4.5⭐️ rounded up!

i was so excited to dig into this because i loved “the club”. typically if a book is labeled historical fiction, i pass by because that’s a genre that i can never get into, but dang this book has made me reconsider. of course, it helped that there was a mix of past and present times to add layers to the multi-decades mysteries.

i was able to figure out the first twist early on, but even so it was exciting to watch it play out and finally come together in the end.

READ THIS BOOK!! thank you net galley 🫶🏼

This is not normally the type of book that I like to read; however this is defiantly a diamond worth picking up. A tale of money, power and fame that shows how sometimes things happen for a reason.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Books for my #gifted advanced readers copy! My opinions are my own and voluntary.

Wow. A really intense mysterious thriller full of TWISTS and turns at every corner!

There is just so much going on in this book! Three storylines all at once, but not confusing at all. Everything intertwines and relates to each other very nicely. We have the mystery of Juliette Willoughby, a young, wealthy artist that tragically met her death, who's art was lost in a fire. Her painting is found and authenticated by grad student and art connoisseur, Caroline.

After many years, Caroline becomes an expert of the young artist, after finding her journal and renderings of a self-portrait. She is a best-selling author and sought after for all things Juliette Wiloughby. When a duplicate self-portrait is discovered, Caroline flies out to Dubai, on request of her ex-husband, to authenticate it. Thier mutual friend and seller of the portrait, is then found murdered in his hotel room. Connecting all the dots, with help from an old friend, Caroline starts putting the puzzle pieces together. Not only solving Harry's murder but the disappearance of her college friend, Freddie and digs up deep, dark secrets about the Willoughby family.

My thoughts:
This was such a terrific read! So many TWISTS, surprises and secrets! Betrayal, lies, love and MURDER. In the end, everything comes together perfectly! You do NOT want to miss this one!

If you loved First Lie Wins and are a fan of Ruth Ware or Lisa Jewell, you will want to grab this one right away!

I would consider this more of a mystery than a thriller, but I quite enjoyed it. Despite not being an art fan or a fan of historical literature, I found this story entertaining and enjoyed the different points of view and timelines. Would reccomend to others!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

In the 1990s two art students, Patrick and Caroline, meet and have a brief romance. Years later they are paired to do graduate work with an art historian. Caroline decides to study the lone painting of Juliette Willoughby, an artist who died in a fire along with her surrealist painter lover Oscar Ehrlich (whom Patrick has chosen to study.) Patrick and Caroline's love story parallels that of Oscar and Juliette as they try to find out what really happened to the pair of painters in the 1930s. The novel flits between Caroline and Patrick's past and present, and Juliette's timeline. The modern era aspect of the novel involves a murder which is used as a framing device. The novel offers a compelling story of what art really means and how far people will go to capture beauty.

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This book has it all and is executed flawlessly. Mystery, history, family drama, love - it is just amazing. I loved the characters, the three different timelines, the details put into every aspect of this book. It was incredibly well done and I enjoyed it from the first page to the last. A wealthy family has a history of tragedy, missing people and art work. Who is responsible, what really happened and where did the art go? Paris in the 1930's follows Juliette Willoughby, who dies with her lover in a studio fire, along with her art. Cambridge in the 1990's - two art history students question what really happened to Juliette. Will they expose the secrets of her aristocratic family? And Dubai, today - an art dealer is accused of murdering the last living member of the Willoughby family, who is also his best friend. Is Juliette's lost painting the key to discovering who is responsible for all these murders?

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book for an honest review. This story follows two art history students, Caroline and Patrick as they work on their dissertation they unravel a mystery around a painting thought to be missing by surrealist Juliette Willoughby. When a photo of the painting is discovered the two are started on a path that will change their lives forever.

I really enjoyed this story. I found the beginning a bit slow at first but then it picked up so nicely that it made the story enjoyable to read. It had some interesting twists and turns and I really enjoyed the characters.

5 stars!

I have to admit, I didn't love Ellery Lloyd's previous works because they missed the mark in a way I couldn't put my finger on. However, they stuck gold with The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby! It's smart, it's a true puzzle that kept me guessing and I love the Surrealist painter angle. Like most talented women in history, they've been written out of the biographies and turned into footnotes in their own lives. Juliette Willoughby was no exception. How did her painting, once hung at a Surrealist Exhibition in the 1930's mysteriously reappear after it was thought to be lost in an apartment fire? Let's throw some ancient Egyptian beliefs in there, and a little mix of current day Dubai. It's a bit of a slow burn, but it pays off at the end. Thank you HarperCollins and Netgalley for the ARC.

