Review: Famous Last Words

Famous Last Words
Author: Katie Alender
Publication Date: September 30th 2014
Publisher: Point

Hollywood history, mystery, murder, mayhem, and delicious romance collide in this unputdownable thriller from master storyteller Katie Alender.

Willa is freaking out. It seems like she's seeing things. Like a dead body in her swimming pool. Frantic messages on her walls. A reflection that is not her own. It's almost as if someone -- or something -- is trying to send her a message.

Meanwhile, a killer is stalking Los Angeles -- a killer who reenacts famous movie murder scenes. Could Willa's strange visions have to do with these unsolved murders? Or is she going crazy? And who can she confide in? There's Marnie, her new friend who may not be totally trustworthy. And there's Reed, who's ridiculously handsome and seems to get Willa. There's also Wyatt, who's super smart but unhealthily obsessed with the Hollywood Killer.

All Willa knows is, she has to confront the possible-ghost in her house, or she just might lose her mind . . . or her life.

Acclaimed author Katie Alender puts an unforgettable twist on this spine-chilling tale of murder, mystery, mayhem -- and the movies.

This is my second Katie Alender book, I read Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer  and while I did enjoy it, I had my issues with it, especially with a certain spineless main character. Famous Last Words, however, was so freaking close to being the absolute perfect read for me. It had everything I wanted in one package. Hollywood, pop culture, a serial killer, murders, a ghost haunting, a character going slightly Ghost Whisperer on us, chilling horror scenes and pathological people. That's a lot to ask for, and you get it.

I'll start with the good (there's a lot of it) so I'll just highlight the best of them. Famous Last Words does intense scenes very, as I mentioned before, I don't get scared that much with books, and I've only read a few that have, and now Famous Last Words is on that list. It's that kind of chill you get that doesn't always translate well in reading as it does by watching, but it really translates well here. The Famous Movie Death scenes were perfectly intense and creepy and twisted and slightly disturbing all in one. And eerie, let's not forget eerie. But, the worst scenes that scared the crap out of me (hey, I was reading it in the dark, okay? And, I had a bottle of water on my bed and it fell off and  yeah, I jumped.) was the scenes where Willa thought she was hallucinating, and later on, she knowing she's not hallucinating but someone trying to communicate to her, they are the type of horror scenes I love.

The characters, like the story, are kind of...weird. Which, adds to the atmosphere all right, and I grew to like Willa,  even if I didn't grow to like other characters. I felt Willa was standoffish in the beginning but you get to see how great of a character she is, when she starts to open up a little more, but I wanted more of her past life before California, and maybe if I got that, I would've understood her a lot more than I did.

The mystery of the serial killer wasn't a mystery (not for me anyway) I pegged who it was around 20% in so I knew what was coming but it didn't make a difference, I loved it anyway, and it was great to see it all come together and when that click slides in place.

Famous Last Words wasn't glitz and glam, to be honest, without being set where it was and the Movie Death Scenes, it wasn't about Hollywood, so in that aspect, It wasn't what I expected, but what I hadn't expected was so much better than the former.

Rating: 4/5