I’m delighted to be sharing my thoughts on The Greek House by Dinah Jefferies.
Such a tangled web of emotions!
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- Category : Historical Fiction
- ASIN : B0DHV67FZ9
- Publisher : HarperCollins (24 April 2025)
- Language : English
- File size : 1.8 MB
Can one house hold a lifetime of secrets?
Corfu, 1930
The moment Thirza Caruthers sets foot on Corfu, memories flood back: the scent of jasmine, the green shutters of her family’s home ― and her brother Billy’s tragic disappearance years before.
Returning to the Greek house, high above clear blue waters, Thirza tries to escape by immersing herself in painting ― and a passionate affair.
But as webs of love, envy, and betrayal tighten around the family, buried secrets surface.
Is it finally time to uncover the truth about Billy’s vanishing?
The Greek House Review
Such a tangled web of emotions! As always with Dinah Jefferies’ writing, the pain feels raw and real.
In The Greek House, the tension and heartache are palpable—particularly in Part One, set in August 1923 during the Corfu Crisis. I found myself holding my breath through the chaos and panic of Billy’s disappearance. It’s utterly harrowing.
Seven years later, Thirza returns to Corfu for the first time since that traumatic summer. Now 23, she and her cousin Ianthe are restoring Marchant’s summer house themselves (the Wall Street Crash has devastated her mother Dulcie’s finances—the same money the family once lived on).
Thirza’s return to the island sharpens every memory, and the emotional weight of what was lost is always present. The future of the house isn’t certain, but despite all the memories, this is Thirza’s happy place and she’s determined to make it work.
The arrival of guests at the summer house adds another layer, as past mistakes threaten to repeat themselves, taking me back to 1923.
She’s had relationships before, but now, she experiences a true sexual and emotional awakening—one that’s life-altering in ways she couldn’t have predicted!
I was completely drawn into this family’s pain, and the ripple effects of the lie that continued to shape them. Dulcie distances herself emotionally and physically; Thirza, a moral dilemma and choices to make; her father, quietly moving forward with his life; and her aunt, Columbine—consumed by jealousy, guilt, and the hollow ache of revenge.
And then came that moment at the wedding—an absolute blinder that had me in tears, leaving me with a sense of peace, healing, and hope for the future.
Dinah Jefferies writes her settings so vividly and with an artist’s eye—Corfu, the summer heat, the sparkling sea, the faded grandeur of the house—they all come alive on the page.
It feels especially fitting that Dulcie both opens and closes the novel.
A truly moving read.
Books I’ve Read by Dinah Jefferies
- Daughters of War (book 1)
- The Hidden Palace (book 2)
- Night Train to Marrakech (book 3)
- The Tuscan Contessa
- The Missing Sister
- The Sapphire Widow
- Before the Rains
- The Silk Merchant’s Daughter
- The Tea Planter’s Wife
- The Separation
About the Author
Dinah Jefferies began her career with The Separation, followed by the No.1 Sunday Times and Richard and Judy bestseller, The Tea-Planter’s Wife. Born in Malaysia, she moved to England at the age of nine. In 1985, a family tragedy changed everything, and she now draws on the experience of loss in her writing, infusing love, loss and danger with the beauty of her locations. She is published in 29 languages in over 30 countries and lives close to her family in Gloucestershire.