"Well, an entire bus load of kids and teachers can't just disappear, can it? They must be somewhere?"
The Vanishing of Class 3B by Jackie Kabler is a suspensful psychological thriller/ police procedural fusion.
Blurb:
One spring morning, a bus full of children and their teachers from a Cotswolds primary school head off on a much-anticipated day trip.
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.
The children and their teachers simply do not come back.
What's happened doesn't seem possible.
How can an entire class of children simply vanish?
One sunny morning in early April a group of children from Littleford Primary go on a day trip to the Cotswold Wilderness Park. Children are excited, waving animatedly to their parents, who are waiting in the school yard for the departure of the bus.
When the bus fails to come back by 6pm, the parents begin to worry. The headteacher is desperately trying to get in touch with the staff members who are with Class 3B. Every number goes straight to voicemail, and she is not able to get hold of any of them. The park must be closed by now, and the children should have been back a while ago.
The parents insist that the head needs to call the police.
Detective Superintendent Sadie Stewart knows that something is seriously wrong. Children and the teachers who accompany them on the ill-fated school trip have vanished into the thin air, and parents are left to wait in pure agony.
There are ten children on the Class B trip. Police make a list of seventeen adults, including three sets of high-profile, wealthy parents.
Reynold Lyon is a TV presenter who's married to Petra, the model, well known in her own right. They are parents to the twins on the bus.
Eldon Beckford is a famous chef, who does TV cooking shows. His wife Amy works with him at their restaurants.
And then there's Spike Greer, ex-footballer, bit of a legend.
Suddenly a kidnap becomes a very real possibility, especially if accident or breakdown is ruled out.
When the bus is found abandoned in the woods, the whereabouts of the occupants of the bus are unknown. The police can only speculate about what and how might have happened.
When ransom texts start to appear, it becomes clear that one of the parents could be the cause of all this calamity. Who is it, and what have they done to warrant such a reckoning?
One narrative voice is followed by another, so that we get a different point of view to get closer to the truth. And the truth is not very palatable, whichever side you follow. Different points of view criss-cross, clash and build the whole picture bit by bit.
When the secrets are revealed, you're left wondering if you can ever fully know what's in the heart and mind of those who are the closest to you.
It's not just the adults who tell their tales, as one of the children joins in the story and reveals an important clue.
It's hard to relate to any of the adults in this story. Self-absorbed and egocentric, they appear to be more concerned about keeping their skeletons in the closet, and not sharing any relevant information with the police. Though to be fair, the police don't come out as particularly competent during the investigation.
I found the motives of the mastermind behind the kidnapping operation rather far-fetched. The people who devised this plan, are egomaniac, devious and callous.
As the secrets begin to unravel, we ask ourselves, just how rational the perpetrators could be to commit such an atrocity?
The premises of the story sounds promising, there is plenty of twists in turns, and the ending is rushed.
The plotline reminded me a lot of In Safe hands by J.P. Carter, where a group of children is snatched from the nursery school. It also deals with the distressed parents and the rather convoluted plans hatched by the kindnappers.
The Vanishing of Class 3B is a chilling crime thriller, with dark undertones. Gripping and tense, it's an inventive game of cat-and-mouse.
This post is part of the blog tour for The Vanishing of Class 3B.
Many thanks to Jackie Kabler and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!
Purchase Links
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vanishing-Class-3B-bestselling-breath-taking-ebook/dp/B0B9SFVY9W
US - https://www.amazon.com/Vanishing-Class-3B-bestselling-breath-taking-ebook/dp/B0B9SFVY9W
Author Bio –
Jackie Kabler is an Amazon number one and USA Today bestselling
author of psychological thrillers, including The Perfect Couple, Am I Guilty?,
The Happy Family and The Murder List. Her novels have sold nearly a million
copies around the world and have been translated into eight languages.
Previously she worked as a newspaper reporter and then in television news for
twenty years, including nearly a decade on GMTV. She later appeared on BBC and
ITV news, presented a property show for Sky, hosted sports shows on Setanta
Sports News and worked as a media trainer for the Armed Forces. She now
combines writing with working as a presenter on shopping channel QVC. Jackie
lives in Gloucestershire with her husband.
Social Media Links –
Twitter @jackiekabler
Instagram @officialjackiekabler
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