The Narrows is Less Thrilling than Psychological. I loved the first book in the Raymond Hatcher series--and looked forward to a psychological thriller in the same character-driven writing style. While The Narrows develops through its characters--it is extremely dialogue driven. Most of the scenes focus solely on conversations between characters, with many of those conversations feeling meaningless to the storyline. The constant dialogue does allow readers to understand the characters' views, experience the psychological drama at play and delve into the spiritual/philosophical ideas and the relationship dynamics driving the popularity of cults and social activities of the 1970s. While there was an air of suspense around whether cousin Bradley could be "saved" from the cult--this is more of a psychological family drama than a thriller. 

The Characters Drive the Novel. During the novel's first half, I skimmed many of the characters' conversations. The dialogue was long at times and felt trivial, lasting for pages without adding a lot to the plot or character development. About mid-way through the novel, the shift toward Bradley and the cult dynamics began to form, and the conversations became more meaningful and geared toward the actual storyline. The characters tell the story without much action or detailed setting development. I didn't love Larry's character--and felt that Millie was unnecessary and could have been summed up in a couple of scenes--but I did enjoy watching Larry begin to find his path in life as he dove into freeing Bradley from what was perceived as the wrong path.

Would I Recommend The Narrows? With a few mentions of characters and relationships from A Lion in the Grass, The Narrows is essentially a stand-alone novel as it moves the story away from Raymond into the Wright family and the sisters' family home. The stories are independent, and the two books' writing style is even a bit different. As with the first book, however, the author fully develops views and insights into historical and social aspects of the time through his characters. If you enjoy historical fiction with a bit of suspenseful drama and a lot of dialogue--this novel is a blend that works well to tell Larry's and Bradley's stories. I struggled a bit to settle into the account early on, but I did enjoy the insights and psychological aspects that brought the novel to a conclusion.