Bookseller Reviews
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This has to win some prizes next year. Read and see why.
Set in small town America this debut novel peels away the layers of what it's like to live in a place which has closer ties to the 1950's than the present ... READ MORE
Just what happened that night?
When seventeen year old Emma leaves her best friend Abi at a party in the woods, she believes that their lives are finally beginning. Many things will happ... READ MORE
Synopsis
'A dark and compulsive literary crime-drama about love, guilt, trauma, intolerance... an incredibly haunting book but a brilliant one too.' CultureFly Best Books of 2021
'Irresistible, compelling.' PAULA HAWKINS, author of The Girl on the Train
When seventeen-year-old Emma leaves her best friend Abi at a party in the woods, she believes, like most girls her age, that their lives are just beginning. Many things will happen that night, but Emma will never see her friend again.
Abi's disappearance cracks open the façade of the small town of Whistling Ridge, its intimate history of long-held grudges and resentment. Even within Abi's family, there are questions to be asked - of Noah, the older brother whom Abi betrayed, of Jude, the shining younger sibling who hides his battle scars, of Dolly, her mother and Samuel, her father - both in thrall to the fire and brimstone preacher who holds the entire town in his grasp. Then there is Rat, the outsider, whose presence in the town both unsettles and excites those around him.
Anything could happen in Whistling Ridge, this tinder box of small-town rage, and all it will take is just one spark - the truth of what really happened that night out at the Tall Bones....
'A wonderfully haunting debut.' JANE HARPER, author of The Dry
'Tall Bones brilliantly conjures up the oppressive claustrophobia of the small town... Extremely well written... fantastic.' HARRIET TYCE, author of Blood Orange
'A clever, twisting debut, about the dark side of small town America. It is packed with secrets like firecrackers ready to ignite.'FRANCINE TOON, author of Pine
'[Its portrait of small-town intrigue is scarily credible.' VAL McDERMID
'Smart and compassionate, full of poetry and rage and shy hopes and shredded dreams and missing girls and family secrets and the dark, shameful underbelly of small town life.' TAMMY COHEN, author of Stop at Nothing
'Tall Bones is as brutal, as bittersweet, as tender and as tense as first love itself.' EMMA FLINT, author of Little Deaths
'Tall Bones is as atmospheric as it gets - a stunning debut that delivers on every level.' RENEE KNIGHT, author of Disclaimer
'Chilling and compulsive. Tall Bones is a dazzling debut.' KATE HAMER, author of The Girl in the Red Coat
'A terrific debut about guilt, secrets and complex family dynamics... Anna Bailey is definitely one to watch.' LUCY ATKINS, author of Magpie Lane
Publisher information
- Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
- ISBN: 9780857527387
- Number of pages: 352
- Dimensions: 222 x 144 x 33 mm
- Weight: 468g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allSmall Town. Big Read.
Sometimes you meet characters in a book & you just know you want to place the read in everybody's hand.
Tall Bones starts as the story of a missing girl, ... READ MORE
The Best Debut I have EVER Read!
Thank you to the publishers who sent me this lovely early review copy, I had heard so much about this already... not publishing until April 2021 (do sugges... READ MORE
For me Anna Bailey’s debut novel deserves five stars
Tall Bones
Anna Bailey
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for this review copy. This is my unbiased review of the author's work and style.
I ... READ MORE
Mystery
I loved this book, what I liked most was, how from the beginning, all the characters are clearly introduced. I had no trouble working things out, something... READ MORE
Compelling and unsettling page-turner!
A sense of foreboding and unease permeates every part of this book, set in small town Colorado. It opens with a scene at the Tall Bones on a September even... READ MORE
A mesmerising debut. A 2021 must read!
A staggering debut that is compelling, thought-provoking and memorable...
Tall Bones is so much more than a story about a missing girl. It’s a story of ab... READ MORE
Great storyline which will keep you guessing
It was refreshing to read Tall Bones by Anna Bailey. A great storyline with enough red herrings to keep you guessing. Very unpleasant and flawed characters... READ MORE
What an amazing, tension filled debut
Abigail Blake disappears one night during a party. Her friend Emma cannot forgive herself for letting her go into the woods alone. Has Abigail run away, ... READ MORE
What’s Abigail’s secret?
