This story was about a missing actress she wasn’t an A list celeb though did star in a well known movie that was a bit like Scream from what I gathered. This is when our detectives come in and start trying to figure this out though there are a lot of actors in this town and that is making it hard to solve.

I felt like this was a really good story with all the twists and turns you want in this genre.

Well this was just a delight! A bingeable popcorn thriller, I was invested from the first chapter and hooked until the end. I flew through this one in just over a day.

A twisty, pacey thriller, with snappy dialogue and great well rounded characters (some likeable, some really not!) Gray uses the dual timelines and POV with ease, showing us how Madison is desperate to see her name in lights as a young 19 year old wannabe actress - only to find herself 20 years later as front page news for going missing, her purse randomly on a hiker trail and her neighbours none the wiser of her whereabouts…

I really loved the character of Detective Sarah Delaney’s and her partnership with “I wasn’t born until ‘95” Moreno haha! I really hope this is the beginning of a new series!

Dark Side..
The darkest side of Hollywood and Hollywood fame is explored in this immersive, gritty and compelling suspense where past meets present and truths will out. With an exceptionally well crafted cast of characters populating a propulsive plot, a well written narrative, a solid mystery at its heart and twists aplenty this is a gripping and riveting read.

Fast paced and suspenseful, this had me obsessed! As in, I started..... got sucked in and there went my plans for the rest kf the day. I loved everything about it, the characters were so well crafter and Brought to life. The pacing kept me interested. Just the modern day setting and that old trappings of fame theme brought upto date with the tiktok element and the fact that anyone can now be famous and anyone now can decide they're investigating a missing person and such. It's all just so very true to life so I was just completely invested. There are some good twists and turns, there's a dual timeline which also adds depth to the characters and background. I really couldn't fault it. I loved reading g this

I loved this book! I also loved her last book!
This one is set in LA, which I always love. It’s about a washed up actress that only got a start to a career before it tanked, many years before. When her purse is found and she’s reported missing by a person social media, the police begin to dig into her life.

The Final Act by Lisa Gray is a very good thriller set in Hollywood and spanning decades.

It is also told from several POV's and it goes back and forth from past to present.

It is easy to read, steady paced, not too fast as thriller tend to be, more of a character build book.

There are some surprises along the way. The ending is well explained and makes perfect sense.

A really good story, not to be skipped.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Thomas&Mercer for the book #TheFinalAct by #LisaGray. This book is a hit with me and I loved it! Madison James was an up and coming actress when an incident happened that derailed her acting career. Twenty years later and she is still trying to make it. But, she hasn’t been seen in days and reported missing. Her purse has been located in a park and a girl has put it out on TikTok. As detective Sarah Delaney delves into things, she finds there is a lot more to this story. What happened to Madison?

Wow! Lisa Gray has firmly becoming one of my favourite authors and she’s smashed it again with this book it’s been my favourite read of the year so far!
I absolutely loved the story line and the two main characters. It was a definite page turner and the intrigue of finding out what had happened to Maddison made it so I couldn’t put the book down.
I really liked the seeing the darker side to Tinseltown and I’d actually love to see some of the movies that were described 🤣 especially The Murder Book that sounded like something I would enjoy.

Overall another fast paced book with great twists and turns, if you’ve not read any of Lisa’s books before I would definitely recommend.

Twenty years ago, Madison James was expected to be the next "scream queen" after her film debut, but things didn't go as planned and she has spent most of that time as a waitress at a Hollywood diner. Her name shoots back into the headlines, however, after she goes missing and her purse is found abandoned off-trail in an L.A. park. The case is Detective Sarah Delaney's first on the LAPD's Missing Persons Unit, and after transferring from Robbery/Homicide because she wants to help people before they become murder victims, she is determined to find Madison alive, but is she already too late? The story spans past and present from Madison and Delaney's points of view. It grabbed my attention right away and I devoured this book in about a day. The main characters are multidimensional and likeable -in fact, I hope this won't be a stand-alone, as I'd love to see more of Detective Delaney! Gray doles out important revelations within a web of information that held my interest while not giving too much away too soon.

This fast paced and twisty story takes a look at the darker side of Hollywood as we learn about a star that went missing. Told in multiple point of views, and different time frames, this tale grabbed me from the start and didn't let me go until the end. I really enjoyed this one and hope to read more from Lisa Gray!
Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read this ARC.

Fantastic book from start to finish. Mystery, intrigue and deception all rolled into one. A real page turner, hard to put down.

Twenty years ago, Madison had her big break in Hollywood. However, she was a one hit wonder and quickly fizzled out. Fast forward to the present, and Madison is missing. A Tiktok sleuth finds Madison's discarded purse in an LA park. The video becomes popular on TikTok and soon the entire nation is wondering what happened to Madison.

Detectives Sarah Delaney and Rob Moreno are on the case! The pair begin their investigations but hit a wall. Even after worming their way into Hollywood, they are still not finding any leads. As time goes on, the detectives find that they are dealing with a deeper story that stems from the past. Sarah and Rob are determined to find Madison before the case turns into a homicide.

This ended up being a very twisty tale! I wasn't sure what to expect based off the description. I do not really care for police procedurals, which I thought this might be based on the description, but The Final Act turned out to be a great mystery/thriller. Lisa Gray is amazing at writing unpredictable twists and keeping the suspense levels high. I will say that I was genuinely shocked by the big reveal.

