Quick Reviews – Marie Lott Writer

★★★★★ 5/5

Author: Gillian McAllister Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Penguin Published: 3^rd July 2025

Started: 3/01/26 Finished: 8/02/26

Page Count: 416 pages

“And Cam watches the sky and thinks, how somewhere the answer is out there, as obvious as the dawn itself, but still hidden in night.”

Who doesn’t love a good thriller? The tension, the questions, the fear. Having read all of Liane Moriarty’s books, and learning she’s a fan of Gillian McAllister, I had to give this one a read. Liane says Famous Last Words, ‘makes your heart race and then your heart melt,’ and I couldn’t agree more. Famous Last Words is a fast-paced thriller, and it doesn’t leave you much time to catch your breath, so buckle up for the ride.

The book follows Cam Deschamps who is happily married to Luke, and they have a baby called Polly. Cam, a book publisher has the perfect life, or so she thinks. Everything she knows blows up around her when she learns her husband is caught up in a hostage situation, only he isn’t the hostage, he’s the gunman. Cam’s world is thrown into chaos, who is the man she married? And what does this mean for her and their daughter?

At the heart of this gripping thriller is a moving love story, and Cam shows what she’s willing to do to save it. Despite the evidence against Luke, Cam simply doesn’t believe her husband to be a bad man, and she’s desperate to find out the truth, for closure, control, for love.

What stood out to me most is the control Gillian has over the tension between the characters. Cam tiptoes around her sister’s IVF, is never quite honest with the hostage negotiator, and her desperation to find out the truth of what happened to her husband, only raises questions in which the answers are only more questions. It’s like opening a box to discover a box, and then another, I was hooked and craving a resolution.

I also enjoyed Gillian’s writing style which I have already described as fast-paced, but in another sense musical. The stormy language Gillian uses drives this all-encompassing tension to its final conclusion, like a continuous background symphony. For example, ‘the shock repeats on her like rolling thunder’ and ‘rustling forensic bags’. The stormy mood is carried by rumbles, heavy rain and aftershocks, like lots of little music notes pouring off the page and creating a sustained, dramatic drumroll, leading to a crescendo that rings in your ears long after you’ve put the book down.

If I had to be picky, one thing that didn’t quite land for me was the slower pacing into Act 2, but it wasn’t enough to discourage me. In fact, I can see that the plot required it. I think I felt like this because Act 1 is so strong, the catalyst could have been the climax, I couldn’t believe there was still two thirds of the book to go.

Overall, Famous Last Words is a solid read that left me wide-eyed and amazed. I found myself oohing and aahing at every plot twist, reaching my own crescendo with a WOW! If you’re a fan of Liane Moriarty’s The Husband’s Secret and films like Gone Girl, which both explore the destruction of a perfect family unit, or you just love a good psychological thriller, you should definitely add this to your shelf.

★★★★ 4/5

Author: R.M. Bouknight Genre: Christmas

Publisher: Hollybridge Books Published: August 2025

Started: 02/01/2026 Finished: 07/01/2026

Page Count: 144 pages

“The fates never leave love to chance”

I was so excited when this book came up as a Facebook Ad last month. As a lover of A Christmas Carol, I was suddenly desperate to read how the Cratchit family was getting on, it was as though R.M. Bouknight knew I needed this in my life more than I did!

Cratchit is set thirteen years after a Christmas carol, leaving enough room for the new world Cratchit now finds himself in to corrupt him into being a selfish, ignorant man. Inevitably, it takes its toll on his family; how he behaves as a father and as a husband. It’s a grim reminder of how our every decision can affect every aspect of not only our own lives, but the lives of those closest to us.

Delving into the first stave, something wasn’t sitting right with me. A self-assured Bob Cratchit? Tiny Tim a ladies’ man? the family split? This wasn’t how I remembered these much-loved characters. I persevered, and was glad I did, because once I moved into stave two, it dawned on me that no one stays the same, people change, especially over the course of thirteen years. Once I became open to this I could see how the world can have a huge impact on man’s weakness in following his desires.

The ghost of Christmas past reminds Cratchit of how he was before Scrooge helped him, and of pivotal moments that subtly reshaped who Cratchit becomes, to the point that he hardly recognises himself anymore. The ghost of Christmas present highlights to Bob the effect this change is currently having on his wife and children, things that he’d become blind to. And the ghost of Christmas yet to come shows him what will be if he doesn’t change. Can the spirits save Bob Cratchit?

R.M. Bouknight explores themes such as women’s roles, social issues and peer pressure, and on a more serious note, bullying and suicide which may serve as potential triggers, but Bouknight handles these issues with great care and sensitivity.

I would recommend Cratchit to any fan of A Christmas Carol. A casual reader may only think about the characters they’ve enjoyed, but more reflective readers may discover some deeper thoughts about their own vulnerabilities that stays with them long after the final page.

In the end, Cratchit doesn’t pretend to be a new idea, it’s better than that. It’s a reminder of how our decisions shape us, for better or worse, and how easy it is to fall. But also, (to quote Aragorn, one of my favourite characters), that there’s always hope.