When your friendship is based on a lie, is it really friendship? A Disappearing Act is a reunion between four female friends whose relationship is based upon a lie. Not just a garden variety lie, but a significant one. Marnie is fake and a social climber: "She'd made it out of Tasmania. She'd made a life of sorts in the big city. But her dreams and intentions were bigger. She yearned desperately for more."

And under the lie Marnie told to become part of this friend group, is another lie. Even right now as they meet up again as fully fledged adults, they're lying to each other about everything, from being addicted to internet shopping, to how their partners died, to being homeless, to how long they knew about Marnie. They're not nice people, so I'm kind of surprised this worked out at a four star book for me. I think it's testament to the author's skill keeping the action moving in an interesting Australian setting (Tasmania and Melbourne). I had to admit that despite not liking any of them, I enjoyed going to bed to get the next installment.

Think of A Disappearing Act as a good piece of airport fiction if you don't mind reading about mean girls. It does telegraph the plot twist a bit too loudly, with the naivety of Sarah a bit hard to believe. While it's not the best descriptive writing I've read, I did think it captured parties at share houses in the 90s: "The smell of weed and sickly sweet vodka drinks mingled with sweat, the musky scent of Body Shop perfumes and a lingering undertone of oily pizza."

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint at all! I've said it before and I'll say it again but I just love Jo's writing style! She has a way of drawing me in and easily making me invested in her characters!

I loved the dual timelines and what a name for a place "Ellezon"! It really just suits the artsy people that inhabited it! I could picture it and just like Marnie wanted to be part of it!

A reunion of four friends who soon find that time has disassembled their closeness and they perhaps don't know each other the way they used to. Long buried secrets and resentments emerge and tensions soon rise. Then one of them goes missing...

And the twists and turns that follow kept me on the edge of my seat! I thought I had this one figured out and while my inkling was somewhat correct it just couldn't match the vicious plot twists Jo had in mind! I absolutely loved this!

Another gripping domestic thriller from Dixon. She grabs your attention straight up with main character Sarah, standing up to her colleague for taking credit for her work and resigning. The pace does slow a bit as we get to know our four main characters over a dual timeline. Sarah, narrating the modern day one and Marnie the one set in 1999. Whilst it was a slower pace, I did enjoy getting to know the four main characters, seeing friendships, rivalries, relationships grow. It was fun seeing all the 90s references from Sex and the City, Charmed, Buffy to ICQ. The four women reunite and one goes missing. The pace picks up and the twists and turns keep coming as secrets are revealed. Another solid read.

As with Dixon’s earlier novels, strong characters make this a compelling novel. The plot is interesting and engaging, but it’s the characters who really kept me reading.

Four old friends have come together to spend time at a secluded holiday home in Tasmania. In recent years, they’ve spent less time together and become more distant: the holiday is meant to help them reconnect and shore up those long standing connections.

Marnie has an ulterior motive. A best selling novelist, she’s told some lies about her work and life, and a looming expose is about to reveal all to the world. It soon becomes clear to the reader that Marnie is by no means the only one with secrets she’d rather didn’t see the light of day.

Then Marnie disappears (this is no spoiler, we’re told it on page one in a fairly unnecessary prologue) and questions and secrets explode everywhere.

The mystery plot is serviceable and interesting, but not particularly outstanding. I picked most of the “twists” well before they were revealed, and I wasn’t shocked or startled by anything.

Nevertheless, this is a strong read that was hard to put down, largely because of the characters. They’re strong and vivid, and it’s easy to believe in them. It’s easy, too, to see the trajectory between their younger selves and the people they are today. Their compromises, regrets, and joys are all believable.

Equally, the relationships are recognisable and believable: the strong support, the conflicts, the insecurities and protectiveness. These women and their actions and thoughts are entirely real.

I was really invested in finding out how the story would play out, although I was less interested in the plot itself than in how the women would react. Regardless of what exactly engaged me, this was a book I read without my interest flagging once.

Strongly recommended not just for those interested in crime or domestic thrillers, but also those for whom strong characters are vital.

Did I drop absolutely everything and read Jo's new book? Yes, yes I did.

Marnie Elliott is a best selling author and invites her three closest friends for a holiday - a secluded house in Tasmania. Sarah, Poppy and Xanthea arrive and start the holiday together. First night is a great night together but things start turning wrong. Fights between each other, secrets coming out and to end it all one of them goes missing.

I enjoyed the two timelines and learning about each of the girls when they lived at Ellezon. All artists. The way they've stuck together all these years.

I found the build up between the two timelines really well written, it kept me on my toes and wanted me to keep turning those kindle pages. The location of the holiday was a perfect setting. Nice and secluded. Filled with twists and turns this book will be one a lot of my crime readers will enjoy.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for gifting me a copy of this book for my honest book review.

Set in Tassie in the present and Melbourne in the past, I loved the way the two timelines blended perfectly together, building the suspense and dropping tantalising clues along the way. The pacing of the story was perfect, you can easily devour it in a single sitting, and I dare say if you don’t it will take up residence in your brain until you get to the end.

A Disappearing Act is a work of brilliance in atmosphere, friendship, and secrets too dangerous to stay buried. Jo Dixon has delivered a compelling, brilliantly executed thriller that will keep readers guessing right until the end.

Releasing late October this is one you totally need to get your hands on, may I even suggest you pre-order a copy as I am tipping it will fly off the shelves.

Jo Dixon writes a really good thriller. I’ve enjoyed all of her books, and this is no exception, though I did find it just a little slow at the start. However, as the story unfolded I became more engrossed and eventually stayed up too late just to finish it.
This book tells the story of four women who have been friends for many years, since sharing a home in their early 20s. It transpires that with friends of that length of time, there is plenty of baggage, and plenty of secrets. The friends are enjoying a secluded holiday catch up, and then one of them goes missing. There are many twists and turns as we come to understand what has happened, and why, and this is what had me hooked.
Jo Dixon certainly knows how to write a story that will keep readers on the edge of their seat, and guessing at the conclusion.

I really enjoyed the book, but it felt like there was just meant to be a bit something more.

The build up to the present day and past events is solid and then the actual events all sort of tumble out in an almost nonchalant fashion. I didn't really understand why Sarah hated David so much, they briefly mention they might have gone to high school together but don't expand further. And then there's the lack of remorse, attempt to dispose of evidence or any sort of planning and yet it all works out.

I loved the scenery and descriptions and the girls are great characters but it was missing what I needed for a five star review. A great long weekend getaway read!

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy