A Narrow Door

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A Narrow Door is one of the smartest, most interesting and sympathetically voiced pieces of crime fiction I’ve read in a very long time. The only other modern book in the genre I’ve enjoyed this much was We Begin at the End, but this book had more in common with The Maidens and The Divines, both of which disappointed me last year. It was a perfectly paced, pitch perfect blend of mystery and academia that captivated me from the prologue through to the epilogue. I hung on every word. This is a story that felt so incredibly real, which such a delicious building tension, that I thought about it almost constantly when I wasn’t reading it. It found its way into my dreams, which has become a rare thing as I’ve gotten older. And the ending was something that, in hindsight, I might should have been able to see. Especially considering the opening. But I didn’t. After reading Gentlemen & Players at least 5 times, Blueeyedboy and A Different Class 2 or 3 times I was really excited when I heard about A Narrow Door and couldn’t wait to read it.

Roy Straitley is a Latin teacher for more than 30 years and has faced a woman headmaster who strongly wants to bury her past secrets. Roy is my favorite character with his sense of humor, cleverness, improvisation, and unique relationship with others, Brodie Boys! B. Salvation requires our urgent attention because there is a great difference between casual acquaintance with Jesus and a personal relationship with Him. Rebecca’s brother Conrad disappeared when she was very small. In what way do you think this has affected her relationships and friendships in adulthood? Comedy Women in Print Prize 2021 longlist announced with Dolly Alderton and Naoise Dolan leading the nominees She remains impressively industrious, and is full of new book ideas, none of them particularly “en vogue”. “If I’d decided to become a brand,” she says, “I’m sure I’d have made much more money and would have had a much more certain career. I wouldn’t have had to fight all these little battles that I’ve had to fight.”

I’ll say more about missing the deadline in a moment. But for now, I am making the point that if you follow the crowd you will not follow the Savior into eternal life. Jesus says that there are many (and He is talking about the religious crowd) who will not enter through the narrow door. If you follow them, you will be shut out when that door slams shut. And, it always takes effort, both mentally and morally, to go against the majority. You have to think about matters for yourself and decide, “I will not follow conventional wisdom. I will not go along with group pressure. I will follow the Lord Jesus Christ.”

B. Salvation requires our earnest effort because many will seek to enter and will not be able to do so. Rebecca chooses to tell Straitley her story – a story she has not told anyone before. Why do you think this is? Rebecca is the new Headmaster of what was formerly an all-boys’ private school that is opening up to girls for the first time in its history. Seeing this school and others like it through her eyes was an enlightening experience. There’s a lot of discourse here about women in academia, especially in private schools. Even when Rebecca is able to break into the “old boys’ club” atmosphere, she isn’t treated like the rest of her colleagues. One of the schools in this book doesn’t even have a lady’s restroom; the women are instead forced to use the handicap facilities, which goes a long way to showing how their male counterparts view them. Being female isn’t a disability. But so many men in so many professions seem to believe so. Harris managed to both romanticize academia, as readers tend to do, and shine a light on its underbelly. Those who are shut out seem surprised. They call out, “Lord, open up to us!” But He says, “I don’t know where you’re from.” They reply, “We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.” They were acquainted with Him. But the problem was, He was not acquainted with them. He tells them, “I do not know where you are from. Depart from Me, all you evildoers.” If you have a genuine personal relationship with Jesus, you will not continue in your evil deeds. Salvation is God’s free gift, apart from works, but those who are truly saved will make progress in holiness, apart from which no man will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). My thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for the invitation and to the publisher for the review copy. When I accepted this for review, I had no idea that A Narrow Door was the third book in the Malbry series featuring St Oswalds, following on from Gentleman and Players and A Different Class. This actually didn’t matter that I hadn’t read either of the previous books, I quite happily read this as a standalone.

This is the third book in the series based at St Oswald's School for Boys in the fictional town of Malbry. Set just a year after the events in 'A Different Class', we find Classics teacher Roy Straitley still trying to uphold tradition but fighting a losing battle - the new headmaster is a woman, the school has gone co-educational (it is now St Oswald's Academy) and a new leisure facility is being built on the grounds.

Now, not later, is the time to make sure that you have a personal relationship with Jesus, not just a casual acquaintance with Him. One major evidence of such a relationship is that you are growing in holiness, not just outwardly, but in your heart.A: Some of the details are definitely taken from experience, although the main plot points are not. I had a lot of fun with episodes like: the Banda machine; the file of pre-prepared lessons; the pep talk with the Head of Department; being mistaken for a boy because I was wearing trousers. All those things happened to me pretty much exactly as I wrote them for Rebecca. A. Salvation requires our earnest effort because the door is narrow and exclusive, not wide and all-inclusive. I’d like to make a small personal announcement first if I may – this is my 1000th post since starting my blog in August 2013. I’m not as prolific a poster as some so it has taken a while to get there, but it does seem rather a momentous milestone – to me anyway! Now on to the book! 😊