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 church on Sundays, all fire and brimstone sermons. Our story begins with teenagers having a party in the warm summer nights, when Abigail goes missing. Her best friend Emma is distraught, Abi has been her closest and only true friend in the town - but where is she and what secrets is the town hiding? Full of characters with hidden pasts and unspeakable desires, Tall Bones packs a huge punch. Excellent excellent writing. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read it

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 spellbinding; dark and menacing, but also so full of love and hope. A truly brilliant book that I loved.

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 me. It really captured what I imagine a small rural American town could easily be - intolerant of strangers, racist, where the law has no real power, and everyone fears god. The main characters were all given a good background, and I felt like I knew them all by the end. I truly felt for poor Dolly the most.... No spoilers anyway...this is an excellent book, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it! My thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review

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, or has something happened to her? As we meet the rest of her family, and the community of Whispering Ridge either seem possible. Whistling Ridge is a tight knit, God fearing town in Colorado. Outsiders are not welcome and the many unpleasant and illegal practises of its citizens are tolerated as long as they can be condoned by God’s teaching as interpreted by their Pastor. Punish your wife and children for not obeying you? Sure. Practise homosexuality? Not in this town. It’s not going to take much for this community to take the law into their own hands. Anna Bailey has written an astonishing debut novel. The tension ratchets up as the book develops, the characters are brilliantly drawn and you get a real feeling for the small town life of Whistling Ridge and it’s inhabitants. When you finally find out why Abigail disappeared it is genuinely shocking and upsetting. I will be recommending this far and wide. Thank you to #netgalley and #randomhouse for allowing me to review this advance copy.

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 and the promise of small town secrets. It delivered ten-fold. You’ve got to read it! Seventeen year old Abi Blake waves goodbye to her best friend, Emma Alvarez, and assures her she’ll be able to get home safely. Emma, fearful for her friend’s safety, reluctantly leaves. The following morning there’s no sign of Abi. Everyone in the small town of Whistling Ridge has a secret. Everyone has their own version of events from the night Abi disappeared but no one is willing to talk. What happened to Abi Blake that fateful night out at the Tall Bones…? Absolutely gorgeous and utterly glorious. From the opening chapters this book had a hold over me and I savoured every moment I spent with it. It’s such a beautifully written piece of fiction which managed to completely entrance me. I loved it and I can easily see this book featuring in my top reads of the year, if not my absolute top pick for 2021. My heart broke for Emma who is consumed with guilt after leaving Abi at the Tall Bones. She turns to drink to try and numb the hurt and the humiliation but no matter how much she drinks, it doesn’t stop the pain. And that’s how she meets Rat Lăcustă who she helplessly falls in love with. Rat is young, spirited and exotic. And not the slightest bit interested romantically in Emma which only brings her more heartache. In Emma, the author has created a young woman at her most vulnerable, and she touched my heart. But Emma and Rat are only the beginning of a cast of characters who all stand tall from the page. The Blake family made me feel such a strong mix of emotions. I adored Jude, Abi’s younger brother, broken by those who should love him the most but still loyal to a fault. Abi’s mother, Dolly, made me furious in one breath for not acknowledging or stopping what was going on right in front of her eyes. In the next breath I couldn’t help but feel for her. Stuck in a loveless marriage and feeling completely trapped. Yes, her actions were unforgiveable but I wouldn’t wish her life on anyone. Noah, Abi’s older brother, was beautifully drawn. As he begins to realise who he is and what is important to him, he is shunned by the small town community he calls home and gossiped about at every opportunity. His blossoming relationship with Rat was both tentative and intense and I thoroughly enjoyed how the author wrote their interactions. A true love story. And finally we have Samuel Blake, Abi’s father. A cruel and aggressive man who made my blood boil with his hatred and discrimination. He uses the bible and the church’s teachings to justify his atrocious treatment of his wife and sons without remorse. The plot pulls the reader into the story to the point where it’s hard to put the book down for any length of time. When I wasn’t reading Tall Bones, I was thinking about it. It consumed me totally and I’m so glad it did. When I say ‘I will remember this book for some time to come’ that feels like a massive understatement. This is one of those books which has left its permanent mark on me. Would I recommend this book? I most definitely would, yes. Tall Bones is a haunting, beautiful but ultimately dark read that I devoured with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. Its themes can be quite unsettling and upsetting at times, particularly later in the book, but it’s an astonishing debut. I’m so happy I took a chance on this one but I also feel bereft that it’s over. I miss Whistling Ridge (although once you’ve read the book you’ll wonder why). I’m a sucker for a small town American crime novel and this is an absolutely superb one. Shame, secrets, love and lies as the tagline says. What more could you want? Highly recommended.