The story begins with ten children and four teaching staff waiting to start their field trip. It's a new bus but there's something wrong with it - it won't start. Thank God for Arnie, the local cab driver who has a minibus. It's a last-minute switch but better than canceling the trip, right?

They are around an hour late in leaving school so it is pretty obvious that they will be back a bit late. But it's past 6 in the evening and the bus is nowhere to be seen. The headmistress tries to contact the teaching staff but none of them answer her calls.

Soon, it becomes clear that this might be a case of kidnapping. A carefully planned plot. The new bus had to have problems on the day of the trip. It was fitted with a tracker. The bus in which the kids left is an old model, no GPS. Days pass by and the parents are worried. Then, there's a development - and the parents fear that the kidnappers are capable of violence.

It was so sad that the kids had to face a traumatic situation for no fault of theirs. It so happened that their parents had made a couple of bad decisions and the kids ended up facing the brunt of it. Also, from the beginning, we readers are given a picture of the parents, their backgrounds, and... their secrets.
I was hooked on to the story and couldn't put it down until the end. Multiple PoVs made the story more engrossing. Twists and turns are plenty and sure to keep one guessing till the end. The secrets some of these parents have - gosh! I was like, WHY????

I hope this book gets picked up for a movie or TV series soon. It's THAT good! If you are looking for an edge-of-your-seat thriller, you HAVE to give The Vanishing of Class 3B by Jackie Kabler a try.

The book started very strong and promising but at around 25% I started losing interest. Too many characters and way too much going on. Just an OK read for me.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The title of this book is eye grabbing. The premise behind it is fantastic. A bus full of kids and their teachers vanishes. All the parents are worried and at their wits end. Oh what will happen?

It started off great full of pizazz and I really enjoyed. However, I did find it very repetitive and we could have done with less retelling of the same facts.

Anyway, once the ransom text came through I got excited again, and then we realised that a lot of the characters were harbouring secrets. There was so much mystery and glancing looks between characters that I kind of figured out the secrets, and it wasn't that amazing 🙈 especially when it turned out to be the same secret twice (trying not to spoil)

I loved the narratives from the bunker, I am glad we got to see from their POV it gave a break from the parents storyline.

Let's not dwell on the policing side of the story, they were beyond hopeless.

Anyway I have picked a lot of things that irked me in the storyline. But, I still devoured this in a day as it was a good story. Yes there were bits that I didn't like, yes there was glaringly obvious secrets to discover.

I will still read more by Jackie Khabler because she has really good ideas for storylines.

An engrossing thriller.
As the title states a class of children and teaching staff go missing after a school trip.
No one knows why they’ve been taken or where they are .
A ransom demand is made and the parents decide what to do after revealing some shocking secrets and home truths .
This psychological thriller is easy to read and kept my interest throughout, and I love the twist at the end .
An enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK.

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This shocking psychological thriller is set in the Cotswolds and follows students and teachers at Littleford Primary. One morning a class of 10 students and 4 teachers start to prepare to set off for a school trip to the wildlife park. After struggles with the minibus eventually they are on their way.

However, at the end of the day when the parents arrive to collect their children it seems that something must have happened on their journey home as they have vanished.

With some of the parents having secrets, they turn to each other to try and work out who could have their children.

Will the children and teachers be found? Who is behind their disappearance?

I really enjoyed reading this psychological thriller, although the storyline was quite shocking as I can’t imagine what would be going through the parents’ heads in this situation. It would be any parent’s nightmare.

I didn’t really find I warmed to any of the characters, but with the secrets they all must reveal there were many dramatic and thrilling parts to keep me interested.

You do get a chance to see from the point of view of the children and I loved how brave they were and how they handled the situation better than most adults would.

Overall, a dramatic and shocking psychological thriller where after a school trip a group of students and their teachers all seem to vanish.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a parents worst nightmare....
a school trip but the children dont return
a whole bus loads of children are abducted but a body is found in the bus

the police dont have a lot to go on and as days go by with nothing from the abductors all they can do is question the parents...

and then the first contact with the abductors comes in

an intriguing storyline that kept me reading right to the end...

Jackie joined me to discuss The Vanishing of Class 3B on my podcast a few months ago, and I have been desperate to read it ever since! And it was even better than I was expecting. Completely gripping and full of twists and shocks. The multiple povs keep the story fresh, and leave you unable to put it down. If you love a clever unpredictable thriller, you'll love this as much as I did.

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.

I enjoyed all of the different points-of-view as a way of getting to know the characters and piecing together what really happened to the children and their teachers. I especially liked the point-of-view from one of the children as it helped give the reader a clue regarding the mysterious disappearance. I was able to figure some things out from details in the story, but there are several shockers at the end that I didn't see coming. After such a big build-up, the main secret wasn't as shocking as I had imagined, but an explanation was given to how one person's actions had such devastating consequences for others. I enjoy Jackie Kabler's style of writing and I really enjoyed this suspenseful story and would rate it 4.5 stars.

