by Rosamund Lupton
SYNOPSIS
THREE HOURS TO SAVE THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE
In rural Somerset in the middle of a blizzard, the unthinkable happens: a school is under siege. Pupils and teachers barricade themselves into classrooms, the library, the theatre. The headmaster lies wounded in the library, unable to help his trapped students and staff. Outside, a police psychiatrist must identify the gunmen, while parents gather desperate for news.
In three intense hours, all must find the courage to stand up to evil and save the people they love.
REVIEW One cold and snowy November morning, teachers, support staff and pupils of a rural Somerset school begin their day as normal. Lessons are being taught and the rehearsals for the school play are underway. What they don’t know is that a gunman is waiting outside for the exact moment he has planned to storm into the building and devastate the lives of all of those connected with the school.
Set over three nail-biting hours, we learn about the lives of some of those staff members and pupils, the motives behind the attack and gain an insight into the police task force who are trying to negotiate with the gunman.
I can honestly say that I read this entire book with my heart in my mouth. The tension that built up to reveal who the attacker was just destroyed me. I had one of those moments where the realisation hit and I almost couldn’t stand to read on. The most heartbreaking element was the way that the author used this to demonstrate how one decision caused a ricochet effect and the impact this would go on to have for so many different people.
Actually, reading this book had more of an impact on me than I expected it to. The descriptions of the school made up of multiple buildings on the same site was eerily similar to the school I went to in Somerset. We also had an Upper and Lower school building (Old and New school in the story) and we would often have to walk up and down the hill between the two sites. I think it was this familiarity that made the story hit home. Attacks of this kind in schools have unfortunately taken place and the reality of this made it so much more effective.
It was raw, it was real and it showcased the best and the worst aspects of human nature. There is a lot more I would love to say about this book but I feel like you need start reading without any idea of how things might unfold to get the full impact of the story. Three Hours is not a pleasant read, but it is certainly not one that I will forget - an easy five stars from me!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rosamund Lupton's new novel "Three Hours' is a Sunday Times best seller.
Her debut novel 'Sister', was a BBC Radio 4 “Book at Bedtime”, a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, winner of the Strand Magazine critics award and the Richard and Judy Bookclub Readers’ Choice Award. Her next two books 'Afterwards' and 'The Quality of Silence' were Sunday Times bestsellers. Her books have been published in over thirty languages.
Thanks to Ellie Hudson at @VikingBooksUK and @Rosamundlupton for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Psychological Thriller / Thriller / Political Thriller
Product format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0241374511
Pages: 320 pp
Comments