#13. An Academic Thriller – Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton (Paperback)

This is the second Rosamund Lupton novel I managed to sneak into this challenge and it was easy to see why it was chosen as ‘Book of the Year’ by The Times, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Stylist, Red and Good Housekeeping.

 

“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.”

 

Three hours is 180 minutes or 10,800 seconds…it’s not that long a time, unless you are being held hostage. If you’re anxiously waiting for help to come, it can seem an inordinately long amount of time.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock…the amount of suspense that can be derived just from the thought of a clock ticking down. Will help come? Will the children be safe? Will the police fail in those last minutes? Whatever happens, we know that it will all be over in three hours. This is a book you can’t put down; you can’t leave the children in the school to their fate without knowing the outcome.

School shootings and stabbings are the horrific news headlines no-one wants to see, yet here, between these safe pages, you are invested in this cat and mouse game between police and gunmen, entering the psyche of the person at large. Why on earth would they want to target innocent children, children that have been dropped off at a place of safety, children who should spend the day knowing that in a few hours they’ll be back at home watching TV or texting their friends.

This is a story built on a parent’s worst nightmare, you are going to be with them every step of the way until you know whether their child is safe or not. Three hours is not a long time at all, and I certainly needed a bit longer than that to devour this book but devour it I did over a wet and windy weekend.

For the children, teachers and parents, today is just an ordinary day in Somerset, England. Children are being dropped off at school and their parents are heading off to work. This isn’t the typical public type of school building you find at the heart of a village or town, it is a remoter school campus set within woodland, encompassing both new and historic buildings for schooling children of various ages, from infant/primary through to senior school.

Some of the children are busy rehearsing for a production of Macbeth in the theatre studio, older children have gone to the library to do some studying before class, the younger children have headed off to pottery class in a separate building…a normal day. But it’s not a normal day for Rafi and Hannah. They are late for school, the sky is threatening blizzard conditions, something the UK is not used to, but if they’re quick, if they hurry through the woods, they should get to school in time, at least before the snow starts to fall too heavily.

As they run, they hear a loud bang, Rafi knows that sound all too well. It’s not a sound any child should hear, but he heard it all the time in Syria where his parents were killed. He and his younger brother were meant to be safe in the UK. He runs faster…he must keep his brother safe, he must tell the headmaster what he has heard. But the headmaster already knows, he knows the school is under siege.

Police tactical units and helicopters circle the school and it’s not long before they are joined by TV and news outlets trying to cover the story with limited information. As the minutes tick by, some of the children can pass messages via their mobile phones enabling the police to try and work out their next move...but with each decision, fear hangs overhead…have they made the correct call, or have they endangered those young lives further?

Rosamund Lupton has managed to treat an alarming topic with a great sensitivity, exploring how different people react to the same situation. The book has many characters of various ages and in various roles, and it allows the reader to see how decisions can be affected by where you might be and what information you have to hand. The children trapped in the library bravely stacking books against the door to stop the attacker entering, know they are also blocking their potential exit. The teachers who overcome their own fears to keep the younger children as calm as possible can’t know whether it is best to stay put or make a run for it. I thought the use of including a Macbeth rehearsal a clever concept and this created a few memorable moments in the book which allowed the children’s bravery to shine. It is particularly poignant that they realised that their current situation was mirrored in various parts of the play, and it allowed them to decide their future and to enact upon their decision.

I can’t say too much more about the book without giving away the story but suffice to say this is an interesting look at the psychology of human nature when put in a deeply stressful situation. It demonstrates what can be done when people are united and work together, and also the ways in which some people are able to step forward whilst others don’t. It is definitely a book which requires pauses for reflection at times and a box of tissues at others!

 

Genre: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Suspense, Drama

Release Date: 29^th October 2020

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 308

 

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