAllister. 2025. 336 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars]

First sentence: It is one hour before Camilla's life changes, though she doesn't yet know it.

Premise/plot: Readers are promised (but does it deliver?!?!) a twisty-turny crime novel. Camilla, our heroine, is returning to work from maternity leave on the day her husband, Luke, commits a crime. Allegedly commits a crime. He never stands trial. He goes on the run. Her life changes forever--as does her daughter's Polly. Most of the novel takes place seven years later. (And to a smaller extent, an additional seven years after that]. This one is told through two perspectives that of Camilla and that of Niall, the hostage negotiator assigned to the case. Though the narration is not even: readers will go [long] stretches without Niall's narration.

My thoughts: It had one job. One job. ONE. To be twisty-turny. To keep *this* reader guessing, guessing again, guessing yet again. To keep me doubting my instincts and delivering punchy surprises. Things that would only supposedly make sense at the end. Did it deliver????

NO. That's the short answer. No, it did not keep me guessing because I guessed correctly essentially about anything where clues were provided. No big thrills. No big surprises. It has me doubting a review by a famous author that uses words like "brilliant" and "blindsided." (How many books has she read?) 

I don't consider myself particularly outstanding when it comes to "solving" crime books or thrillers. So did I just happen to be lucky in my guess? Or is it poorly constructed to make readers feel smart when they guess? 

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So the jacket flap intentionally spoils a lot of the early suspense. That's a choice. For better or worse. It's a way to get a reader, perhaps, to pick up your book. Though with her NAME and reputation, I don't know that it's necessary to spoil that much.

So the big question throughout is *WHY* and to a much lesser degree *how*.

I guessed VERY early on that Charlie was NO GOOD, VERY BAD. I don't know how she could have made it more obvious. So that zaps a lot of suspense out of the book.

I guessed VERY early on that Luke was the true author of her "new book by Adam" that she received in the mail. Was this a lucky guess? Maybe. Maybe not. But the way we were getting excerpts and the fact that it was crime related....it just made the most sense to me.

I did not guess about Luke witnessing the murder of two teens in April---however, that clue was sprinkled so late in the book that it almost doesn't contribute to the suspense in the first place. The only clue for the longest time being that his location was turned off that one night in April. Not any clue with which to build a back story.

I did guess that Isabella was HIDING something big. I was a little suspicious of her husband as well. Though her husband takes up so little space in the story it was easy to forget he existed at all. 

So did I guess that Luke's actions could 1000% be explained away. Yes. Mostly. I guessed that as the most obvious "blindsiding" twist and turn.

I think the book would have been more suspenseful without Charlie's "short" and not-so-subtle perspective.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews