ABOUT THE BOOK
A Mystery That Has Endured for More Than a Century
In 1977, Toronto journalist Jeff O’Brian is assigned to revisit the mysterious death of renowned Canadian artist Tom Thomson, sixty years after Thomson disappeared on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park.
What begins as an anniversary story takes an unexpected turn when Jeff encounters a painting titled Larry Dixon’s Cabin and meets Daphne Crombie, an elderly woman whose memories reach back to Canoe Lake in the summer of 1917.
Moving between Thomson’s final days and Jeff’s investigation six decades later, Larry Dixon’s Cabin blends historical fact with fiction to explore the relationships, memories and long-buried secrets surrounding one of Canada’s most enduring mysteries.
1917
Tom Thomson's Final Days
In the summer of 1917, Tom Thomson returns to Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park. Within weeks, he will disappear—leaving behind questions that have endured for more than a century.
TWO TIMELINES. ONE CONCLUSION.
1977
The Investigation Begins
Sixty years later, Toronto journalist Jeff O’Brian is assigned to revisit Thomson’s death. What begins as an anniversary story leads him toward memories, relationships and secrets buried since 1917.
THE PAINTING AT THE HEART OF THE STORY
Tom Thomson’s Larry Dixon’s Cabin
The painting Larry Dixon’s Cabin acts as a backdrop to the novel and ultimately becomes an important part of Jeff O’Brian’s investigation into the events surrounding Thomson’s death.
A MEMORY FROM CANOE LAKE
Pictured left to right: R.P. Little, Lowrey Dickson, Robert Crombie, Daphne Crombie, Charlie Scrim and Shannon Fraser. Daphne’s husband, Robin Crombie, is seated beside her. (1917)
Daphne Crombie, pictured at centre, spent time at Canoe Lake during the period when Tom Thomson lived and painted there. Decades later, her recollections became an important part of the research behind Larry Dixon’s Cabin and are woven into the novel.
HISTORY. MEMORY. TRUTH.
Through the lens of a century-old murder mystery, Larry Dixon’s Cabin explores the fragility of memory, the ethics of storytelling, and the human cost of silence. Blending history and fiction, the novel examines the ways memory can shape our understanding of the past—and the enduring bond between art, truth and identity.
WATCH THE TRAILER
Step into the mystery of Canoe Lake and discover the story behind Larry Dixon’s Cabin.
ENTER THE MYSTERY
Read the opening chapters, or discover where to find your copy of Larry Dixon’s Cabin.