The Butcher by Nathan Burrows – Reviewed by Guy Portman
Frank Pinch is a butcher, his brother Tom a pig farmer. The siblings have a problem. Their dilapidated family farm is struggling financially and under threat of closure due to a shortage of pigs. That is until an unlikely event leads to a windfall for the brothers.
Emily Underwood is a new inspector for the Food Standards Agency. Work has not been going well for the opinionated rookie. In her short time in the job, she has offended an influential local and been chased with a machete. When Emily comes into contact with the Pinch brothers, she considers them odd but innocuous enough. She is in for a big surprise.
This aptly named book is set in the English county of Norfolk. Topics encompass swine, illegal migrants, potential Brexit ramifications and cannibalism. While this satirically-inclined story is overly convoluted and somewhat turgid, its subject matter and dark humour appealed to this reader.
