When I read the synopsis of The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd I just knew I had to read it as it sounded so intriguing. Thank you to Pan Macmillan for granting my request for an ARC.

This is an ambitious story that spans a century of mysterious deaths, Egyptian artifacts and many skeletons in dusty old closets. Could a missing painting hold the key to it all?

The plot is rich and complex, told over three distinct timelines with multiple POVs and locations. Each location is vivid and atmospheric from arty Paris during 1938, academic Cambridge in 1991 to present day Dubai with all its wealth and glamour. Although the story switches between timelines the execution is seamless and the unfolding mysteries kept me on the edge of my seat.

This book combined all my favourite genres in a unique and exciting way. The pacing is perfect and the conclusion satisfying. I would highly recommend this book and if you have it on your TBR bump it up to the top

I really enjoyed People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd so I was very much looking forward to reading another of their books and I’m pleased to say that I loved this one even more! I love mysteries/thrillers and I’m an artist myself, so The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby, which brings both of these things together, with a healthy dose of compelling characters and an intriguing plot is basically my ideal book. I have always been interested in art, and I’m a particular fan of the 20th century surrealist movement (my favourite artist has always been Salvador Dalí) of which Juliette Willoughby is a fictional member, although I have to say, she feels achingly real. Her tragic story is one strand of the narrative, with the other two strands being set in 1990’s Cambridge and present day Dubai. Each part is utterly gripping and beautifully compelling.

I found The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby emotional engaging from start to finish, it is poignant, elegant and layered in a way that kept me turning the pages long into the small hours one morning. I did actually guess one of the twists quite early but that had no bearing on my enjoyment of the book at all. I was entranced by this story which touches on so many different aspects – from the erasure of female artists from the artistic canon to family deceptions and secrets with far reaching consequences. I really couldn’t recommend it more highly. A stylish, intelligent, moving and consuming mystery which you don’t want to miss.

I was running out of time to read this so opted to listen to an audio version-I am so glad I did. A story with plot twists and turns, some vile character and some quite sympathetic ones. It flits between narrators and time periods but this doesn't detract from the narrative.
I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up.

This novel weaves a rich and intricate tale across different eras and characters. While I occasionally found it challenging to follow, the fusion of art history and suspense kept me captivated.

Set in the 1990s, Caroline and Patrick, both art history students, delve into the mysterious life of Juliette Willoughby, a Surrealist painter who perished in a Paris fire just before World War II. Her famous work, "Self Portrait as a Sphinx," was thought lost in the flames—but was it? The plot deepens with connections to the modern-day Willoughby family, whose son befriends Patrick. Caroline's discovery of Juliette's diary reveals long-hidden secrets.

Spanning the 1930s in Paris, the 1990s in Cambridge, and present-day Dubai, where a sudden death rattles the remaining Willoughbys, the story brims with complexity. Its intricacies are such that I feel compelled to revisit it for a deeper understanding.

For readers with uninterrupted time to spare, this novel offers a rewarding journey into a layered narrative that demands full immersion, making it less suitable for casual reading on the go.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise is interesting, the plot is told from different viewpoints (perhaps too many) and the subject matter of surreal art also interesting. I thought that the writing was too lacklustre. Certainly the first half, though setting the scene, was not very interesting. The plot did pick up later, though the book has a slow pace throughout. There are twists in the plot, some predictable, others less so.
I did consider giving up half way, the book was not doing it for me, but once the action picked up more I was glad I had kept going to finish. Not a bad read.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

I loved this book. It was a bit of a slow build but completely came to life. It was intriguing and mysterious, set across multiple time lines, it really draws you in.
Following Cambridge university Art students in the 90’s, to discovering all about Juliet herself in the 1930’s, right up to the glamorous Dubai Art scene in recent times.
This book has it all, it’s clever, it’s stylish, oozes old school glamour and the fancy ways of Cambridge University life. It’s has multiple mysteries, from missing paintings, as well as missing people.
This book is going to be one of those that becomes a must read.

