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 devastating secrets and long-held grudges rise to the surface in this claustrophobic and atmospheric literary début. In Whistling Ridge, Abigail's best friend, Emma Alvarez is racked by guilt and questions are asked of the small town occupants, including Abigail's elder brother, Noah, younger sibling Jude, and preacher, Pastor Lewis. Anna Bailey's descriptions of small-town life are second-to-none in this psychological thriller début. Part mystery, but also heavily character-driven, I was soon enthralled reading this fabulous, riveting and incredibly well-structured tale. Tall Bones is an exquisite thriller with a steady and unrushed pace that you really don't want to miss. I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Random House UK, Transworld Publishers/ Doubleday via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

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 a compelling sense of place and foreboding, but despite reaching into the darkest corners of small-town hypocrisy, this is ultimately an uplifting story. Hatred and prejudice are outplayed by human kindness, and the main protagonists manage to remain true to themselves despite the odds stacked against them. A fantastic first novel. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

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 claustrophobia of this situation. A compelling read.

This book is really sad and quite tragic. It perfectly portrays that suffocating feeling of small town life. Everyone thinks they know your business, everyone has something to say about it, and if you are different then everything is twice as bad. At the same time everyone has secrets and everyone is trying to hide something. Ultimately though this is a very good haunting mystery thriller. The story starts to come together as a patchwork of snapshots are gradually revealed through past and present timeline as the story reaches its climax. I’m not sure how you follow up a debut like this but I can’t wait to find out.

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 grips with all the different characters the story flowed really well. Abigail goes missing at the Tall Bones. Her best friend Emma needs to know what has happened to her and does a better job than the sheriff. Abigail’s family is not a happy family, her father strongly influenced by the church uses violence as punishment, her mother lives in fear and does not protect her children, her older brother is fighting with his sexuality and her younger brother is disabled from where the father pushed him down the stairs. But what is Abigail’s secret? Slowly Emma unfurls clues from friends and foe to reveal the truth not only about Abigail’s disappearance, but her own past too. Trigger warnings: racism, sexual abuse, extreme religious influence, discrimination, alcoholism, bullying, violence. All of the above are not vividly described but feature.