I love Ellery Lloyd and this was even better than The Club! Set in the mysterious world of art, it’s full of twists and turns and incredibly fun characters! I read it in bits and pieces because I didn’t want it to be over!!

Thank you Harper for the review copy! This is a great mystery, filled with captivating settings, themes on society/high society intrigue that always works for me, and engaging writing that drew me right in. I have not read this author's previous books but this was a big win for me in terms of style and pace. This is a great read for summer travel (trust me, I read it while navigating airports and delays and was glad to have a good book to review!)

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery set in upper crust England and Dubai. It spanned many years of time and had many interesting characters. It had a more intricate and complex plot and characters than I usually read in any book of this genre. The characters were believable, the plot unique and the ending satisfying. I thought it was well written and kept me engaged.

This is a new author for me which I enjoyed reading. I enjoyed their writing style as well as the ability to pull me into the story with ease and keep me turning pages fast. This is a well written story about three murders over a century. What does a lost painting have to do with the murders? You will want to read this book to find out what happens. It is an engaging story that is fast paced and hard to put down. It has characters that pull you into their world from the start. They make it easy to read and entertaining as well. There is great growth of the characters and the plot throughout. I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.

📚 PUBLICATION MONTH BOOK REVIEW 📚

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby
By Ellery Lloyd
Publication Date: June 11, 2024
Publisher: Harper | HarperCollins

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded up to 5⭐)

📚MY REVIEW:

What a fantastic read this turned out to be!

This book began as a reaaaalllly slow burn for me. So slow that I started and stopped it multiple times over a couple months -- I just couldn't get into it initially. There were multiple POVs across multiple decades and timelines, with so many intersecting characters...I struggled to stay focused on the plot. But I kept pushing on because I'd heard so many great things...

And then suddenly, just before the halfway point, a switch flipped -- and this book became unputdownable! Never before has a book so completely done a 180 on me like Juliette Willoughby did. But let me tell you, in no uncertain terms -- the second half of this book was amazing! The mysteries deepened, the character development finally started coming together, and I literally COULD NOT read these pages fast enough to find out what happened.

The dinner hour came and went. Twilight settled in the sky outside. Yet still, I eagerly turned page after page, unwilling to stop reading even as the room around me darkened and night fell. And as I finally read the book's last sentences, I envisioned a crowd offering slow claps and a chorus of "Bravo!" around me. The ending had such a satisfying twist, it didn't even matter that I'd figured it out a while back... Lloyd's written confirmation of my hunch in the book's conclusion was perfection.

This book was less thriller & more mystery, with elements of historical fiction. I definitely can't say this was a bingeable read, but it's worth it. If this one is sitting on your TBR list, it's time to read it. It will start slow but don't give up. I promise this book will captivate you and the story of Juliette Willoughby will capture your heart!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Harper for gifting me this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

#TheFinalActofJulietteWilloughby #ElleryLloyd #NetGalley #ARC #bookrecommendations #bookreviews #greatreads

★ 4.5 Stars ★
I was thrilled when Harper offered me an advanced copy of "The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby." This gripping historical tale of love, obsession, power, and revenge spans over a century, beginning in 1938 and continuing to the present day with various points of view.

Juliette Willoughby, a renowned surrealist artist and heiress, met a tragic end in a fire at her Paris apartment, along with her enigmatic Self-Portrait as Sphinx. However, some doubt that the painting was truly lost in the flames, adding to the mystery and intrigue of the story.

Art students Caroline Cooper and Patrick Lambert from Cambridge set out to uncover the truth behind the painting. Their journey starts in Cambridge in 1991 and concludes in Dubai today. During that time, they encounter more betrayal, cunning fraud than they could have imagined, and long-buried secrets about the Willoughby family. What makes this painting so unique?

This intricately woven narrative was a true page-turner! The themes of art, love, obsession, power, and revenge are masterfully explored, drawing the reader into a world of intrigue and deception among the wealthy and privileged.

Special thanks to the author and publisher for providing an advanced copy of this novel through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and provided voluntarily.