Juliette Willoughby was a surrealist painter in the 1930s from an aristocratic English family. When she died in a fire in Paris in 1938 with her artist lover, she was estranged from the family. In 1991, Cambridge students Caroline and Patrick find themselves drawn into Juliette's world through research for a dissertation and what they find while embarking on this. They are convinced that all is not as it seems. Links with Patrick's family are multiple as are the couple's visits to Longhurst, Juliette's home, and that of Patrick's wealthy friends, Harry and Freddie. By the time there have been more suspicious deaths and disappearances over the decades to the present day, it's clear there is a secret to be kept. An intriguing read with a quite gruesome outcome. #netgalley #thefinalactofjuliettewilloughby

Thank you to the publishers for an advanced copy. This is a great book 5 stars. I was obsessed with this book and couldn't put it down. The book begins in Dubai where Caroline has a painting that has been lost and found twice since the 1930's. The book covers the life and death of Juliette Willoughby a quite unknown female artist. I love how the book was told from 3 points of view, Caroline's, Patrick her lover and also Juliette herself. The book flicks between past and present, in Paris, Cambridge and Dubai. I found the diary extracts from Juliette very interesting to try and piece together her life and what happened to the missing painting and her lover Oskar. This was great writing and I was utterly absorbed with many twists and turns. I will be recommending to others and looking for more books from Ellery

Some women can’t be erased from history . . .

A story of love and madness, of obsession and revenge.

Paris, 1938: Runaway heiress Juliette Willoughby perishes, with her married lover, in an accidental studio fire alongside her Surrealist masterpiece, Self-Portrait as Sphinx.

Cambridge, 1991: Two art history students stumble across proof something sinister was at play in Juliette's death, threatening to expose the long-buried secrets of the artist's aristocratic family.

Dubai, now: An art dealer is accused of the brutal murder of his oldest friend – the last surviving member of the Willoughby dynasty.

Three suspicious deaths over the course of a century.

Is the key to unlocking them all hidden in Juliette Willoughby’s lost painting?

I loved The Club by Ellery Lloyd so I was thrilled to be able to read this one although it is quite different to their work I’d read before.

A slow burn of a novel; beautifully written with mystery and intrigue throughout.

I loved the Juliette chapters , both of her journal and her narrative, and I found these parts so compelling I wanted to know what drove her to do the things that she did and to make the decisions she made.

Caroline and Patrick also made the book come alive - from their time at Cambridge in 1991 to present day Dubai where secrets were uncovered and mysteries unearthed.

I has a suspicion as to what had happened and I was half right; although some of the plot twists took me by surprise!

This is a story of family secrets, revenge, heartbreak and mystery and I enjoyed reading every page.

Oh this book was the literary equivalent of being tangoed. So did not see any of that coming! Such a dramatic book by the end but when you reading it you get sucked into people's heads and it muddles your own. This is a puzzle in a puzzle and it was great fun working it out.
Seems to have gone a little bit under the radar. where is the buzz around this book? It is quite something.

Overall this book made for a good vacation read. Good storyline , interesting characters and I liked the writing style. A solid 3 star read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy

This is the first book I’ve read by Ellery Lloyd so I didn’t know what to expect. I have had mixed feelings, previously about an author who is actually two authors, spending more time trying to work out who wrote which part but with this novel it worked perfectly. I didn’t give it a thought, it worked that well.

Three narrators and initially three periods of time, Juliette in the 1930s in Paris and Caroline and Patrick in the 1990s and modern day. The reader sees how much art has a huge effect on their lives. And not always in a good way. Despite their love and appreciation for it, none of them have experienced happiness. I loved reading about Juliette’s life, the lack of family support and a relationship that didn’t really improve things. I could see that despite all of this she had the determination and will to do what she wanted. Whilst I enjoyed reading about Patrick and Caroline, I loved reading Juliette’s story. I thought she was one of the strongest characters I’ve ‘met’ recently through reading

Patrick and Caroline’s life in the 1990s were similar in some ways. Many of their ‘friends’ at university were the type that many would prefer to avoid. Rich, privileged and in some cases less richer than they felt they should have been. None of these were likeable and it was difficult for me initially not to see Patrick the same way as he felt he needed to do what his father wanted. However, the more I read I could see that he was different and knew that he would never be able to compete. Caroline knew that she would never be able to compete so was more of a loner who took her time to open up to people.

