Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton. This book got off to a breath taking start, I had tears in my eyes, because a school siege with kids inside is every parents worst nightmare. The narrative jumps around a bit and I felt there was a lull in the middle of the book. The story did pick up the pace again towards the end.

Rosamund Lupton's Three Hours is a hard-hitting, too close to reality, story of terrorists holding a British school hostage after shooting the headmaster. I was immediately sucked into the drama from page one. The pull of the writing, the panic, fear and bravery of the students, teachers and parents is hypnotic. This novel covers the three hour siege from the perspective of the students locked down in various locations on campus as well as the thoughts and actions of teachers and police working to extricate the children in their care from the immediate danger. Nature is not on their side, sadly, as a snow storm adds a level of difficulty to the evacuation attempts.

I was gripped by this novel. It tackles many of today's topical issues - terrorism and racism most especially - with tremendous wisdom and heart. Students, sixth formers who are two minutes from childhood themselves, display acts of courage in the face of terror in pride-inducing ways. Three Hours is a rare gem that shines light on the wonder of human capability and how we can rise to levels of bravery previously not imagined. The human spirit is most assuredly resilient.

As the title suggests this was the story of a few hours in a school which wasn’t your normal school day! This was rather different to the type of book I normally read & at first I was a little unsure but the author draws you into the lives of the characters. I found myself reading more often than usual as the story unfolded. as there were plenty of twists & turns which kept me hooked. Although it was relevant to the story I wasn’t keen on the Macbeth extracts but it may well be appreciated by other readers and was easily skipped over. It is hard to review the book without giving any spoilers but I enjoyed it and think others will as well.

A riveting, engaging read. This was a book that at first sight looked to be a gun toting teenager on the rampage in a school. However, that would be ignoring the warmth of relationships between key characters. This book does a great job of drawing you in to the lives of those involved in this situation. One is always aware of the race against time which provides engaging tension. Its originality lies in its empathy towards two Syrian boys who are victims of their country's war.. A really good read

Wow! This has got to be one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Gripping, tense and totally believable. I didn’t want to put it down and kept on reading long after I should have switched out the light and gone to sleep. Even then I found myself thinking about it.
The characterisation was very good, everyone came to life on the page. I enjoyed the way it was set in different areas of the school.
My first for this author but I now want to go and read her earlier books.
Overall an excellent read and I’d love a sequel to find out how they all dealt with the aftermath.

I had to keep reminding myself to breathe when I was reading this book. Terror strikes a school, with echoes of the Columbine High School massacre. There are gunmen at the school. The pupils and the teachers are trapped in different parts of the school and they need to get out. The police need to identify the gunmen and find a strategy to try and save the teachers and children. So tense. Even though it takes place over only 3 hours, as a reader you are with them all every step of the way. You are willing the police to save the pupils and teachers, and you are hoping intensely that the gunmen do not get to fulfil their wish of causing carnage. A dark story but full of hope and human love and resilience. Well worth reading.

Just finished this and was literally holding my breath for the last half hour.
Uncomfortable read when you have children of school age but a 5* book. Loved 'Sister' and 'Afterwards' and had been patiently waiting for a new one from this author. She didn't disappoint.

I have previously read two books by this author and absolutely loved them so the bar was set high for me. Her latest offering, Three Hours, did not disappoint. Set around a shooting in a school it is difficult subject matter and therefore harrowing and tense to read at times, yet Lupton’s ability to create such authentic characters and portray a scenario from differing, but all heart wrenchingly human, points of view creates a hugely readable novel.

We follow the siege of the school from the points of view of various characters, including two young Syrian refugees, law enforcement, a teacher and a parent. Between them all we follow the tension and desperation in the most terrifying of circumstances and witness their fears along with the awesome strength of the human spirit.

I don’t want to speak much more of the plot and risk giving anything away. What I will Lupton has delivered a story that takes place over just three hours but it will stay with me for a very long time. I adore her writing style which has so much depth without being taxing. She is so reliably gifted at what she does! I most definitely recommend this book in all its topical, heart-breaking and alarming glory. I really hope you enjoy it too.

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of #ThreeHours in return for an honest review.

I found this book truly chilling. The characters have stayed with me and I often think about it even now.
A really fast paced read, and I loved that it was set over 3 hours, really original.

A most unusual theme and one that drew me in straight away.
Full of tense moments and very well written.
If I had to criticise, there were a few too many characters listed from the beginning which confused me a little but still made for an excellent read.
One or two moments that were maybe a little far fetched but this is fiction, who really cares?
Many thanks.

This book deals with only 3 hours - about as long as it takes you to read it in real time. But what a gripping, action-packed 3 hours it is. It starts with the shooting of a headmaster and is followed by the siege and lockdown of a school with all the children at risk as hostages. The ensuing stand-off is full of tension with the police psychologist battling to predict each step the terrorists might take. Meanwhile Lupton feeds us the backstory of the primary characters which hugely ramps up the tension. Nothing justifies threatening the lives of children but Three Hours throws light on how access to weapons, society, internet grooming and family life all contribute to empowering the susceptible into believing their evil actions are justified. A compelling read.