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, and One More Chapter. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

What happens when your worst nightmare comes true...?

After reading a couple of reviews I wasn't sure what to expect from this my fourth thriller by Jackie Kabler but I was pleasantly surprised. Whilst many of my fellow reviewers, who read much the same books as I do, and I share similar tastes and more often than not similar ratings, this time most of those differ. But then we can't all like the same books all of the time.

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).

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.

When that time comes and goes and the children have still not returned, parents begin to worry that something may have happened. The head teacher has attempted to contact each of the four teacher but all four phones are going straight to voicemail. And as the children are all 7 and 8 year olds, none of them are permitted to have mobile phones themselves during school hours. So as it stands, the children and their teachers are unreachable. The parents elect to contact the police without delay and given the gravity of the situation - that is, ten children and four adults disappearing - the police begin investigations immediately.

After several days with no word and no clue as to their whereabouts, police and parents are mystified as to the reason for their disappearance. And then...contact is made. Each of the parents receive a text message stating :

"All of the adults and children taken from Littleford Primary School bus trip on Friday are safe and well. We will tell you what we want from your very shortly. There will be no engagement or discussion. Await further instructions.

PS. One of you has a secret. We know what it is. And if you want to keep it a secret, it's time to PAY."

So it is a kidnap and they want something from the parents. But what exactly. And one of them has a secret? Which one of them? Because from where I was sitting every one of them had a secret, none of which they wanted to share with the police...even to get their children back! Instead they were intent on destroying their marriages and each others' lives by sharing them with each other. Well the final eight of them, that is. Which is the how the group of parents narrowed themselves down, the fact that they were hiding a secret that could potentially be the reason their children had been taken. And boy, did they go to work on blowing up their lives and sending their unsuspecting spouses into meltdown. Of course none of these secrets - bar one - was worth kidnapping for. Not in my opinion anyway. Not unless there was something more to their secrets someone wasn't sharing. So I figured it was either the pretty shocking secret one of them revealed...or it was a whole different secret altogether. One we knew nothing about...yet.

The parents in this book are all unlikeable and all pretty selfish putting the secrey of their...er...secrets above the safety of their children. I mean, wouldn't a normal person disclose whatever secret they had been harbouring if it meant saving their child? OK, so one of the secrets (the pretty shocking one) was...well...shocking and even criminal, so I can kind of understand why they were reluctant to reveal that little tidbit to the police. But affairs? Nothing worth their childrens' lives, surely. In fact, those affairs weren't even very secret because I had figured them out long before they revealed them to the "final eight". Even another little kicker of a twist I suspected. So yeah, my money was on the shocking secret or something not yet known to us.

Quite honestly, I was in the dark as to who was behind the kidnapping and was as eager as the rest of them to find out who it was...and why. I did figure out the identity of The Visitor (so dubbed by Luca) simply by one simple clue I picked up on and then later on they kind of overplayed their hand and revealed themselves to the readers in a pre-emptive move. But the big secret and reason why the kids were taken? Not as big or as shocking as the one we were already privy to but to those involved I can understand why it meant what it did to them. The ending was a little different and wrapped things up nicely...albeit with a nice little final twist to round off this addictive read. And one I definitely didn't see coming...though did wonder in passing at one point. But in the end, it was the perfect conclusion.

Overall, THE VANISHING OF CLASS 3B had a bit of a Midsomer Murders feel to it, given its setting in the Cotswolds, with a hint of "Criminal Minds". It definitely was something different and made for thrilling and addictive reading. Plenty of secrets and as many twists to accompany them.

I would like to thank #JackieKabler, #Netgalley, #OneMoreChapter and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheVanishingOfClass3B in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

Thank you to @rachelrandomresources for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! So many twists, so many secrets and such an amazing read.

Class 3b and 4 of their teachers go out for a day trip and never return. Where are they, who took them, how can they just vanish? The suspense and apprehension built up after this happens is brilliant, you have no idea why or where this is headed. I read the whole book in just over 24 hours as I had to know!

The writing is infectious, you just can’t put it down. I had an inkling of what was going on but was way off of the truth. Once the revelations start, they just keep coming and coming.

Definitely an author I’ll read again, just fabulous.

This is every parents nightmare, for you children to suddenly be snatched from their place of safety. This nail-biting crime thriller was fast paced and intense and there were moments I was truly gasping with shock and surprise. I also loved that I didn't guess the ending, and what an ending, I had a few theories, but the author certainly kept me on my toes. This is definitely one my top reads this month.

I enjoyed this book. Took me a bit to get into it but I’m so glad I did! A bit slower paced than I’m used to BUT that didnt detract from me enjoying the story!

