Title: The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby

Author: Ellery Lloyd

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Pan MacMillan

Publication Date: 20th June 2024

Rating: 5/5

Cover:

Book Summary:

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?

Review:

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.

★★★★★

Thank you so much to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for inviting me on this tour and organising it. I kindly received a copy of the book from the publisher. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

Buy the book:

https://amzn.to/4clNunj

(As an Amazon Associate I earn a very small amount from qualifying purchases – at absolutely no extra cost to you!)