Three Hours is the story of a school campus being held hostage by a gunman with murderous intent. Unfortunately, a scenario that has played out for real in our society with shocking news coverage. the author draws wonderful characters to personalise a glimpse of possible motivations, fears and actions under the headlines.

The school is a campus of multiple buildings located in woodlands on the Somerset coast and includes a junior school, a senior school, pottery building and a theatre. It has continued to grow from the 1920s adding new to old and now provides education to 14 years of student needs. Several teachers and students occupy each of the buildings and their stories are told with compelling fascination when threat and fear hang over their every move. The novel explores how different people react, some stepping forward in moments of courage and those that don’t.

The attacks start with a small explosion, and Rafi, a young refugee from Aleppo knows from experience exactly what it was. He informs the headmaster, Matthew Marr, and rushes to the junior school to evacuate the children and his younger brother, Basi. For many others, it began when the headmaster was shot in the head and foot. Dragged into the library by Hannah (Rafi’s girlfriend) and her fellow student, Mr Marr is incapacitated but fears what is happening in his school.

I really loved this book. The plot is fantastic and it is really well written. I was engaged from the first page, especially as this book jumps straight into the story.

I felt for nearly all the characters and was so eager to find out how things panned out for them - I wish I’d have had a spare three hours to devour it all at once.

The only negative factor for me with this book is that it felt like it should be more fast paced. The premise of the book was so intense but actually reading it I didn’t experience the intense, must read quickly thing that I was expecting to - especially given the nature of the plot. I did develop that intense feeling in the last 30 odd pages but I think the plot warrants more.

This is not by any means an easy read, for many reasons but it is definitely worth it.

Believe the hype - this absolutely will be the literary thriller of the year. Sharp, intelligent, fast-paced, with a great hunk of weight to add meaning and message. Normally there's something jarring about multiple narrative points of view but this was done in just the right way. Gulped this down in a day and will absolutely be recommending.

Three Hours is another excellent book by Rosamund Lupton which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I went in without knowing much about it at all, therefore had no expectations, so I was incredibly happy to have chosen an excellent one which I could firmly make my own mind up about without the input of others. The story was powerful, very fast paced, and in the words of all good thrillers, UNPUTDOWNABLE!!!

The story is based in the Cliff Heights School in Rural England and tells the story of a harrowing three hour siege by White Supremacists. The tension builds immediately, when they storm the school gunning down the headmaster. The setting in the midst of winter, with the snow coming in thick and fast, adds to the dramatic tension. A vivid imagery is created, which adds to the overall atmosphere.

There are three gunmen, but we only know the whereabouts of two of them, which is worrying. As is the different situations of the characters throughout the story. When you are with the characters you feel their fear of the unknown waiting outside for them.

We come to learn their stories, such as that of Mr Marr the wounded headmaster; 6th Former Hannah and her friends in the library, who are trapped as a gunman is patrolling the halls outside; Syrian refugee brothers Rafi and Basi, who try and guide children to a nearby beach for rescue; the group who try to distract from it all by continuing to rehearse their Macbeth play in the gym; a parent who is desperate for news of her son; and a group of young children in a cabin in the woods who are being shielded by their teacher.

I was particularly touched by the story of Rafi, I won’t go into it to prevent spoilers but he is a great addition to the story and definitely food for thought. The book overall is very topical and certainly relevant to current events.

This is a complex and emotional book and I absolutely could not put it down. I would strongly recommend to all.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Books UK and Rosamund Lupton for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is set in a single day at a School in Somerset which is under siege by unknown people. Who, what and why is cleverly revealed as we keep on reading and honestly kept me guessing right till the very end.
I mean books written about school shoot outs or under attack are bound to be intense right? But this author takes it to the next level!
I honestly had this huge lump in my throat the whole time I was reading.
The characterization is second to none. The way Rosamund writes in intricate detail from the horror children and pupils trapped in the school feel to the reasons that the perpetrators are behaving in the way they are really gives such insight into psychology and makes it so believable I felt like I was a part of the story.
I feel like this is a book people need to experience for themselves but trust me when I say it's a work of excellence in my opinion.
Yes its uncomfortable, and so it should be to me that's testament to the way that this book is written. Its intense, and powerful and will easily be one of my favourites of 2020.

I really enjoyed this book! A great story line that kept me hooked and excellent main characters. I would highly recommend this book.