When one of Patrick’s more despicable friends disappears after a party neither him or Caroline were that concerned but it did have an impact on the murder charge he faced in the modern day. Some of those who were at the gathering in Dubai they knew from university but they soon discovered that there was ill feeling from some.

This part of the novel showed how wealth has an impact on everything, in particular family and loyalty. The actual art didn’t seem to matter that much apart from to Caroline and Patrick.

An interesting and vivid tale covering various timelines and characters. I did find it difficult at times to keep track but the overall combination of art history and a thriller kept me going. In the 1990s two Art History students, Caroline and Patrick, are working on a project about Juliette Willoughby, who died in a fire in Paris with her lover before the start of the Second World War. Her Surrealist painting, Self Portrait as a Sphinx, was destroyed in the fire, Or was it? What is the connection with modern day Willoughby family whose son is friends with Patrick? What secrets does Juliette's diary, discovered by Caroline, reveal?

The story is told over three timelines, the 1930s in Paris; the 1990s in Cambridge and present day in Dubai when the last member of the Willoughby family dies unexpectedly. To be honest there is so much happening in this book that I will have to reread it to fully understand what was happening. A worthwhile read if you have a solid few hours to get to grips with it. Not one to pick up and read on the way to work!

Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan/Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I always look forward to books from husband and wife duo Ellery Lloyd, each story is so different from the one before. Whilst their previous two books have focussed on the worlds of influencers in 'Someone Like Us' and of exclusive members' only venues in 'The Club', we are taken to somewhere completely different in 'The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby'.

This dramatic story of the re-discovery of the long lost masterpiece by artist Juliette Willoughby is set across three timelines the present day when the painting is about to be auctioned; the 1990s university years when Oxbridge students Caroline and Patrick delve into the forgotten story of the artist and the work; and lastly the 1938 diaries from Juliette herself, where she writes eloquently about her artistic life in Paris with her lover, shunning her wealthy past and immersing herself in her artistic vision whatever the personal cost.

The three timelines are neatly entwined and feed in to one another brilliantly; the discovery of Juliette's diaries means that so much previously hidden information can be brought to the fore and can shed light on what happened to the painting subsequently.

The authors do a fantastic job of capturing the wealth, glamour and obsession of the art world, where paintings swap hands for vast sums of money. The Willoughby family is central to the story; they are hugely influential and connected at each point in time. The shame that Juliette brought on them by abandoning the family for an impoverished artist's life is still felt to the present day.

'The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby' is a much more complex and ambitious book than the previous two, not only in the various time periods but also the number of characters to keep track of. It is confidently written and well plotted. I look forward to seeing what the Ellery Lloyd duo come up with next!

When two art history students are set on the trail of an obscure surrealist painter best known for her tragic death in a fire, and for having no extant work, they are unaware of the enormous impact their actions will have on their own lives, and those of their loved ones.

Moving between three narrative strands - Cambridge in the early 1990s, Paris in the 1930s, and contemporary Dubai - I loved The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby, a book which kept me guessing until the very end but whose twists never felt too far-fetched.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby - By Ellery Lloyd

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Blurb 💭

Some women can’t be erased from history . . .

A story of love and madness, of obsession and revenge.

Paris, 1938: Runaway heiress Juliette Willoughby perishes, with her married lover, in an accidental studio fire alongside her Surrealist masterpiece, Self-Portrait as Sphinx.

Cambridge, 1991: Two art history students stumble across proof something sinister was at play in Juliette's death, threatening to expose the long-buried secrets of the artist's aristocratic family.

