In The Narrow, author Kate Alice Marshall (Our Last Echoes) tells a chilling tale of a ghost who can’t relinquish the past, a boarding school with fatal traditions and a rising senior who will sacrifice anything to stay on campus.
As her final year at Atwood School begins, 17-year-old Eden White discovers her feckless parents haven’t paid her tuition. The school’s dean makes a proposal: Eden can stay, but she must become a live-in companion to fellow student Delphine Fournier. Six years ago, Delphine attempted the students’ traditional yearly jump across the Narrow, the treacherous river that runs beneath the school, but did not succeed. Afterward, Delphine developed a deadly allergy to unpurified water and now lives in isolation at Abigail House.
Odd things happen once Eden arrives at Abigail House: She experiences torrential rainfall when skies are clear, sees wet footsteps approaching her bed and awakens from horrid dreams with fresh bruises. Eden must lean on her best friends and Delphine to solve the mysteries around the Abigail House and Atwood School.
Marshall deliberately positions clues to construct a swiftly darkening narrative that touches on addiction, abuse, privilege and parental neglect. As the pace quickens, readers will become immersed in Delphine’s and Eden’s nightmarish experiences and their deepening relationship. Those who enjoy puzzling mysteries and supernatural suspense will devour this haunting tale.
