Joined in 2023 
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But as night falls and the well-heeled parents – one or two of them famous, as well as wealthy – wait at the school to collect their weary offspring, it soon becomes clear that something has gone very wrong.
Apart from Monique, none of the other parents seemed that bothered that their children had not returned from their day trip. The others were more bothered about trying to keep their secrets. The story focuses more on the police investigation rather than the families and what they were going through, I would have preferred more of a mixture of both. The characters aren't very likeable, and I felt the ending was a bit rushed. It's told from multiple points of view. The pace was fast in the first part, then it was more of a steady pace in the second part.The parents are all beside themselves and each one of them has a secret that they would rather not share. The kidnappers know this too and soon the parents receive text messages from them. They want their money or the secrets will be revealed and the children’s lives in danger. As the police try and work out who is behind the kidnapping, time is running out for them all. Where could a whole class of schoolchildren be hiding? To be honest, this was once again a case of FOMO. I know this was most likely not the book for me, turned out I was right, but I went to request it anyway. I was absolutely hooked on trying to work out which of the suspects’ secrets might be relevant to the disappearance and which are about other things (mainly affair-related!). The perspectives hopped between parents Eldon, Claire, Reynold, Ben and the police investigators, and the author does a great job balancing what is revealed while we are in the various viewpoints.
Our main narrators are parents: Reynold, Clare& Ben. Olivia is headmaster of Littleford Primary School and Sadie & Daniel are our detectives. We hear from one of the teachers in The Bunker and The Visitor too. And excitingly we hear from one of the children, Luca, to ease our pounding hearts just a little to let us know what's going on where they are, but in turn it decreased the suspense since we knew they were okay. I have to be careful what I say here, as I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I was a bit baffled by some of the science at the heart of this plot – it didn’t quite work how I always thought these things did and Google was no help at all in enlightening me. Still, I’m not an expert so maybe that was just a ‘me’ thing! The location; I live west of where it’s set and particularly enjoyed all the references to Cirencester, where I worked for a couple of years. This novel consists of 52 chapters. The chapters are short in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!You do get a chance to see from the point of view of the children and I loved how brave they were and how they handled the situation better than most adults would. It really is an intriguing story, one where I wanted to understand what was really behind everything that happened. The ending … was it justice? Maybe, maybe not, but it certainly felt like just desserts. Fans of the author will love it. About the Author So, pretty far-fetched in places but still a fun and gripping thriller. If you can take it all with a huge pinch of salt and suspend your disbelief then it is an enjoyable, easy read. The Vanishing of Class 3B follows a primary school class and their teachers on a day trip that goes terribly wrong. As the parents wait to collect their children, they realize that the class and their teachers are missing. The plot of The Vanishing of Class 3B is undeniably original and promises an intriguing mystery. Kabler expertly sets the scene, immersing readers in the idyllic surroundings of the Cotswolds, only to shatter this peaceful facade with the unexplained disappearance of the children. The concept alone is enough to capture one’s attention and generate curiosity.
The teachers were also quite bland and didn’t have much personality or depth. The ending perhaps shows them to be a little cleverer than they appeared but there wasn’t anything outstanding about any of them. Additionally, the police were a complete farce! The children are missing, there is a communication that tells them what to do but they don’t appear to want to do the obvious and chose a different response instead. It was a little bit frustrating how inept the police investigation turned out to be. They had no clues or suspects really and were baffled until someone eventually told them exactly who, what and where – incompetence to the point of unbelievability! And why on earth would they let a parent/suspect go alone to negotiate with potentially armed kidnappers who have already killed someone?!
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There are so many different POV's that it does have some repetition, but I wasn't too bothered by that because we are slowly given little nuggets about why the children might have been kidnapped. Some things were pretty predictable and I wasn't thrilled with the 2 similar secrets from the parents. And the secret that started this all, while on the terrible side, was not really groundbreaking IMO.
I didn’t really find I warmed to any of the characters, but with the secrets they all must reveal there were many dramatic and thrilling parts to keep me interested.It’s a police procedural slash mystery suspense and though the subject is definitely an attention grab the story itself was less so. It was quite predictable and I managed to guess extremely early on parts of this it was just so obvious to me. Then when the reasoning behind it all was revealed it was just felt so meh and underwhelming. From the bestselling author of The Perfect Couple, Am I Guilty?, The Happy Family and The Murder List, comes the most engrossing thriller of 2023. One spring morning, a bus full of children and their teachers from a Cotswolds primary school head off on a much-anticipated day trip. Kabler’s writing style is engaging and accessible, making it easy for readers to immerse themselves in the story. The pacing is well-crafted, with a careful balance between moments of intense suspense and quieter, introspective moments that provide glimpses into the characters’ lives and motivations. The author’s attention to detail is evident, painting a vivid picture of the Cotswolds setting and enhancing the sense of place within the narrative.
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