The House of Now and Then by Jo Dixon

Publisher's Synopsis

After a humiliating public scandal, Olivia is hiding from the press in a remote Tasmanian house when an unknown man knocks on her door, seeking Pippa, a woman who once lived there. His father, Jeremy, has died, leaving behind a letter for this mysterious woman. Olivia wants to help, but can she risk revealing her own sordid past?

Thirty years earlier, bohemian wild-child Pippa and her best friend Jeremy spend a perfect summer in the house. Pippa falls deeply in love with local boy Leo, and they begin to plan a life of adventure together, much to the displeasure of his conservative and controlling family. One night Leo leaves the house to confront his parents ... and is never seen again.

As Olivia is drawn into solving the mystery, the unexpected and tragic story of Pippa, Jeremy and Leo is slowly uncovered. At the same time, a path to reclaiming her own life opens, if only she has the courage to take it.

My Review of The House of Now and Then by Jo Dixon

The significant theme running through The House of Now and Then is that of hopes, dreams and the promise that the future holds and of the tenuous thread that holds those hopes and dreams together. This is the debut novel by Jo Dixon and it proves to be a highly engaging story filled with promise and regret.

The story is set in a remote part of Tasmania and is told over two time frames (1986 and 2017), switching back and forth over alternating chapters.

Olivia Haymers has hidden herself away in a remote house in Tasmania in a bid to escape from the public eye after she was publicly outed having an affair with a famous (married) actor. Her mortification has led her to become a virtual recluse in the remote house where she shuns any contact with the outside world. However, when she’s visited by Tom, a young Englishman, who claims he’s the son of Jeremy Kearsley, she starts to find herself drawn out.

In December 1985 three young friends from Queensland arrive at the house for a short holiday stay. Jeremy is the godson of the owner of the house and he, along with his girlfriend Rebecca and his good friend and housemate Pippa, is preparing for a short holiday before heading off to London to work. During the holiday Pippa meets and hooks up with Leo, a young local man from Hobart on New Year’s Eve. More than a little turmoil unfolds between the four young holidaymakers as they contemplate the possibilities for the rest of their lives.

But we’re given the tip very early on that their holiday would not end as they’d hoped:

“Okay, well basically, some kids were staying at Eloise’s house - this is back in the eighties - and one of them disappeared. He was about eighteen or nineteen, I think, maybe older. And that house was the last place he was seen. His car turned up in the carpark at the yacht club in the city, but he was never found.”

Back in the present, Tom’s story is a compelling one with the upshot being that he has a package to deliver to Pippa and is attempting to locate her. Gradually, Olivia starts to put aside her fear of inflicting further shame and embarrassment upon herself and teams up with Tom in a search for the whereabouts of Pippa. In so doing, it serves her well as she’s able to put her own problems in perspective and helps her begin to move on with her life.

Shot through with some resounding twists and a couple of true villains to despise, this turns into a compelling drama that managed to hold me in its thrall. All of the characters were well fleshed out making it easy to feel deep empathy for each of them.

I found this to be a deeply engaging story, a strong debut that benefited from a beautiful setting, strong and thoughtful characters and a superior plot. This complicated family tragedy spanning over 30 years could have been a confusing mess, but thanks to the proficient hand of Jo Dixon it unfolded perfectly to deliver a moving novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for providing me with the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.