#TheFinalActofJulietteWilloughby #ElleryLloyd #Harper #ARC

THE FINAL ACT OF JULIETTE WILLOUGHBY is the third book from Ellery Lloyd, a pseudonym for the London-based husband-and-wife writing team of Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos. A compelling conflation of several genres including mystery, suspense, romance, and history with hints of mythology woven throughout, the story catapults readers back in time to find themselves entwined in a dark, century old family drama steeped in ugly secrets, manic obsession, and revenge. Readers are challenged with determining if the answers to three mysterious deaths are hidden in a once lost painting by deceased surrealist artist Juliette Willoughby.

THE FINAL ACT OF JULIETTE WILLOUGHBY is an epic, richly atmospheric, often sordid, dark family saga spanning more than a decade. The story unfolds through dual points of view beginning with the tragic love affair between surrealist artists Juliette Willoughby and her married lover, Oskar Erlich, who perish in a suspicious fire in 1938 Paris. The couple's story surfaces again in 1991 Cambridge when two university students in possession of Juliette's diary and long-lost painting, "Self-Portrait As Spinx", raise significant questions concerning the death of Juliette that threatens to divulge long buried secrets of the famous Willoughby family. The story continues in the current time with a scandal surrounding the arrest of art dealer Patrick Lambert for the murder of the last remaining descendant of the Willoughby family in Dubai.

Flawlessly executed through brilliant characterizations, THE FINAL ACT OF JULIETTE WILLOUGHBY accentuates the fascinating world of historical art and women's struggle for recognition within it, a sordid illicit love affair, a highly dysfunctional family drama, and an intriguing murder and missing person mystery. The duo's mesmerizing writing style draws readers in, holding them in the palm of their hands until the final page. This book is a highly entertaining, fast paced, scandalous murder mystery I recommend to art history buffs, and mystery and suspense readers.

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd is a brilliant combination of historical fiction and mystery.

Set in three different timelines, this book is full of mysteries. Caroline and Patrick, two art historians, are in search of a painting by Juliette Willoughby. But this artist is an enigma. Spanning years, this book is about a dysfunctional family, art, loss, grief, and mental illness to some extent.

This book was really brilliant. There are so many layers in the book, and every layer has been written so well. I only wish that the pace was a little fast. Juliette Willoughby is an exceptional character, and I really wish she was a real painter.

Thank you, Harper, for this book.

One of my favorite books of the year. My audience loved hearing from them. See my interview here: https://youtube.com/live/AwSHqWzVjRk

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd was a phenomenal story.
So wonderfully written. I was glued to my kindle.
The storyline was extremely compelling and I was completely addicted from beginning to end. I started it this morning and finished it in a day!! It was filled with mysteries, twists and surprises and had me completely absorbed throughout.
Historical fiction, suspense, mystery, dual POVs all combine for one unparalleled piece of perfection!!

Thank You NetGalley and Harper for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper for gifting me a digital ARC of this wonderful novel by the writing duo Ellery Lloyd. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

In Paris, in 1938, runaway heiress Juliette Willoughby perishes in a fire, along with her married lover. Her one painting, Self Portrait as Sphinx lost. In Cambridge, in 1991, two art history students discover secrets about the artist's family and the painting. In present day Dubai, an art dealer is accused of the murder of his oldest friend, the last surviving member of the. Willoughby dynasty. Is the key to unlocking all these mysteries hidden in Juliette Willoughby’s lost painting?

Wow - I loved this smart thriller! It's complex, spanning a century, with hidden love affairs, family secrets and tragedies. There is the intrigue of the art world, secret university societies, and lots of money. The locations become part of the story as well. It also explores how women artists were treated in the past. This sounds like a lot, but it is so cleverly written, full of twists that had me gasping, and the satisfying coming together of all these story lines. Highly recommended - make sure this is on your reading list this summer for a real escape!

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is by far Ellery Lloyd's best book yet! The dark academia vibes along with missing persons, potential murders, and a look back into surrealist art of the 1930s. Just wow! I was captivated from the beginning and while a few things I suspected turned out to be right there was so much more where I wasn't exactly sure how it was going to wrap up. I could have devoured this is one sitting but I've been extremely busy which hasn't allowed for uninterrupted reading but I was thinking about this book and itching to get back to it every time I was away from it. I'm sad to see it end and I feel like I'll need to take a minute before I start something else because I enjoyed this one so much! Book hangover in progress!