This was such a tense, gripping read. I felt quite stressed (in a good way) for the whole first half. With some clever reveals and some heartbreaking back story it is Lupton at her absolute best. I loved her earlier books but this is possibly my favourite. Will definitely recommend to people. The Queen of TENSION. It crackled!

A powerful story of a school under siege....told from different perspectives in the three hours it took place in, amazing characters and a gripping story...however I would have liked to understand the intruders more and their motivations. A good but disturbing read!

Three Hours by Rosamund Lipton is a fast paced, tense thriller. The characterisation is superb and the plot races along with twists and turns in every chapter. It demonstrates how easily the vulnerable can be used by unscrupulous idealists but overall, human kindness and love for others prevails. I enjoyed the link to Shakespeare’s Macbeth. I thoroughly recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book, it started out a little slow but then really picked up pace. The story follows a group of children and teachers trapped inside a school being held siege by masked gunmen. Emergency services have no safe way to get into the school, so they have to try and figure out the gunmen's motives and negotiate with them before it's too late.

I must be in the minority here because I simply could not get into this book. What is essentially THREE HOURS felt like three years to me...and I didn't even finish it! It was slow, uneventful and boring. I tried to connect to the characters but everything just felt distant...like I was viewing it through a fish bowl.

It is, from what I can gather, a hate crime. But then aren't most school shootings? I can't tell you much more as I never completed the book. I didn't even get to hear from the shooter's perspectives (if there ever was on).

The premise sounded interesting...but that was where it ended. My second book in a row that has been somewhat disappointing, although at least I finished the last one...this one I was just bored to tears.

20% is my cut-off point if a book fails to grab me. I couldn't even make it that far. Maybe I gave up too early...who knows...but for me, if a book does not grab your attention from the beginning and pulls you in, then I move on to something that does. I felt none of the thrills promised - just...*yawn*...boredom.

Billed as "One of the most exhilarating reading experiences I've ever had" - I feel as though I was reading a different book. But I guess THREE HOURS would be fine if you're into this type of story of this kind of crime, but it just wasn't for me, sadly.

I would like to thank #RosamundLupton, #NetGalley and #PenguinBooksUK for an ARC of #ThreeHours in exchange for an honest review.

Towards last year I found myself with an afternoon to spare and this book on my Kindle. I settled down with a cup of tea to read.

Three hours (or so) later I emerged from the book, my tea as cold as the weather outside, untouched.

Reader, this book is utterly absorbing, utterly terrifying, and one you will be utterly unable to put down.

I’ve been meaning to write a review of this book since December. I keep picking up the draft, then putting it down again, unable to find the right words.

It’s quite an experience. The subject matter was never going to make this an easy read, especially as a parent. We’re sadly all too familiar with the scenario from news stories in the US, but Three Hours‘ setting in a school in Somerset almost makes it more shocking. This isn’t something we’d expect to see here, making it all the more shocking.

Told over the course of the titular three hours, this is a complex, multi-layered narrative told from multiple viewpoints – the head teacher lying gravely wounded, the students trying to save him, the teenage Syrian refugee trying to find his little brother whilst the gunman stalks the halls. Relationships between the young students are brought to the fore, magnified and focussed by the ever-present threat of death, of life being snatched before they’ve had a chance to truly live.

It’s beautifully written, nail-bitingly tense and at times, heartbreaking. It will also be on my books of the year list, I can guarantee it even now.

Put it on your list. Hugely recommended. Solid five stars.

Phenomenal.

Tense and powerful storyline that makes for a raw and emotive read. Excellent characterisation. I just personally found it a little slow and repetitious in the middle and so many characters made it a tad confusing hence the four rather than five stars. A gripping read nevertheless and one that I would highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.

As a teacher married to a Headmaster, I put off reading this book for some time as I felt the subject matter might be just too disturbing. However, I am so glad I decided to read it.
The book opens with the disturbing scenario of children barricading themselves into a library and a headmaster being shot. From that moment the tension barely lets up but the book is not just an exciting thriller. It explores relationships between people, the concept of kindness and the motivation for that kindness. It explores our attitudes towards refugees and describes the horrific plight that many children find themselves in. It is also in many ways a coming of age novel as it explores the growing relationships between some of the main characters. The ‘conversations’ between a mother and her son were absolutely brilliantly done and the outcome of that scenario therefore even more heart-breaking.
But….and it is a very small but as the novel was otherwise pitch perfect, I do not and cannot believe that a rehearsal of Macbeth would continue in the face of what was happening in other parts of the school. I totally understand that, for the plot, this needed to happen but, in a book, where everything else was dedicated to the utmost realism, it just didn’t ring true. And as a former drama teacher, who regularly had to take part in Lockdown procedures, I do feel I am speaking from a position where I know about these things.
So, a very slight niggle in an otherwise excellent book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read 'Three Hours'. I had not read anything by Rosamund Lupton before but found this to be a compelling, fast-paced book. The characters were believable and the plot, sadly, was not actually far-fetched.

