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Meh, that’s all I have to say. You know I don’t hide how I feel about a book. If it’s good, I praise it, if not, I’ll point that out as well. The characters in “The Vanishing of Class 3B” are well-developed and relatable, each with their own motivations and secrets. The narrative alternates between different perspectives, allowing readers to gain insight into the thoughts and emotions of various individuals affected by the disappearance. From the distraught parents to the determined investigators, the characters bring depth and complexity to the story, ensuring readers remain emotionally invested in the outcome.
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! However, despite its promising premise, The Vanishing of Class 3B falls short in its execution. For me, the book was an average read, failing to fully engage my attention throughout. The story often dragged in certain places, making it difficult to maintain interest. Additionally, I found the narrative to be repetitive which further hindered my enjoyment.Clear your schedules before glancing into this absolutely addictive and explosive psychological thriller as once your hooked there's no letting go until the very end!! I like the way the tension is built up in the first half of the book when we discover that more than one character has reason to believe their secret could be the one responsible, before the careful reveal of their individual stories.
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. So... THE VANISHING OF CLASS 3B...the further I read the more I was getting "Criminal Minds" vibes from a very similar episode in which an entire busload of children had simply disappeared whilst on an outing one day, leaving the BAU to get into the mind of the perpetrator and thus discovering not only who was behind it but where the children were being kept. But without the BAU in this case, the sleepy Cotswold village of Littleford had to rely solely on the Cotswold Police (both fictitious created for the story). Wow!!! What a rollercoaster ride of a read!!! Fantastically written with vivid descriptions throughout making me feel like I was in the storyline. The synopsis, title and cover suited the plot perfectly.
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Luca; I thought the way he handled himself in the situation, particularly how he worked out who The Visitor was, was realistic and also greatly added to the storyline. 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?
It’s reassuring to know fairly early on that the children are safe and the chapters written from ‘the Bunker’ as it becomes known, depict wonderfully just how resilient, resourceful and even insightful little ones can be when faced with adversity. 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. 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.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?!
And finally, to be frank, what Reynold did wasn’t even that awful. Ok, having an affair with someone he has power over is sexual harassment and inappropriate for the workplace, urging her to get an abortion is shitty, and then having his boxer friend go threaten her is scary, but uhhh the people who ran someone over and then drove away and covered it up are DEF WORSE. I just felt like the lengths Cally, Brandon, and Oscar went to to make this dude suffer were nonsensical given the actual role he played. They made it seem like he had done something way more heinous. Also the twist at the end with Cally being twins with Oscar was just like…I don’t care. It didn’t feel exciting or even interesting. I didn’t care that Reynold ended up killing his own son. It was just like trying too hard to be a soap opera at that point. 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. 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. This engaging thriller is told from multiple points-of-view. There are a lot of characters with a lot of secrets, making it a lot of fun to read! When a bus full of children and their teachers on a school field trip disappear, detectives assigned to the case start taking a close look at the parents of the young students. Many of the parents are wealthy and famous and some of the things they are unwilling to disclose to the police could have devastating effects on the fate of the missing children. The story begins with a group of children and their teachers from a Cotswolds primary school setting off on a much-anticipated day trip. However, as night falls and anxious parents gather at the school to retrieve their children, it becomes evident that something has gone terribly wrong. The entire class, along with their teachers, has vanished without a trace, leaving behind a perplexed community grappling with an unimaginable mystery.With some of the parents having secrets, they turn to each other to try and work out who could have their children. Definitely 5 stars for the book. Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and Netgalley for providing me with an opportunity to read and review the book. The story opens from the various perspectives of selected parents as they stand outside the gates of Littleford Primary School where ten students and four of their teachers were going on an excursion to the Cotswold Wilderness Park (another fictitious place for the story) in Stratford-upon-Avon. The school had recently acquired a brand new Mercedes minibus paid for with a generous donation by one of the more wealthy parents, Reynold Lyon, TV personality and host. But this morning there seems to be an error lighting up on the minibus's dashboard indicating a possible serious issue and rather than put the childrens' lives at risk they opt for leaving the vehicle behind and managing to secure a last minute booking with a local taxi firm. So 45 minutes after their intended departure time, the minibus departs the school with the children and their teachers for the day's excursion. Given their delay, they are now not expected to return until 5.30pm at the latest. I really enjoyed this tense psychological thriller. It’s told from various points of view, including the children’s and the staff’s, which gave me an insight of what their life was like in captivity. 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.
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