When class 3B from Little Fort primary goes missing the affluent parents are worried, but when messages start coming in they get scared someone has a secret and it’s time for them to pay but which of the 10 couples is it? Between the footballer, the TV show host his model wife and the famous chef someone has angered someone else and it has put all of their children in jeopardy. When the bus is found in the teacher who is driving soon dies the steaks are raised yet again can they find the children before anyone else gets hurt and who is keeping a secret? I’m just gonna start by saying there was a point in this book where I thought it was becoming predictable but oh I was so wrong! This is really a thriller that keeps on giving just when you think you have figured it out just like the famous commercial wait… There’s more And the twist continue to come. I would definitely put this book up there with the best thrillers I have read, because this is one awesome read! I have never read a book by this author but I will definitely not pass one up in the future not only is it at no point where you’re rolling your eyes or shaking your head this is a bona fide thriller we are each.com next to another and when it’s over you’re amazed at how good it is or at least I was. The vanishing of class threeB is an awesome read and when I highly recommend if you love a good thriller that makes sense the whole way through then you’ll love this book I certainly did and can’t wait to read another one by this author. I received this book from NetGalley but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

You know that sinking feeling you get in your stomach when you know something bad is about to occur? I had that feeling for the first part of the book. Who would hijack a bus full of kids?
It was the parents’ reactions that was the most interesting to witness since most of their dirty secrets are aired.
As the plot begins to give up the answers, there’s one character who is a rat and although I try not to side with villains, I think the ending was appropriate.

I was so excited to get a chance to check out this book because the premise sounded right up my alley. When I looked into it further, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had a few other books by the same author on my bookshelf, so I had a very high hopes that it wouldn't disappoint being the first time I have got a chance to read this author before. The book starts off with a primary school class going on a field trip. Nothing out of the ordinary there. However once night falls and the class fails to return home and there is no sign of them or the teachers that went with them, things start to get weird. A whole class full of children can't just vanish into thin air. Can they? With no answers and no way to figure things out the parents start to grow concerned. However, when a ransom note given telling one of the parents that they know what they did and they need to confess that is when the secrets really start to come out. This book was split up into two different time frames and while I normally don't like that too much, it was nice to see what was really happening before the children went missing and then to see how the detective was trying to find them and figure things out. The author did a great job of separating the time frames, but also making it very easy for the reader to know where we were in the story which made it easier to get lost in the words. Another thing that the author did that I normally don't like was each chapter was told through a different point of view of someone close to this case like a certain parent, a teacher, a cop, etc. It was interesting to see how they were viewing and handling the situation, the internal monologues that were running through their heads as they were desperate to find their children or like the teacher struggling to keep everyone calm while worried about the staff and kids involved. It was a very clever way for the author to get lots of information out without overwhelming the reader and I loved it. The thriller had everything a story that is unique and not overdone to death characters you can root for a plot that pulls you in quickly and powerfully and all of it made for the perfect story that leaves you wondering where all the time went. While this wasn't a very short book I found myself unable to put it down, each chapter left me saying one more one more until the whole book was finished. Great read unlike anything I have ever read in a long time and the best part was even though they were lots of cops involved this was a thriller book and it didn't turn into a crime detective book in any way, which is good. There were so many twists that as I reader I really loved trying to see if I could have spotted the clues a head of time. Amazing job and I'm so glad that I got the chance to read this book now. I can't wait to check out some of Jackie Kabler's other works because I know that this is a talent that won't be limited to just one book.

It kept me guessing.

This is a taut thriller from a favourite author of mine. As usual, she puts you right in the story, with everyday observational details that involve you with the characters.

How could the class of 3B vanish? To be fair it is 10 children as the other half of the class wanted to go to the science museum for a day trip. But even so, how would it be possible? As the time for the children to be back at school after their day trip comes around the minutes keep ticking by and they don't come back, neither do their teachers.

I had a few ideas of what I thought had happened, but with some twisty turns they were mainly undone. Clever writing keeps you thinking you are on the right track as I eagerly read on. We learn quite a bit about the parents and their lives and none of them are particularly endearing. Secrets are exposed and lives become uncoiled.

I really enjoyed The Murder List so was excited for this one.

The Vanishing of Class 3b is about a group of students who go on a school trip and don’t come back.

I liked the premise but felt the story itself fell a bit flat and the ending was very rushed.

The plot, the characters and all the twists in this book made this book an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 4 stars.

This book was full of secrets and surprises. It is a bit predictable. I thought it was just ok.
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for the early copy

I have read all of Jackie's books and enjoyed them immensely however this book left me a little flat. The kidnap itself was ok but when the families concerned started to reveal their secrets and why it could be because of them their children had disappeared I found all of the characters just too self centred to be true. Yes that is the way some people are in todays world but all of the family members, it was just to unrealistic. The reveal when it came felt very ridiculous as no one would wait that long to gain revenge and then take that out of everyone around the main character that they were upset with.
It would not put me off reading another of the authors book and i hope that this lower then her average offering is just a blip.