What an incredible book! I haven't read Joanne Harris in a long time and this was truly unputdownable. As more of the characters' secrets are revealed you think you know how everything's going to play out but you're always just a step or two behind. And of course, a great cliffhanger at the end. I really enjoyed this. Thank you for the opportunity to listen to it.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to review this audio book. Unfortunately I can't make a high recommendation.

Who killed Connor Price? That's what I thought the main focal point would be with the audio. His sister Rebecca comes to teach at the school as headmaster where a body was found. Is it Connors? She relays her story back from 1989 to Roy Straightlee another teacher who relays his story to her from 2006 of when one of his students finds a body on the grounds of the school. Is it Connor?

I was unsure of what I was suppose to focus on. Too much other stuff and questions were thrown in. I found one of the narrators hard to connect to. Loved Alex Kingston from Dr Who who was another narrator but ending took too long to build up to then just fell flat.

"Women must be more discreet. All we need is a narrow door, and when we have crept in unseen, like a spider through a keyhole, we spin ourselves an empire of silk and fill you with astonishment." - Book

{Synopsis} An explosive psychological thriller about one woman who, having carved out her own path to power, is now intent on tearing apart the elite world that tried to hold her back . . . piece by piece.

This is part of a Trilogy (you can buy the other two books here and here), but was great as a standalone. The audiobook version of A Narrow Door is just splendid! The narrators, Alex Kingston and Steven Pacey are extremely pleasant to listen to. They are clear, concise, and pace themselves well, all while drawing you into the story itself with their natural ability to create suspense and emotion. The story jumps between narrators and time lines. We have a sense throughout the novel that there's a blurring between reality and falsehoods, and you begin to question what's really going on. There's also a strong feminist agenda for the main character. Overall, this was an enjoyable listen.

A Narrow Door is out and available for purchase now! Thank you to Orange Sky Audio and NetGalley for the ARC of this Audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

A Narrow Door is about... well honestly I don't know what it was about. This book was extremely difficult to follow on audio, and I think that this book is better suited to reading in print. There is rapid changing of point of view throughout the book and it is difficult to follow what is going on with all of the characters and how their stories overlap or interconnect. I liked the narrators of this audiobook, but I think in general this became extremely convoluted on audio and I would want to give this a try in print before I feel comfortable giving a review on the plot or storyline of this novel.

Format: audiobook
Author: Joanne Harris ~ Title: A Narrow Door ~ Narrators: Alex Kingston, Steven Pacey
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars

A Narrow Door is a third book in the Malbry series, but you can easily read it as a standalone. It is a medium-paced psychological mystery that has some slower parts. If you’re looking for an action-packed, fast-paced, and gripping thriller, you might not like it.

Rebecca Buckfast is a new headmistress, the first woman headmaster of St. Oswald’s school. Until now, this was a school for boys only. But not anymore. Now for the first year, girls attend it too. Although Buckfast wasn’t a student here, a history ties her to this place. She tells her story to a teacher Roy Straitley.

Two POVs: headmistress Buckfast and teacher Straitley. Both characters were presented very well, and they felt very real. There were two narrators for two POVs. I liked both, and their voices suited the characters. Steven Pacey’s voice reminded me of Anthony Hopkins. :)

The writing is very good, which I don’t expect from every mystery/thriller. This novel also touches quite a few sensitive themes along the way, like inequality, feminism, racism, and mental health.

Thanks to OrangeSky Audio and NetGalley for the ALC and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review, and all opinions are my own.

I didn’t realize until later that this was book #3 in a series. A psychological thriller about a woman trying to solve her brother’s disappearance. When three boys come to Straitley, the headmaster at St Oswolds, telling him they found a deceased body, he brings the mystery to Rebecca Buckfast. Rebecca’s brother disappeared years ago when she was five and he was 14. Rebecca, the first female headteacher of the school, becomes a trailblazing woman through her feminist ways. The writing was good. It was slow to start but soon the pages just kept turning. The story itself was intriguing and I enjoyed the complexity of the Rebecca character. Overall though, it was just an OK read.

A truly chilling and suspenseful story from back in Malbry.

MV Rating: 7/10
•Years ago, Conrad Price disappeared, and now a body’s been discovered at St. Oswald’s school. When the head is notified, she has an interesting response, and an even more interesting story to go with it.
•I unknowingly read this book thinking it was a standalone novel, but it’s actually part of a series. The story seems to be unattached to previous books, but I’d have to read the back catalog to be totally for sure. That being said - you don’t necessarily have to read the previous installments to enjoy this chilling story.
• I listened to the audiobook of this one, and the narrators were fantastic. Truly, some of the scary or spooky scenes were made more so by the inflection of the reader, and it was pitch perfect.
•you won’t see the twists in the story coming, and it’s piece mealed out until the very last minute.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC access!

A Narrow Door is an intriguing psychological thriller with a hint of something that may or may not be other worldly. The characters are well-developed, although largely unlikeable. The plot is engrossing and intriguing. However, no event or character is straightforward; nothing is really as it seems. There are many unforeseen twists that keep the reader in a state of astonishment throughout the novel. The narration, performed by two well cast voice actors, is excellent. Highly recommended. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I honestly couldn’t finish this book. The narrator made me not want to finish. I couldn’t handle it! The synopsis made this books sound amazing! I want to try reading it instead of listening.

