An intricate multiple-stream narrative that reels you in with every page turn. I enjoyed following each thread of the story as it unfolded, and as each thread has its own mystery leading to the main hook of Juliette Willoughby and her painting it’s really easy to get hooked and the ending is super satisfying seeing them all come together. I’d recommend this to anyone who wants a well-paced mystery with historical links.

This novel is a pacy mystery surrounding the study of surrealist art. We follow two timelines, one in the modern day when two students are directed to research Juliette Willoughby's work and one in the past which follows the story of Juliette herself. I must confess to getting mixed up at times when the first person is telling us about their mother or father I had to remind myself which first person it was but it was definitely a twisty page turner and hung together pretty well. Theres a flavour of the acamenia about it and some family shenanigans too. What let it down was the rather convenient expertise of an old friend who just happened to have invented something pertinent to the struggle.of the denouement. But for that it would have scored more highly. A great holiday read on the literary side of beach reads and I am grateful to Net Galley for an early copy.

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is a captivating mystery that spans three timelines—1930s Paris, 1990s Cambridge, and present-day Dubai. The story revolves around the mysterious artist Juliette Willoughby and her elusive painting "Self Portrait as Sphinx."

The characters are well-developed and the story is engaging. It’s definitely a contender for one of my top 10 reads of the year!

A beautiful and well plotted mystery set over three timelines. The story drew me in immediately and the narrative skipped between the time periods flawlessly. I am not an art history fan but I appreciated the way art was woven into the story.

I adored this book. I love mysteries set in the art world and I love reading about rich people, so this was a treat. With shades of The Secret History and shades of White Lotus, this is elegant, coolly written and immensely satisfying.

Juliette Willoughby is an artist with no existing work, other than a mention of her painting at an international surrealism exhibition in Paris, 1933. When students Caroline and Patrick start researching Juliette for their dissertations, they have no idea where the journey will take them.

A fantastic Historical Fiction come Thriller, this book was full of twists and turns and I couldn’t put it down - I’ve read from 40% to completion today.

I won’t say any more as to avoid spoilers - other than read this book!

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.

A definite 5 star read! The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is by far my top pick of books so far in 2024. I had just finished reading The Club (I was late to the party) and jumped at the chance to read the eARC of Ellery Lloyd's newest novel, and it definitely did not disappoint. Through multiple time-lines and character POVs we get the story of Juliette Willoughby an artist who died in mysterious circumstances in the 1930s as well as the story of her missing piece of art. I thought all the threads of the mystery were brought together fantastically and kept me turning the page well past by bed time! If I'm being picky, I did think the modern day storyline was cleared up a bit too easily by some facial recognition software which seemed to just solve any problems the characters were facing. Nevertheless, I absolutely adored this book and wish I could read something like it every time I picked up a book up.

An absolutely sumptuous read! A beautifully gothic thriller set in the art world in timlines between paris in the 30's, Cambridge University and modern day.
The plot skillfully unfolds and the well-drawn characters are beautifully developed over the novel. An intricate story where the various threads are beautifully spun together. A very satisfying read I couldn't put down.

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

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book with no obligation to review.

All in all, a brilliant read. I thought we were heading for a 5 but about 75% through it got a bit implausible so I have to go for 4.5 rounded up.

Having said that, the characters are great and realistic, they all have good points and flaws, they do clever things and stupid things. They are well drawn and easily distinguished, the dialogue and interactions are realistic and the settings are varied, so vividly described and believable. We have artists in their garret in 1930s Paris; a runaway bohemian heiress; the gilded youth at Cambridge in the present day; a large decaying mansion with a suitably eccentric (or are they sinister and bad) family; a lost masterpiece; tech bros; deaths and disappearances.

So much happens but it is never rushed. There are plenty of opportunities for the reader to try to guess what happens next (I was nearly always wrong!) there is no slowness of pace at any point and nothing boring which you have to skip/skim. I was engrossed and couldn't put it down. I only paused to make it last longer and to order my thoughts about how the plot might develop,

There are some great reveals and twists so it really is a terrific read.

The story is, as so many are these days, told from multiple viewpoints over multiple time lines. Usually I don't mind that but in this book, just a small quibble i felt for a while that it was stopping me from getting fully immersed in the story.

I think I will read this book again as I enjoyed it so much.

What is the secret of the Sphinx?
In 2023 Dubai, Patrick is arrested at his auction of surrealist painting ‘Self Portrait as Sphinx’. In 1991 Cambridge, art history students Caroline and Patrick discover the painting, leading Caroline into a fascination with the artist. And in 1937 Paris, runaway heiress Juliette Willoughby is working on the fateful painting. What she is telling the world will have unintended consequences for all three of their lives.

Just brilliant. Please read.
This book has everything: mystery, glamour, intrigue, academia, love, family, history and crime.

I’ve read ‘The Club’ by Ellery Lloyd and remember enjoying it but this is in a different league.

I don’t mean this to sound in anyway reductive but if ‘The Girl You Left Behind’ and ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ had a (book) baby - it would be this story. I just loved it and could not put it down.

The multiple timelines were never confusing, the prose is elegant and absorbing and I learnt so much about surrealist art. If a book makes me google something and I take knowledge away it will have my heart.

I can’t say anything else without saying everything. Just trust me and preorder immediately.

Thank you to #netgalley and #panmacmillan for my #arc

It took me a while to get into the different time periods of this book, but once I did it was an easy, engaging read. The final twist wasnt a surprise but an enjoyable journey getting there.
Thank you to netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy of this book

Really enjoyed this book. Loved the time lapse and get me entertained.

Would definitely recommend

A nice and easy book to read - it kept me interested throughout and I really enjoyed it. Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

ARC Review - A real page turner! I wouldn’t normally gravitate towards an art mystery book but this was peppered with a light love story and murder so gets 5 stars from me! A beautiful story told with intrigued and emotion. I’ve already recommended it to friends!

I really enjoyed this story set in 3 time periods. It’s the tale of a painting, believed lost, its artist and the art expert who discovers it and her group of friends. All leading to an explanation of all that had gone on many years before well written delve into the art world with characters that make the reading so engaging. Even if I could sense and know the plot twist before it happened, I really enjoyed the book. I think it is an easy-to-read, well-paced, and engaging read. I need read more of the work of this author

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Lots of coincidences and I did guess the twists but a really good read blending the past with the present

A really unusual read for me but one that was thoroughly enjoyable throughout.
Written beautifully, this was a family saga, wrapped in a thrilling whodunnit spanning three time periods and told mainly from the perspective of two characters.
I felt that, despite being a little long overall, the novel was engaging with gasp-worthy twists thrown in at random.

I really enjoyed this story set in 3 time periods. It’s the tale of a painting, believed lost, its artist and the art expert who discovers it and her group of friends. All leading to an explanation of all that had gone on many years before.
This sounds really dry - but it isn’t, it’s a well written delve into the art world with characters you get to know and care about.
I really enjoyed it.

I loved this book. A perfect addition to the dark academia genre, this novel follows 3 connected timelines; Juliette in the 1930s with the events that lead up to the fateful fire, Caroline and Patrick in 1991 as final year students at Cambridge, trying to uncover the secrets of Juliette’s famous painting, and Caroline and Patrick in the present day, as Patrick is publicly arrested for murder. The plot twists were incredible, and there were points where I audibly gasped or had to cover the page to stop myself from spoiling the suspense. It had very similar vibes to “the maidens” and “in my dreams i hold a knife”, two books which i really love, and i really loved this book too. I will be recommending it to all of my reader friends as the perfect autumnal dark academia mystery