Initially I found that the book jumped from character to character in the middle of chapters and I found this disorientating. However, once I had got to gr... READ MORE
Forensic dissection of an oppressive township
This novel explores the deep secrets and subtle relationships that simultaneously hold together and tear apart the small community of Whistling Ridge, Colo... READ MORE
Tall Bones Review
I am so impressed with the narrative, setting descriptions and the characters of this book that I had to start this review by praising it!
The characte... READ MORE
A small town mystery
Whistling Ridge is like any small insular town in America but when Abigail Blake goes missing after a party in the woods all the towns secrets slowly come ... READ MORE
Relax and enjoy
Tall Bones
Anna Bailey
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for this review copy. This is my unbiased review of the author's work and style.
I ... READ MORE
Compelling crime novel
What a debut!
Well written crime novel with plenty of intrigue and mystery. The small town setting sets it apart and you really feel the oppression and cl... READ MORE
Atmospheric, haunting, chilling and thrilling
Wow... this left me speechless and I can still visualise the town, the characters and just the feel of the place. All of the characters are complex, you ca... READ MORE
An above average thriller
A missing teenager, an unhappy home life and a selection of suspects within a small town. We've been here before but Tall Bones rises above the average thr... READ MORE
Compelling murder mystery fuelled by suspicion and prejudice
Whistling Ridge, a small town with big secrets. A town with menace on every corner and a dark side to every situation. Two friends enjoy a night out, one ... READ MORE
A stunning debut
Anna Bailey is certainly an author to keep your eye on because Tall Bones is her debut novel and outstanding!
Whistling Ridge is a small American town th... READ MORE
Tense and intriguing read
Two teenage friends go to a party in the woods but only Emma makes it home. At first, 17-year-old Abi's disappearance is treated as a runaway but when a gu... READ MORE
What happened in the woods?
'Tall Bones' is a novel about small-town life in a place where the bible is used by the church and fathers to attempt to keep their kids - and wives - in l... READ MORE
An excellent book - I just wish there had been some lighter moments to contrast with the darkness
If I didn’t know that Samuel Blake is in his late fifties and was 18 during the Vietnam war, I would have thought this was set in the 1950s. Whistling Ridg... READ MORE
A haunting psychological thriller
A haunting psychological thriller that will have you fully immersed. After reading the synopsis I must admit it reminded me of Pretty Little Liars which wa... READ MORE
Tall Bones by Anna Bailey
An interesting book to read. Dark, menacing and foreboding at times and deeply disturbing. Other times, haunting and intriguing, not a light fluffy read bu... READ MORE
Dark and thrilling.
Abi has gone missing, presumed dead. Her best friend is devastated and wants answers but no one seems willing to help her. Abi's family are hiding many sec... READ MORE
Secrets revealed!
This was a book like no other, it’s a thriller and family drama rolled into one.
When Emma leaves her friend Abi at a party in the woods she doesn’t think ... READ MORE
Tall Bones
4.5 stars rounded up.
This is small town drama at its best - or worst! We start with the disappearance of a young woman, Abi, after a party in the woods. A... READ MORE
Tall Bones
Tall Bones (a suitably sinister title) is a very impressive debut from Anna Bailey. While the basic premise - a teenage girl (Abigail Blake) goes into the ... READ MORE
Tall Bones
This book is very well written but a little darker than I thought it was going to be from the synopsis. I didn’t like a lot of the characters, but that’s t... READ MORE
Brilliant book
This book is really sad and quite tragic. It perfectly portrays that suffocating feeling of small town life. Everyone thinks they know your business, eve... READ MORE
captivating
Haunting, repressive small town vibes echo throughout this story. Whispering Ridge is a small town deep in the Bible Belt, not a lot happens apart from chu... READ MORE
Brilliant – gripping and spellbinding.
A book that is so gripping but also so beautifully written that you feel bad about racing through it so quickly, but are unable to help yourself. It is spe... READ MORE
Fabulous!
I am so pleased I’ve been quiet at work as I’ve been sneaking in chapters of this since I picked it up!
