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