Olivia Glazebrook (The Trouble with Alice) opens her second novel, Never Mind Miss Fox, by introducing her readers to Clive and Martha in their university days, at Oxford. Clive has fallen for Martha, and "realizing her worth--afraid to leave her unattended," he's brought her along on a family holiday to France. The new couple is joined by Clive's younger brother, Tom, and his guest, a girl named Eliot Fox. Tom and Eliot are "just friends," although everyone acknowledges that Tom worships her.
Many years later, Clive and Martha are happily (or at least stably) married, and they adore their lonesome daughter, Eliza, who has found a new piano teacher--someone from her parents' past. Eliza is happy to have found a friend in Miss Fox; but to Clive she represents something entirely different. Eliot brings with her a dark secret unknown to Martha or Eliza or Tom, one that has the potential to tear apart Clive's carefully constructed life. "Are you going to tell?" he asks her; Eliot replies, "I won't have to."
Glazebrook draws strong characters: Martha, ambitious and a reluctant mother; Clive, insecure and barely competent; Eliza, an affectingly awkward, intelligent child; and of course Miss Fox, mysterious and damaged, whose motives remain obscure. As the entangled players rush toward a conclusion that will change each of their lives in profound ways, the distressed marriage and mood of sinister suspense are apt to delight fans of Patricia Highsmith and all that is darkly engrossing. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia