The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby

Critics Review

• Intoxicating, entralling, compelling … the reclaiming of an artist’s story wrapped up in a mystery with a great love story to boot. I loved it!

  Harriet Tyce

• An original, compulsive and brilliantly told mystery set within a world of secrets and privilege spanning decades and continents. Like a reversal of the painting at its centre, the layers of the story are carefully peeled back until the picture is revealed. From the first page to the last, I loved it.

  Charlotte Philby

• Indiana Jones meets The Thomas Crown Affair – an art-world thriller that blends Bullingdon Club hijinks with an academic adventure so richly drawn you’ll be googling to see whether it really happened.Egyptology, Surrealism and country house mystery – Juliette Willoughby is the new Da Vinci Code.

  Harriet Walker

• A whip smart page turner with twists and turns that’ll keep a hold on you right up until the final, gripping denouement. It paints such a vivid picture of the international art world that you’ll be Googling whether Juliette Willoughby actually existed or if she really is just a figment of the authors’ frighteningly vivid imagination. A terrific, hands down, five star read.

  John Marrs

• A clever, richly imagined, first-class mystery. A story both thrilling and deeply layered, touching and fun. I loved it.

  Chris Whitaker

• I LOVED it – a beguiling, twisting, endlessly surprising tale, and a delicious romp through the art world to boot. A compulsive read.

  Freya Berry

• A page turner filled with plot twists and secrets. Fans of Ellery Lloyd will not be disappointed.

  BA Shapiro

• A vivid, whirlwind adventure in art and academia that spins you through decades, from Cambridge quads to a crumbling country house via the glitz and glamour of Dubai. Think Secret History meets Saltburn – I adored it.

  Holly Watt

• ‘A haunting, twisted tale about love, mystery and romance that will have you holding your breath by the end. Everyone will be talking about this book.

  Celia Walden

• A deliciously dark mystery set in the art world that reaches into the heart of a privileged aristocratic family to expose the tragic secrets they have tried so desperately to hide. Clever and sophisticated, I loved it.

  Nikki Smith

• A stunning, intricately plotted and clever mystery that spans decades and has everything I love in a thriller: a rambling old mansion, a family secret, a missing person, a painting with hidden clues to a murder, and a love story at its heart. I loved it.

  Claire Douglas

• A big complex thriller about art, family secrets and dark academia and is hugely entertaining and fun. Fans of The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair will love it.

  Mark Edwards

• The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is smart, stylish, and sly. This page-turner sets us in rapid motion with a murder, aristocratic intrigue, and the mesmerizing story of a Surrealist painter and her masterpiece through time, keeping us happily in orbit until the very last page.

  Dominic Smith

• What a fascinating, intricately stitched literary treat from Ellery Lloyd. Bold and ambitious and consuming from start to finish – I absolutely loved it.

  Louise Candlish

• A terrific, transportive read that had everything I could wish for in a mystery, all twisted up with a darkly satisfying plot that was worthy of Edgar Allen Poe. Wonderful!

  Gytha Lodge

• Expertly paced and extraordinarily plotted, Ellery Llyod’s new novel mixes academic ambition and family secrets with explosive results. The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is a deliciously erudite thriller that makes even a trip to the archives seem fun, if deadly. Truly, the perfect thing to read after you’ve finished watching Saltburn.

  Katy Hays

• Totally compelling. Such an intricately plotted mystery that takes us through the art world, in to stately homes in the 90s, 30s Paris & Dubai now. It’s a hold your breath ride that also asks why so many women have been written out of art history.

  Araminta Hall