“THREE HOURS TO SAVE THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE

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.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to be sharing my review of Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton. Three Hours was published by Penguin Books on 29th October 2020 and is available in all formats. I couldn’t resist this book after seeing so many wonderful reviews.

However, I have been umming and ahhring about writing my review. Why? Because Three Hours absolutely broke me. Never has a book had such a powerful effect on me. It’s a sublime read but utterly devastating. I loved it but it ended up changing my mood.  It made me terribly sad and I hugged my kids just that little bit tighter because of it. Three Hours will stay with me forever.

On a snowy December day, oblivious to what is about to happen, the parents of Cliff Heights School drop their children off believing it to be just like any other school day. Only an hour later, the children start texting and tweeting their parents. There’s a gunman in the school. They’re terrified and hiding for their lives. The parents rush to the school but they’re turned away by the police, they feel helpless and can only watch from afar. The clock is ticking…

I’ve never read such a tense, compelling novel before. My heart was in my mouth from the very start and it stayed there throughout. I was living and breathing the story alongside the characters, like a movie playing in my mind. And the terror felt real. It was insane how deeply this book burrowed its way into my being. It was such an intense, emotional experience reading Three Hours.

I felt there were two sides to this story. You have the human side; the kids and teachers trapped in the school in fear for their lives, the parents being kept at a distance whilst being utterly helpless. And then you have the technical side; the police analysing every move the gunman makes, trying to pre-empt any demands and the reasons for carrying out such a horrific act. I loved the juxtaposition of these two faces – emotional versus technical and scientific. It’s a true race against time and I was on the edge of my seat throughout.

I had a feeling I knew where one of the plotlines in the book was heading but it still broke my heart into a million pieces when the truth was revealed. The author has written such an immersive, current and hypnotic novel. The bravery shown by the kids, the resilience and determination shown by the teachers, and the heartbreak shown by the parents makes for absorbing reading.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Reading Three Hours was such an experience for me that it will be impossible to forget. Beautifully written, full of drama and shedloads of terror-filled suspense. I devoured the book. It affected me greatly. Recommended.

Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton was published by Penguin Books on 29th October 2020 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | Book Depository | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop |

Rosamund Lupton is the author of four novels.

Rosamund Lupton graduated from Cambridge University in 1986. After reviewing books for the Literary Review and being invited to join the Royal Court Theatre, she won a television play competition and subsequently worked as a screen writer. Her debut novel Sister, was a BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime, a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, has been translated into over thirty languages and has international sales of over 1.5 million copies. It was the fastest-selling debut of 2010 by a British author, and was winner of the Richard and Judy Best Debut Novel of 2011 Award and the Strand Magazine Critics First Novel Award. Film rights of Sister are currently under option.

Lupton’s critically acclaimed second novel Afterwards also went straight into the Sunday Times bestseller lists and was the No. 2 Sunday Times fiction bestseller of 2011. The Quality of Silence her third novel was a Sunday Times best seller and a Richard & Judy bookclub pick

Her new novel Three Hours is a Sunday Times top ten best seller and a best book of 2020 in the Sunday Times, the Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Stylist, Red & Good Housekeeping. It’s a Times and Sunday Times thriller of the month.