Dubai, now: An art dealer is accused of the brutal murder of his oldest friend – the last surviving member of the Willoughby dynasty.

Three suspicious deaths over the course of a century.

Is the key to unlocking them all hidden in Juliette Willoughby’s lost painting?

I had really high expectations of this book. Judging from the title and the cover I assumed it would be about a glamorous actress named Juliette, similar to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo which I read last year and rated 5 stars. It’s true what they say, you should never judge a book by its cover because this was nothing like that.

Unfortunately this story fell flat for me and I struggled through the first half, nearly DNF’ing it because it just wasn’t holding my attention. It was very much a slow burn and didn’t really pick up any pace until 50% in.

I usually enjoy dual POV and multiple timelines however it felt a little all over the place I struggled to keep up what was happening, when and from whose perspective. I also wasn’t keen on the overuse of compound sentences throughout the dialogues, it felt very unnecessary.

There were far too many characters to try and remember, most of them forgettable which only added to my confusion throughout. A family tree diagram of the Willoughbys at the beginning of the book would have been helpful to refer back to as I wasn’t sure whose cousin was who, whose uncle was who and whose father was who it was very confusing and overwhelming.

Even though there were plenty of twists throughout, I predicted nearly every single one so the storyline didn’t shock or excite me, I was just waiting for what I already knew was going to happen.

Overall, the book was okay and I’d recommend it to people who enjoy art history or historical fiction with a dash of mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pan MacMillan and Ellery Lloyd for this free ARC in return for an honest review. I am leaving this review voluntarily

I will also be posting my review on Instagram, Goodreads and Amazon on publication day.

if your dream book is the secret history meets portrait of a thief then you will be as obsessed with this book as i am. with interchanging perspectives that lead you through the many twists & turns, this story entices you from the very beginning with strong themes of betrayal, secrecy & murder. i love how it plays around with the conventions of dark academia, but with an artistic depth that intertwines all the fascinating elements of the story. i read this book so quickly & can honestly say it’s a must read if you’re into books surrounding intellectual ideas with a prominent mysterious tone. i want to say so much about this book but i’m afraid anything can give it all away, it’s a magnetic story that pulls you every which way with a sense of purpose in Lloyd’s writing. if you’re into twists, this is the book for you as the last few pages will have your mouth hanging open as mine did. an absolute must read!!

This book was an absolute delight to read, blending the enchanting elements of dark academia with a gripping mystery that kept me hooked from start to finish.

The narrative spans multiple decades and shifts between various points of view, yet the authors' skillful writing ensured I never once felt lost or confused. Each twist and turn was a surprising revelation, making the journey all the more captivating.

With its masterful storytelling and intricate plot, this book is well worth a read for anyone looking for an engaging and immersive experience.

I absolutely loved this book. It had me furiously scribbling down theories, some spot on, others wildly speculative. The multiple narratives and shifts through time are handled brilliantly, keeping the reader hooked and guessing. The characters are well-developed and deeply human, adding layers of complexity to the intriguing plot.

The twists and turns are plentiful, ensuring you’re kept on your toes until the gripping conclusion. I can't wait to reread this book and uncover the subtle clues I might have missed the first time around. The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is a stunning, intricately plotted mystery that will captivate fans of historical fiction and thrillers alike.

This is a complex & vivid triple timeline enthralling narrative. Juliette lived in the 1930s in England & then Paris, before WWII. Caroline & Patrick are Art History students at Cambridge University in 1991. Then we see them in 2023 in Dubai. This time period counts down to a death, so this plot is revealed before it happens. The narrative jumps from each time period, so pay close attention. It’s an intriguing story…Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance, Art Theft, Mystery Thriller…murders & missing persons. So, so much going on in all three time periods. Riveting & compelling reading. A fascinating, intricate puzzle of suspense, that the Ellery Lloyd duo weave together to it’s final conclusion. Highly recommend