THE BURNT FOX by Neil Grimmett-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk /
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 20, 2016

‘It really is this place and not us. There’s a dark power in nature here. Some residue left over from its great, cruel past.’

With an overwhelming desire to escape from the council estate and fearful for his marriage, frustrated author Eliot decides to move his wife, Donna and Son, Bradley to the countryside. He takes a job at the grand and sprawling Cloothill estate. Eliot does his best to fit in while working for the aristocratic Compton family. However, it quickly becomes apparent that country life may not be as idyllic as he hoped.

Eliot and Donna’s marital troubles are exacerbated when farm worker Tobias sets his sights on Donna and Eliot begins to fixate on the Compton’s young au pair, Rebecca. The couple gradually begin to lose sight of themselves as life at Cloothill consumes them.

Unflinching and sexually charged, The Burnt Fox is a startling depiction of the unsavoury side of life in rural England.

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NOTE: Author Neil Grimmett passed away in November 2015 following a brief illness.

REVIEW: THE BURNT FOX by Neil Grimmett is a stand alone, dramatic story line focusing on frustrated author Eliot Barnes, and his long suffering wife Donna. Told from third person point of view (Eliot) THE BURNT FOX follows Eliot and Donna as they struggle to regain control of their floundering marriage. When an opportunity presents itself to move to the English countryside, Eliot and Donna jump at the chance to leave the noisy and frustrating city life behind, hoping for a fresh start working for a reclusive couple and their small child. What ensues is a dark and conflicting series of events that pull the couple deeper into a world that is slowly closing in and destroying their lives. The seductive allure of peace and quiet blinds the couple to the truth about the people and places they have now come to call home.

THE BURNT FOX is a well written, slow building (mostly) narrative that follows two people whose lives have spiraled out of control, consumed by the darkness, and yet feel helpless in the face of the oncoming disaster. Like watching an accident about to happen, the reader is caught in the maelstrom and chaos without the ability to walk away or stop the ongoing fallout when temptation beckons behind closed doors.

Neil Grimmett has written a passionate, intimate and imaginative story; a disturbing look at the dark side of country life; the pitfalls, the dangerous passages, the controlling power of a segregated people who live life by their own rules. The premise is intriguing and dramatic; the characters are controversial and tragic.

Copy supplied by the publisher

Reviewed by Sandy