It grabbed me at the start and just kept hold of ... READ MORE
Tall Bones by Anna Bailey
Gosh, I loved this book. I’m currently suffering a bit of a book hangover and I can’t stop thinking about it. I was instantly drawn to the stunning cover a... READ MORE
A dark and compelling debut
I saw a lot of hype about this book on Twitter and requested an early review copy from NetGalley and I am so glad I did! What a debut. I finished it last n... READ MORE
Great Debut, Well Worth A Read
Tall Bones by Anna Bailey. Pub Date 1 Apr 2021
When seventeen-year-old Emma leaves her best friend Abigail at a party in the woods, she thinks that their l... READ MORE
Atmospheric and Engaging Slow Burn Thriller
Tall Bones falls into my favourite sweet spot - crime literature - a genre which is led by Tana French and Jane Harper (who has provided a blurb). I was th... READ MORE
Great debut
A remarkable debut novel from Anna Bailey. The descriptive writing, brilliant observations and the incredible understanding of human nature, good and unspe... READ MORE
I really wanted more from this book
I really wanted more from this book. "Tall Bones" by Anna Bailey starts off promising, with teenagers having a party and the mystery of what happened to A... READ MORE
An Incredibly Exciting Debut..
For a first novel, this book is nothing short of incredible. It is the equivalent of lighting fireworks in a box and watching it burn & explode.
The plo... READ MORE
Atmospheric read
This book has a wonderful sense of suffocating small town life and its dark underbelly as we follow the disappearance of a young woman Abigail. I found it... READ MORE
A Marvellous Debut
Tall Bones by Anna Bailey is exactly the sort of book you want. It hooks you in, and you'd like nothing more than to sit down and just keep reading. Sadly,... READ MORE
Dark Thriller
It took me a while to get into this book and I found the pace quite slow, until this picked up about half way through. I do feel this is a slow burning plo... READ MORE
A town ruled by zealots.
A town ruled by zealots.
Abigail Blake (aged 17) disappears after a party held near the Tall Bones – a series of stones near the small town of Whistling ... READ MORE
Suberb
This a a phenomenal debut. It is essentially about outsiders in a small town. One of the best books I have read so far this year
So good!
Where do I start?!? Tall Bones is an amazing and utterly gripping read. I saw a couple of my fellow booksellers discussing it on Twitter and knew I had to ... READ MORE
An atmospheric mystery that keeps you guessing.
It all starts the night Abi goes missing. Or does it? Really is starts a long time before that, hidden in the multitude secrets kept by the residents of Wh... READ MORE
Great read - dark and interesting
Emma and Abi are best friends and have been for years. While at a party one night, Emma chooses to go home early, leaving Abi behind at her request, never ... READ MORE
One of the best book debuts I've read in years!
Tall Bones by @annabaileywrites Is a phenomenal 5 star
Small town intrigue, utterly mesmirising!
I had a terrible night’s sleep last night...because I had to stay up to finish this book then couldn’t sleep as I couldn’t stop thinking about it!!
There ... READ MORE
Not a comfortable read, but a compelling one
What an absorbing, well written title this was! The characters are well rounded and fully described. This is a small town full of bigotry, secrets and bull... READ MORE
A decent debut
Tall Bones is a slow burn crime mystery with the author dropping crumbs and sowing seeds rousing intrigue and curiosity throughout. It’s well written with ... READ MORE
More than just a wonderfully lyrical thriller
This book is more than just a wonderfully lyrical thriller. It explores prejudice at many levels, some of which is quite jaw-dropping.
The author creates ... READ MORE
Atmospheric
A very atmospheric description of a small town where everybody knows everybody. You never really know what your neighbours are really dealing with and the ... READ MORE
Thoroughly enjoyable read!
Loved the characters and the story. A wonderful read.
Couldn't get into the story!
I’d like to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Tall Bones’ by Anna Bailey in exchange for my... READ MORE
Dark, depressing, with no likeable characters & yet strangely compelling
When teenage Abigail goes missing, the only one that seems to care is her best friend, Emma. Emma feels guilty for leaving Abigail in the woods that night,... READ MORE
Dark & Simmering
Set in Colorado, Tall Bones is based in an insular and remote town. When a teenage girl disappears, 17-year-old Abigail Blake, all of the community’s most ... READ MORE
Psychological thriller set in COLORADO Rocky Mountains
Tall Bones is set in a place that epitomises the unpleasant side of small town America. There are all kinds of prejudices festering. An outwardly respectab... READ MORE
Tall Bones by Anna Bailey
An interesting book to read. Dark, menacing and foreboding at times and deeply disturbing. Other times, haunting and intriguing, not a light fluffy read bu... READ MORE
Interesting read
I overall felt a little bit disappointed by the outcome of this book. The overall mystery was kind of anti-climactic and I was hoping for something more ju... READ MORE