Omg. This is one of the best, most tense and exciting books I have read this year. All I can say is wow! This is definitely a 'must read'.

It's November and snowing heavily on a school in Somerset on the edge of the woods. What makes this day different from any other snowy day in the school? There are armed gunmen in the school. The Headmaster has already been shot twice, and they have no idea who will be next. Every parent, and every member of staff's worst nightmare. Every school has it's contingency plans, but those plans can't cover every contingency. Why would anyone want to shoot innocent children and staff in an inclusive, rural school? What makes someone turn into a psychopath? Who is braver - someone who is unafraid or someone who is terrified but acts anyway?

This will give you the biggest book hangover. My only issue was that it didn't go on longer. I want to know what happened next! I am so invested in this amazing school, amazing children and amazing staff. I can only hope that this couldn't happen here in real life, but unfortunately anything is possible.

Wow Rosamund Lupton, just wow!!

Great read. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Really well written with great characters. Loved it. Highly recommended.

This was a very enjoyable and exciting thriller, set in a school which is under siege. The different viewpoints and characters were very strong and it was fast paced. I would recommend this.

Three hours seems like a short time, but in it a lot can happen. This book tells the story of a school under siege. It is told from the perspectives of several different people: the wounded head master and some students with him in the library, the drama teacher locked in the school theatre with some students continuing their dress rehearsal of Macbeth, a 16 year-old Syrian refugee searching for his little brother, a parent waiting anxiously for news of her son, and a police psychologist who is desperately trying to solve the mystery of who is behind the attack and why before it is too late.
It is a tense and gripping book which kept me reading, keen to see how events would play out. I thought presenting the story from the perspectives of different characters worked well and it is very well plotted to gradually reveal the truth about what is happening.
There were a couple of the twists in the later part of the book that I guessed very early on, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book as I was still wondering how everything would be resolved. My only other criticism is that people's mobile phone batteries seemed to run out extraordinarily quickly. I realise the author wanted to ensure that they had no contact with one another, but as the story takes place in the morning when most people begin with their phones fully charged it seemed a little unrealistic.
Other than that, I would highly recommend this book. It has a gripping plot and characters I came to care about, and the way the different strands of the plot are woven together is excellent.

Wow. Well this book felt very different to what I typically read, but my goodness wasn’t it a mixed bag of emotions! It was shocking, suspenseful, saddening with relief and happiness all at once. I do believe the world is a scary place, and this sort of thing is happening more and more, which definitely made this book a lot more chilling to read - it really was terrifying. I felt it somewhat confusing, the way it flickered between characters without like a chapter heading, and there were a lot of different people to know / get to know. At times, I was like WHO IS THAT AGAIN? But once you got into the flow of things you could start to remember who was who, if that makes sense. Overall a brilliant read, thank you for my copy!

I read this book in one sitting and yet I am finding it difficult to review because I was immersed and disturbed by it all at once.. The worryingly realistic plot of a school under siege was cleverly woven with warm, touching perspectives of the students, parents and staff as they face the uncertain three hours held in the school grounds. I particularly liked the fact that despite the numerous narratives, the perpetrators were not given a voice so that this novel was focused on the honest and touching stories of the innocent. The bravery of young refugee Rafi was beautifully written and I was willing him on the entire way through. A difficult subject but a great read. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read.

It has been a long wait since Rosamund Lupton's last novel ... but worth the wait. Sadly. the tale is very topical and believable in our society today.
Rosamund Lupton writes beautifully and fully develops so many of her characters - not just the children and teachers under siege but the perpetrators and some of the parents too. This is not just about a siege and following the story to its conclusion. Rosamund Lupton has given the teachers and children a greater voice than the perpetrators. The school is a progressive one that encourages independence and free thinking and does not keep the evils of the world a secret from the pupils. It is refreshing to be presented with a Dunkirk spirit in these circumstances.
There were many scenes where I was almost in tears, there was humour, there was despair and there was hope for the future. I was so relieved to get to the end and yet it still has me thinking about it.
A thought-provoking excellent read.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Rosamund Lupton/Penguin Books for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

What a fabulous book. From start to finish it is gripping. Even if you don’t have children, you have been to school so this book will resonate with everybody. The thought of any school having to go into lockdown is appalling but to think of past pupils potentially causing it is even worse. The book takes you step by step through the lockdown from both the pupils point of view and the anti terrorist police. It also gives a great insight into teenage radicalisation. It is not often that a book is one you cannot wait to pickup again and will continue to read into the early hours when you should be asleep!

Couldn’t put this book down a real page turner, edge of the seat read . Great descriptions of the different characters and how they deal with this life changing event , brilliant twists and turns in this book. Would definitely recommend.