Published 20th June 2024 by Pan Macmillan.
From the cover of the book:
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?
From the author of The Club, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick, The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is Ellery Lloyd's compulsive multiple - timeline mystery – a story of love and madness, of obsession and revenge.
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Paris, 1938. Socialite Juliette Willoughby runs away from her broken family to become an artist in glamorous Paris. It is not long before she attracts the eye of famous painter Oskar Erlich who becomes her mentor and her lover. Oskar, introduces Juliette to the vibrant Surrealist art scene, and her work begins to attract attention, especially her enigmatic masterpiece, Self-Portrait as Sphinx. But when a fire consumes Oskar and Juliette's apartment they are both killed, and Juliette's work is lost.
Cambridge, 1991. Caroline Cooper and Patrick Lambert, two art history students, become fascinated by the Surrealist movement. Delving into the work of Juliette Willoughby, they discover that dark secrets lurk at the heart of the Willoughby family, and her death might not have been an accident. But do they dare reveal what they have found, when one of their own set goes missing...?
Dubai, present day. Caroline and Patrick are reunited to authenticate a painting discovered at the crumbling Willoughby mansion. The last Willoughby heir looks likely to make a fortune from the find, but in the wake of the dramatic auction he is murdered. Patrick stands accused of the crime. Can Caroline and Patrick finally unlock the mystery of Juliette's lost painting, Self-Portrait as Sphinx, and discover why three people connected with it have lost their lives.
This latest gripping novel from Ellery Lloyd, the pseudonym for bestselling husband-and-wife writing team Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos, is a glorious, intricately woven story set in the world of fine art. Unfurling in multiple timelines through the beautifully written narratives of Juliette Willoughby herself, and art students-turned-experts Caroline and Patrick, the story combines a superb mix of evocative between-the-wars historical mystery; menacing, dark academia chiller; and edge-of-your-seat whodunit.
There are a lot of smartly contrived mysteries to be explained, and they can only be solved by putting together the myriad clues revealed in the three timelines as a whole, which I really enjoyed. The layered plot twists and turns around murder, missing persons, lost art works, dysfunctional relationships, and unsettling notions based in Greek and Egyptian mythology, exploring gritty themes that revel in power games, deception, whopping sins, betrayal, and astonishing greed.
Solving the literary mysteries in these pages was a joy. There are characters galore to love and loath around Juliette, Caroline and Patrick - debauched aristocrats, dubious friends and family members, and quiet types with hidden depths - and it is hard to know where they all fit, or their intent, until the dastardly clever ending rolls around. The devious Ellery Lloyd pair know what they are about, giving you just enough information at the right time to make you think you have a handle on where this story is going, but trust me, there are slick surprises in store.
I consumed this book from cover to cover, and easily count it among one of favourite novels of the year. This is my first Ellery Lloyd, but it will definitely not be my last.
The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.
About the authors:
Collette is a journalist and editor, the former content director of Elle (UK) and editorial director at Soho House. She has written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and the Sunday Times.
Paul is the author of two previous novels, Welcome to the Working Week and Every Day is Like Sunday. He is the program director for Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Greenwich.
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