I also really enjoyed the Hollywood vibes. Lisa Gray did an excellent job exploring the realities of young stardom and also the realities of Hollywood and career focused women in general. I love when I stumble across a setting that isn't overdone!

I was hooked from the first page and could not put this one down! In fact, I finished it in one day! I absolutely had to know wha happened to Madison and if she was alive. I enjoyed that the chapter lengths varied - some were super short, which made for a quick paced read. Highly recommend!

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A fast paced detective story that kept my attention all the way through . I liked the dual timeline and the lead detective - Sarah Delaney and I feel like we might see her again at some point .

This book is one of those fast paced thrillers you would find on KU. People have been calling them popcorn thrillers and that is what I would say this is.

We follow an actress who almost made it in the industry but didn’t. She was on a famous slasher but then things don’t quite work out for her. She is still looking for jobs but is also a waitress. When she goes missing, we follow the investigation and we also learn about the past.

This book was decent. It was very fast paced and I think people will like that about this one. It was an easy read and I liked the different timelines that we followed.

I do feel like the twists and stuff were predictable and not surprising to me. I feel like there are a lot of overused tropes in this one especially about the acting industry. I was hoping for something different.

Overall, if you want a quick thriller I would still recommend this one. It just didn’t stand out too much to me. Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Madison James has wanted to make a big name for herself in Hollywood. Now she has because she has gone missing. It’s up to detectives of the LAPD Missing persons unit to find her before she becomes more than missing.

It's been twenty years since movie star Madison James as in the spotlight and a known name. When a video goes viral from an influencer who found Madison's purse off some hiking trail, her friend knows something is really wrong besides her having missed work the last few days. Police are called to investigate and it seems dead end after dead end and just when they think they have evidence or a clue, it only gives more questions than answers. When a hotel room is found, and contains a very large amount of blood things become worrisome and it seems that they might have a murder case instead of a missing person. But as they dig into her past, they find out that she is not the first to go missing and there is a link to this hotel room. Can the police uncover what happened to Madison, where her body is and who wanted to silence her for good? This was a good twisted read and I loved how it flipped between current day and Madison's past leading up to what happened and why. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the complementary novel. This is a hot summer read that everyone at Thriller Book Lovers the Pulse is reading and talking about! Great summer beach read!

Lisa Gray’s THE FINAL ACT is a swan song for former (almost) starlet Madison James. She always dreamed that her name would be on everyone’s radar. A has-been actress who was discovered shortly after arriving in tinsel town but now has disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Missing Persons Unit detectives Delaney and Moreno are assigned the case. Madison James is just someone who flaked off and didn’t show up for work, right? That is until her purse is discovered in the park by another aspiring actress with a semi followed TikTok account. When she posts video of the find and police begin to investigate, the story eventually leads to national coverage. Where is Madison James?

As the story moves between past a present, we learn about how Madison was discovered, what she had to do for bit parts and the enemies to friends relationship she had with someone she considered her main rival for leading lady. We learn of the stalker she had 20 years ago and the agent who keeps promising her that her break will come. Twenty years! And only 3 big jobs early in her career. WHEN?

As Delaney and Moreno continue to investigate, they are drawn deeper into the underbelly of Hollywood. Drugs, casting calls, unscrupulous people, etc. Then, they get a call telling them where she may be. When they follow up, they find a room covered in blood. Looks like a homicide now, but who’s?

This one had me thinking. With lots of twists and turns, you will eventually figure it out. It’s just a question of how far you’ll get before you do. But the final confrontation had me catching my breath and my pulse pounding. Jeesh! Some people don’t know when to give up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

I'm always undecided on books from this author. The premise always sounds great but something about the writing style just doesn't quite land for me and that's okay because that doesn't mean it isn't still good, just not my cup of tea.

This one started out really strong, with some 00s Scream Queen nostalgia but when it moved to the present, the TikTok people just didn't keep my attention for long and the atmosphere wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was a fun thriller that if I didn't need to sleep, probably would've kept me up all night. I had previously read another book by Lisa Gray when it was featured as an Amazon First Reads book last year and I would say that this one is just as good and fun, and maybe even slightly better than her previous book. I thought this book was fast-paced and I didn't see the ending coming. Overall, I thought that this was a very well-written thriller and I am going to be on the lookout for more books by Lisa Gray in the future!

Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

********


If you are interested in seeing more of my reviews and other content feel free to connect with me here <3:

https://linktr.ee/bookreviewsbyjules (links to my Instagram, Goodreads, TikTok, Storygraph, My blog and Substack newsletter, etc)

If you are a publisher or author who has questions about my reviews (as well as questions about my stats, reach or engagement), please free to email me. I am also open to requests for book reviews from authors or publishers. Thank you again for taking time to read my review, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

One has been-ish actress, Madison James, becomes a hot topic when her purse is discovered in a park by a TikToker. Amateur social media sleuths swarm and have many theories about her disappearance.
‌
Detectives Delaney and Moreno want the facts. They peel back later after layer to find the truth about what happened to Madison James.
‌
Loved the dual timelines and all the glimpses of Hollywood behind the scenes.
‌
Thanks to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley and Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.