Absolutely superb. Lupton whips through this tale without a word wasted. There are numerous characters, but Lupton skilfully enables the reader to focus on the main players and generates sympathy in the reader. The procedural element is well-researched and persuasive. Sure to be a big hit.

Beautifully written with strong characters and excellent insight in the good and not-so-good sides of people. This story about a school shooting, but even more about what happened before that made some people decide to go ahead with it, is not an easy read. I had a bit of trouble getting into the story because of the location, with several buildings spread out and people having to move from one place to another, or just having to stay inside to stay safe. After a while I decided to not to try too hard anymore and I just let the story flow into my mind.
The weather is cold, cold in this book and parts of the underlying story are cold as well. You can almost see it evolving and it is hard to put down once everything is really in motion.

A great book and I'm happy Netgally and Penguin Books allowed me to read a digital review copy.

This is an intense, exciting book about a school in lockdown, due to Rafi, a refugee child from a war-torn country of origin, hearing what he believes to be a bomb exploding in the woods surrounding his school. The police have three hours to carry out proceedings in order to stop the planned devastation from being carried out. (That’s as much detail as I can give without giving any spoilers!) The first half of the book sets the scene and introduces the main characters, but lacked pace for me. The second half of the book was fast-paced and had many surprises, which all made sense when read back. I couldn’t put it down until I’d finished it in the early hours of the morning. Even then, I thought about it all night and checked back over the details of one character in the morning to see how their part changed as the story developed. A really strong 4 stars.

Three Hours is incredible. This story of a school under siege is horrifying, terrifying and a true emotional rollercoaster. I read it mostly over the course of a day and evening, and ended feeling completely wrung out. I don’t want to say too much, though, because it’s best discovered for yourself.

Cliff Heights School, set amid woodland on the Somerset coast, is the last place you would expect to be terrorised by gunmen over a period of three traumatic hours. We see the story as it unfolds from different viewpoints - the wounded headmaster, Matthew Marr, tended by sixth-former Hannah in the library as an armed man stalks the hallway outside; the students and their teacher somehow continuing to rehearse Macbeth in the theatre; Syrian refugee brothers Rafi and Basi (PTSD-suffering Rafi, who knows a bomb when he sees one, is the first to raise the alarm about an explosive in the school grounds); mother Beth, desperately seeking news of her missing son; the police struggling to understand and contain the situation; and most poignant of all (though we see this mainly from others’ viewpoints), the teacher trying to protect and care for her class of seven year olds in the unprotected pottery room.

As a snowstorm rages outside, the tension rises to the point where the book becomes both almost unbearable to continue reading and impossible to put down. As hatred and fear do battle with courage and love, it’s impossible to predict how it will end.

I don’t want to say more, other than: stunning, harrowing and important book with a timely message. Read it!

The blurb of this sounded really great however I was unsure of this when I started reading, wrongly so as I soon discovered. The book literally starts in the middle of events, almost as though you’ve missed the first few chapters and this is why I struggled to get a hold of it at first but take it from me it’s well worth sticking with and I found I was very quickly engrossed. There’s quite a lot of characters in this however I had no trouble keeping up with who was who and I found all the characters to be well written. The plot is great, the layout of the school is a bit extreme but that’s necessary for the story to flow. It’s a real page turner, I guessed small parts of it but overall it keeps you on your toes and is thought provoking too. I am mostly unfamiliar with the story of Macbeth beyond the basics however the intertwining of this works well and does prove to have a relevance at the end. This is one of the best thrillers I’ve read recently and would give it 9/10

Oh my goodness this is a good book! I have read Rosamund Lupton before and enjoyed and was really looking forward to this book. I could not put it down, it is terrifying, compelling, tense and yet manages to leave us content by the end. Well written and greatly enjoyable - highly recommend!

In the middle of a snowstorm an English school is under siege. While the police and psychologist are outside trying to find the identity of the gunman, the headmaster is wounded in the library being cared for by other students while trying to keep the gunman outside the door. Children and teachers are spread out throughout the school in classes and they must all find the courage to stand up to evil and try to save the people they live.