I will look out for more works by Ms Lupton.

Three Hours tells the story of a school under siege and is told from various perspectives of the hostages held in different parts, and buildings of the school.

Sadly, I have not been able to finish the book as there are too many characters being introduced from the beginning, the descriptions and narrative jumps all over the place and is very confusing. The story does not flow smoothly and could find no attachment to the characters.

If I ever find myself with nothing else to do - I may give it another go but that is unlikely

A great read. It took a little more than three hours, but It was a thrilling read. A battle of good versus evil, acceptance and love. It's easier to love than to be predujiced. A tense and exciting book.

Three Hours opens with the horror of terrified children barricading themselves into rooms, a shot headmaster and a masked gunman stalking the corridors of a Somerset school. The pupils are spread across two main sites, one for older children and one for those between 4-11 and the action jumps mostly between these two groups and a couple of individuals within the surrounding areas such as the beach and the woods surrounding the school where an explosive device has also detonated. The terror unfolds as the children try to help their fallen headmaster and barricade themselves away from the gunman while contacting news outlets and communicating with their distraught families via FaceTime and social media. Is the information they are giving out helping or hindering the gunmen? Who are the gunmen - is it one person bearing a grudge or perhaps a group of them, with even more sinister intentions? Suspicions and accusations fall on a couple of young Muslim refugees who are missing from the main school areas. Rumours are rife - even if it's not them, is it still their fault because someone is disgruntled at the support the school is showing to them?

There are several important topics touched upon in the book; Most obviously the threat of school shootings becoming more prevalent across the world and not just in the US, and the continuing refugee crisis of the last few years. Within this the attitudes of local communities towards those who successfully make it to a new country and the effects it can have on both individuals and a community are examined, and also how people show support until they feel threatened and then turn against those who are most vulnerable.

I love Rosamund Lupton's writing, she is detailed and emotive, and you can picture the frosty woods, and imagine the fear of the children, waiting, listening, praying that they are not next to see the gunman close up. I thought the refugee brothers' story was wonderfully wound throughout the novel, heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure, and will hopefully make anyone who thinks that these people endure crossing treacherous seas in tiny, unsafe boats just to take advantage of the welfare system, think again. Although attempts are made to delay the reveal of the gunman's identity, I guessed who it was from the first few times they were mentioned. I didn't guess the reason though. Ultimately I felt a little detached from this novel for some reason. There were so many characters introduced that it was difficult to keep up with at times and I didn't really feel any affiliation with them. I also felt it was a bit drawn out and and slow for anything to happen - although that I imagine is reflecting in some way the slowness of time passing for those trapped in the school.

3.5

This is a fictional book which is unfortunately very topical. It follows events at a High school as White supremacists take over and threaten the staff and pupils. The story is covered from the point of view of the people inside the school who are being terrorised and the police outside who are trying to work out what is happening. The title ‘Three Hours’ comes from the police uncovering an encrypted tweet that exposes the terrorists plans to open fire on their victims at a certain time. The novel is incredibly well researched regarding previous similar events that have actually happened, and the way the police use technology to try and outsmart the terrorists. It is also heartbreaking to read as parents wait for news of their children or try to come to terms with the evil acts they have planned.

I simply have no words to describe this book.

It is simply incredible. Rosamund Lupton's writing is just sensational, pulling the reader in from the very first page, keeping you hooked throughout and forming attachments to the characters.

It's tense, it's dark, it's so real. A topic, that quite frankly is beginning to become the norm these days, has been taken and spun on its head. You feel for the victims, understand their anguish, their confusion, their hatred. You become one of them.

This isn't just a book about a school shooting, this books explores the drive behind committing such acts, it tackles a hate culture rife with both racists and extremists, it shows bravery and sacrifice.

A fantastic narrative, descriptive writing and engaging storyline. This is definitely one of the best books I have read so far this year.