The Vanishing of Class 3B by Jackie Kabler

Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Vanishing of Class 3B by Jackie Kabler. She is a new author to me but I was intrigued by the title and blurb and couldn't wait to find out more. Big thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

 

The Blurb

One spring morning, a bus full of children and their teachers from a Cotswolds primary school head off on a much-anticipated day trip.

But as night falls and the well-heeled parents – one or two of them famous, as well as wealthy – wait at the school to collect their weary offspring, it soon becomes clear that something has gone very wrong.

The children and their teachers simply do not come back.

What’s happened doesn’t seem possible.

How can an entire class of children simply vanish?


Purchase Links

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My Review

As I mentioned in the intro I was really intrigued by the info for this book and just had to find out what happened. I really enjoyed it and read it in a day. 

Half of Class 3B are heading off to a nearby wildlife park for the day (the other half off on a different trip). Ten children, accompanied by three teachers and a teaching assistant. The day doesn't start well when the school's own minibus won't start and they have to borrow one from a local taxi firm. The kids don't care, they're just excited for their day out. They include the kids of a TV presenter, a famous chef and an ex footballer. When they don't return and none of the teachers can be reached, the police are called. The investigation that follows is one of huge frustrations. Against all logic, the children and their teachers seem to have just disappeared, vanished. 

I loved the mechanics of this operation, once we begin to learn what's gone on, and appreciated the meticulous planning by both perpetrators and author. The fears of the parents and their responses, in the main, are completely understandable. I think I'd have probably lost the plot if anything like this had happened to one of my kids when they were younger! But we also start to learn a great deal about some of the parents, not all of it savoury. 

My heart went out to the police, particularly Detective Superintendent Sadie Stewart and Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Sharma leading the case. There is little to no evidence for them to work with, no real clues. They are desperate to find the children, often going without sleep and food breaks. In many cases the reader learns information before the police so I found myself sympathising with them. Away from.The police, I must mention Luca, one of the children in Class 3B, a clever and perceptive little boy. A stand out for me. 

I did work some of it out but only right at the end and didn't ruin my enjoyment. There were still a couple of shocks for me! The denouement is bloody and messy, and confusing for at least one person there. But, ultimately, it's a sad story of loss and grief twisted into revenge. A tense and exciting story with an original plotline, The Vanishing of Class 3B was an enjoyable read. 

The Author

 

Jackie Kabler is an Amazon number one and USA Today bestselling author of psychological thrillers, including The Perfect Couple, Am I Guilty?, The Happy Family and The Murder List. Her novels have sold nearly a million copies around the world and have been translated into eight languages. Previously she worked as a newspaper reporter and then in television news for twenty years, including nearly a decade on GMTV. She later appeared on BBC and ITV news, presented a property show for Sky, hosted sports shows on Setanta Sports News and worked as a media trainer for the Armed Forces. She now combines writing with working as a presenter on shopping channel QVC. Jackie lives in Gloucestershire with her husband.


Author Social Media Links

Twitter @jackiekabler
Instagram @officialjackiekabler

The Bone House by Caroline Mitchell

Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Bone House by Caroline Mitchell, which was published by Embla Books on 25th April this year. Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy.

 

The Blurb

When hundreds of birds fall from the sky into Slayton's lake in a terrifying freak event, the waters are dredged - revealing a dark, long-held secret.

An old pram is pulled from the depths, with the bones of a baby still strapped inside.

It's the moment that new mother, Cora, has been dreading since she moved to Slayton - because someone knows, and is going to make her pay.

With the help of forensic anthropologist Sophia Hudson, and the extraordinary young Elliott Carter, Detective Sarah Noble gets to the bottom of a cold case that refuses to stay in the past. Will she survive the secrets of the bone house?

Don't miss this gripping new thriller from bestselling author Caroline Mitchell, that will have your heart pounding as you say 'just one more page!'. Perfect for fans of Cara Hunter, Alex North and Stephen King.

The Slayton Thrillers, with Detective Sarah Noble, can be read as standalones, or in any order.

My Review

This was my first book by Caroline Mitchell, and consequently my first Slayton thriller but, as the blurb suggests, it read perfectly fine as a standalone. I like the idea of having a collection of novels, all featuring the same key characters, that can be read in any order. With a title like The Bone House I knew I was probably in for something dark and I wasn't wrong. Creepy and threatening from the get go, with a chilling prologue, it doesn't really let up. 

The sudden mass death of hundreds of crows in the town of Slayton brings up a secret that one town resident has spent years moving on from. As it threatens everything she's built up, she approaches local policewoman Sarah Noble, herself still moving on from a trauma, for help. And from there things just escalate. 

This is a complex take full of tragedy and sadness but also tinged with a sense of otherworldliness, a creeping evil that some can sense. Trying to make sense of it are a bunch of main characters, with Sarah and Cora at the centre. Both women are relatable, to an extent at least, with fully fledged out back stories. Young Elliott deserves an honourable mention, a kind, sensitive young man plagued by disturbing visions. And Richie, Sarah's partner at work and the one person who has always got her back - I've got to say, I quite like the sound of him!

The bone house of the title features heavily and, as you might imagine, it's not pleasant. But it is described in such detail I could see it easily in my mind. And as the different elements of the plot all come together it all becomes more awful, and sad. But it's well and vividly written. 

The Bone House is a tense and claustrophobic thriller with evil in the air and a definite sense of foreboding. The detailed writing and some graphic scenes mean it's a tough read in places but well worth it. The story has some definite red herrings leading to a conclusion I didn't see coming. It's sad,but there's a definite feeling of hope too. I enjoyed it very much and would definitely read more of Mitchell's work. 

The Author

Caroline originates from Ireland and now lives in a village outside the city of Lincoln. A former police detective, she has worked in CID and specialised in roles dealing with vulnerable victims, high-risk victims of domestic abuse, and serious sexual offences. She now writes full time.

Caroline writes psychological and crime thrillers. Her stand alone thriller Silent Victim reached No.1 in the Amazon charts in the UK, USA and Australia and was the winner of the Reader's Favourite Awards in the psychological thriller category. It has been described as 'brilliantly gripping and deliciously creepy'.

The first in her Amy Winter series, Truth And Lies, has been optioned for TV.

You can follow Caroline on Twitter at @Caroline_Writes and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/CMitchellAuthor

Sign up to her reader's club for news, updates and a free short story here: https://caroline-writes.com