I thought I would enjoy reading this one, but unfortunately for me I couldn’t connect with the characters and I felt it was long winded and drawn out. Not for me but I’m sure others who like this style of writing will enjoy it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books (UK) for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow!!! I absolutely loved this book. It was beautifully written, heartwrenching, and I was frantic with worry about the kids. This book had my heart in my mouth for the majority of the time, interspersed with moments of immense pride for those brave wonderful children and their teachers.

I think the most unsettling part of the book though, is how 'relevant' unfortunately, the story is in these unsettling times.

I am now going to get the other books by this author read.

LOVED IT!!

I thought this was an excellent premise and I would be immersed in the different groups but the way the book skipped about was distracting and some of the characters just didn’t ring true. I reread some parts after reaching the end to see if it would seem better on a second reading and decided that, for me, a lighter touch with the cast and less is more would have made it all more credible. Pregnant police officer leading team, dying head who rescues refugees, Syrian foster kids,deputy with depression but courage, selfless art teacher, incredible drama teacher, brave well behaved kids and then two radicalised teens and a building just perfect for the way the story unfolded. It read like an idea for TV not a novel and It just wasn’t as good as I expected.

I thought I knew what to expect from this book but it turned out to be far more nuanced - and interesting! - than the blurb implied. Several people have written about the aftermath of school attacks but this book gets under the skin of victim, police and others in a compelling way.

This isn’t the first novel to tackle the story of a school shooting, but it does it well. Although told over just three hours, Lupton layers the story with background and details about the characters so that the reader becomes invested in each of them. With the school in lockdown after shots are fired, most of the students have been evacuated. There remain just a few groups - several teenagers huddled in the library, tending to their wounded headmaster; a class of very young children with their teacher in a pottery room, cut off in the woods; and the cast of the school’s production of Macbeth, quietly rehearsing while locked in the school theatre as the drama unfolds outside. What I liked about this book is that the focus is not so much on the shooter (or shooters) and why this is happening (although that is explored) but on the experiences of the children and adults affected, how they behave in the face of danger, how courage and compassion overcome fear.

This was the first book that I had read by Rosamund, and it certainly won't be the last, intense from start to finish. A must read

Brilliant. Rollercoaster ride. Emotional. Superb read.

A wonderful read, I was completely caught up in the story from the beginning to the end. It didn’t stop for an instance to give me reason to breathe. Bang on topic.

Only criticism is that you called Katie Hopkins a journalist. Wrong.

In a rural English village in the middle of a snowstorm, the unthinkable happens: the school is under siege.

From the wounded headmaster barricaded in the library, to teenage Hannah in love for the first time, to the pregnant police psychologist who must identify the gunmen, to the terrified 8-year-old Syrian refugee, to the kids sheltering in the school theatre still rehearsing Macbeth, all must find the courage to stand up to evil and try to save the people they love . . .

The premise of this book is excellent, and I thought I would really enjoy reading it as I have enjoyed similar in the past. Unfortunately, this book fell a bit flat. I didn't feel connected with the characters straight away, although I really wanted to. The only one felt for was the headmaster, who was described well - but I didn't connect with other teachers or children, or the assailants either.

I can't say much more without giving things away, but this one just wasn't for me - still, I expect many people who enjoy Rosamund Lipton's style of writing will really enjoy it.

It took a few chapters for me to get into this book, but once I did I was hooked and could barely put it down. A school in Somerset is under siege by unknown gunmen and with an unknown motive. Specialist police forces must try to work out who the gunmen are in order to get the pupils to safety. A heavy snowstorm makes surveillance more difficult, and pupils begin to feel disorientated in their once familiar school. Parents wait anxiously for news that their children have been safely evacuated, and the world's media is watching.

With several key characters, it might have felt confusing but each character had been created so convincingly that I didn't struggle to keep up with them. Their stories were carefully woven together, with Lupton managing to weave the past and present seamlessly. The novel was made more terrifying by the fact that I could see exactly how such a hostage situation could occur in schools in the UK, and how children can slip away from their parents insidiously. The novel felt incredibly well researched, and I was amazed by the depth of information (particularly regarding terrorism) that was written in such a frank manner.

I read this novel quickly (ironically in just over three hours), and was surprised by its twists and turns. There was shocking terror mixed in with acts of pure love and selflessness. Three Hours showed the strength of both adults and children facing impossible situations, and the bravery some will show when faced with adversity.