A great mystery following Becks and her journey to solve the mystery of her brothers disappearance. Two use of two narrators helps keep the two main points of view easy to follow and keeps the story flowing nicely. As my first book by this author I am looking forward to reading the other stories in the series and then re-reading this for an even deeper enjoyment of the book. As someone who has not read the other books leading to this I still found it easy to follow and enjoyed the characters and their journeys.

After about two hours I had given up. I was confused and it sounded too feminist. I was not going to review it. Instead I kept listening and what a book ! I was very wrong. It got SO much better ! Intrigue, mystery and horror this book had it all.
Rebecca Price writes in two decades. 1989 and 2006. She tells a co worker, who has been a teacher for many many years, her life story. It had many ups and downs. There was murders and mysterious happenings.
As a teacher and later a headmistress she had many goals for the very posh, old guard private school that employs her. The disappears of her brother takes place in 1971, when she is 5.
I enjoyed the humor and the mystery. A great story is one that keeps you up to read or listen to and that is carried everywhere until it’s done. Then there is period of mourning it’s end.
Thank you NetGalley and OrangeAudio

Very engaging! I listened to this whole way through within stopping. The jumps in time blended well with the multiple story lines weaving together. First thriller in a long time where I hadn’t guessed the correct killer. Very exciting tale.

A haunting psychological thriller and a great end of the tirilogy do St. Oswald’s school. And a really great audiobook.

Joanne Harris returns to St. Oswald's School with another psychological thriller that can be read independently from her earlier novels in which we are introduced to some of the same characters in Gentlemen and Players (Malbry, #1) and Different Class (Malbry #2). A familiar character, aging Classics teacher Roy Straightly is one of the narrators. The other, Rebecca Buckworth is the new headmaster at St. Oswald's who proceeds to bend tradition and shape the school that has recently begun to admit women. Rebecca's teenaged brother Conrad who went "missing" when she was five continues to haunt her into adulthood. Memories of Conrad affect Rebecca's relationship with her parents, husband and even former school mates and teachers. When what may be human remains are found by Roy's students at the excavation site for a new building at St. Oswald's, Rebecca assures him that she will "take care of it". However, when Roy becomes confined because of an apparent heart attack Rebecca appears nightly like Scheherazade administering herbal tea and revealing bits and pieces of a fantastic story related to events at the school. The book's title alludes to the green door that was part of Rebecca's twisted memory of her brother's disappearance. It also reflects the challenge women in academia need to confront at they pass into that last bastion, the boys "public "school. The audio narration provides a wonderful contrast between the older academic and the younger Rebecca and her more mature, contemporary self especially as more disquieting details are disclosed. This is genuinely one of those stories that will keep you up late at night or well into the morning. Highly recommended

I received this as an audio galley to listen to for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for giving me access.

While being part of a series, you can get away with reading this as a standalone. Now that a I know it is a series, I do want to go back and read about how this all became to be.

We go back and forth between past and present which the story intertwines with each other. Secrets are told and unveiled. You can't rely on either narrator and are left wondering whodunnit in the end. Definitely recommend this to those that love a good mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for this audio-ARC. I offer my review freely.

I did not know this was the third book in a series, but I can honestly say it completely felt like a standalone the whole time. I never felt like I was missing anything.

This story is told in dual POV, also jumping from the eighties to the aughts. Rebecca is a young woman who's life was was forever changed when her brother disappeared. Roy is a professor extremely set in his way who teaches at the school where the boy vanished.

I almost gave up in the first half of the book. This slow burn was simply just too slow. I felt like the story wasn't going anywhere. The only reason I stuck it out is because I really enjoyed the work of the narrators.

I'm glad I kept going though, because so much happened in the second half! Twist, turns, questions, answers, more questions, more answers... As slow as the first part had been, the second unfolded at super-speed.

Definitely worth the read if you manage to push through the beginning, but I'm afraid a lot of readers won't stick around.

Rating it 3.5 stars rounded up to four.

A Narrow Door is book 3 and a trilogy from Joanne Harris however it can be read as a standalone. While I found a narrow door to be well written I personally found it to be rather underwhelming and the ending to far-fetched. From the description of the book I thought it would be more of a rise to the top tape book rather than an hour and then mystery. Although it wasn’t my cup of tea, I have many friends who have truly enjoyed this one.

What a great way to start the new year. This is the third in a series, but I didn't know that before I was kindly given the #alc from #netgalley (a thousand thanks - it was brilliant!) and honestly it didn't detract from my enjoyment at all.

The narrators of this audiobook are sublime, they brought the characters to life - a bumbling yet loveable old professor stuck in his ways, and a feisty, fiercely intelligent trailblazer of an antiheroine that you will love despite yourself.

This is a mystery spanning two timelines about the disappearance of a boy back in 1971 and the discovery of a body in 2006 at a prodigious private school. It was riveting, haunting (sometimes down right spooky) beguiling and beautifully written. Highly recommend. I'm going to find the first two in the series now and savour them like a fine wine.

I dnfed it about 1/4 of the way through. It started strong and just got worse. from what Joanne did with the characters to how the narrators voice was super annoying. It was really hard to get through

Thank you Net Galley and Orange Sky Audio for providing this audio ARC. This was a third in a series. I wish I would have caught that, I think that I would have enjoyed it more. This book seemed to have too much of a meaty middle. It dragged. The story got a little confusing for me with the way the narrators narrated it.