I absolutely loved, loved, loved this book. Couldn't put it down- it had me on the edge of my seat plot wise, with a couple of great twists I didn't see coming, but also made me cry (which I don't normally do when reading). I can't recommend it highly enough. I've read all of Rosamund Lupton's books and I have to say I think this is my new favourite.

A small private day school by the coast in the Somerset countryside, with a liberal ethos. The compassionate headmaster has rescued two Syrian refugee brothers and brought them there. Now, on the morning of a snowstorm, there's a gunman or gunmen.

This is a very topical book. The story draws in terrorism, extremism, radicalization, the influence of mainstream media, social media, President Trump... A book of powerful themes too; it explores fear, friendship, power, betrayal, bravery and above all love of many kinds.

The thoughts and memories of key characters build depth and understanding. One such character, the mother of a missing boy did not resonate with me though.

Overall, the story was compelling and involving.

Ironically it took me around three hours to read Three Hours. For most of that time, my heart was pounding with a strong sense of fear and dread, my throat tight, my jaw tense. I barely took a breath, occasionally coming up for air. This is a race against the clock – and in various places I wished that I could press a pause button to give the characters extra time.

The writing moves at a cracking pace, switching from person to person, then back again, with some expertly woven twists – so cleverly structured. Afterwards, I couldn’t stop thinking about all the little things that now made sense and slotted into place, that I’d blinked over when I’d read them the first time.

I felt as though as I was there alongside the characters, as if they were my own friends and family – all of it feeling so real and close to home. Yes, the plotting is incredible but it’s the writing that wowed me in particular and wormed its way under my skin.

While there’s a mystery at the heart of the book – who are these gunmen and why are they targeting this remote school in Somerset? – for me, the book was an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to end, fuelled by its human element and exploration of human nature. What drives us to perform immense acts of violence and also immense acts of love?

Three Hours was a traumatic reading experience in many ways – it challenged me, thrilled me, stunned me and upset me - but I am so glad that I immersed myself within its pages. In several places, I had to pause and take a breath – scared to read on, yet scared not to. My youngest teen came into the room at one point while I was reading and I just wanted to pull him close and hug him, never let him go. This book made me worry about my teenagers, about sending them to school the next day, about the future of society. Yet it also gave me a sense of hope.

Three Hours is a thriller about ordinary people doing what’s right, going above and beyond their natural capabilities and comfort zone. It’s a message about society and vulnerability, love and the importance of community. This will be one of my top reads of 2019.

“Love is the most powerful thing there is”.

So says one character in Rosamund Lupton’s Three Hours, an incredibly powerful, heart breaking and undeniably brilliant novel, the thing is you know, I believe that’s true. If you read this you’ll believe it too.

Three Hours. One School. A life threatening and life changing event.

Reading this book was both the best and most difficult three hours (ironically) I’ve spent inside a story for years. Gripping, almost gently breaking down your defences, that thing that separates your fact from your fiction, the characters within this multi arc drama are tangible and real. They could be your family, your friends, this is why your heart will pound out of your chest, you’ll have to step back sometimes but you’ll be drawn back in by the sheer emotion of it all – now I’m out the other side I’m a little in awe of how far I was in it. Actually I think powerful is understating it by quite a margin.

The writing is so beautiful. The inner turmoil, the bravery, the terror and the dawning of understanding, all brought to vivid, shocking life on the page. The author takes on all the nuances, all the emotional levels, every part of human nature both the best and the worst of it and makes you look, really LOOK at it and the world we are living in. There are no punches pulled, no promises made and yet at the centre of it all, through the trauma, there is hope. Hope and love.

Yes the story is ripped straight from a headline you hope never to see again. This has been done before you may say. No. Not like this. Not with this immersive level of quality in the prose, in the characters, in the overall impact of it. I cried for our society when I was done, I also believed in it.

Love is the most powerful thing there is.

Read this book. Live it.

Not for me, I’m afraid. I didn’t like the writing style from the get go, but I persevered through 3 chapters but I gave in. Seemed like such a good storyline too, but I would have liked a hint at who the gun man/men was/were before the 3rd chapter to keep me hooked.