Tall Bones

The gripping Sunday Times top ten bestseller, Book of the Month in the Guardian, Grazia and Observer, longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year. 'Irresistible, a compelling and nuanced psychological thriller suffused with small town prejudice and dark family secrets.' PAULA HAWKINS, author of bestselling The Girl on the Train 'Conjuring up... Twin Peaks and Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects' STYLIST 'One of the most exciting debuts of the year' SUNDAY EXPRESS ________________________________________________ When Emma leaves her friend Abi at a party in the woods, she believes that their lives are just beginning. Many things will happen that night, but Emma will never see her friend again. Yet what happens next in Whistling Ridge is so much more than the story of a missing girl. It's a story of surprises and secrets, regrets and rage, love and lies. Abi's disappearance cracks the surface of this small town, peeling away the layers to reveal a darkness at the heart of the community. Even within Abi's own family there are questions to be asked - of the older brother whom Abi betrayed, of the younger sibling who hides his wounds, of her mother and her father - both in thrall to the fiery preacher who has an unsettling grasp on the town. And then there is Rat, the outsider, whose exciting presence is a catalyst for change. Anything could happen in a tinder-box like Whistling Ridge. All it will take is just one spark...the truth of what happened that night at the Tall Bones.... Praise for TALL BONES: 'Compelling, beautifully nuanced, brilliant' SJ WATSON, bestselling author of Before I Go to Sleep 'Spellbinding and darkly beautiful...a stunning debut' WOMEN & HOME 'Haunting... small-town intrigue, exquisitely drawn' JANE HARPER, bestselling author of The Dry 'As atmospheric as it gets... a stunning debut that delivers on every level' RENEE KNIGHT, bestselling author of Disclaimer 'Its portrait of small-town intrigue is scarily credible. Bailey understands that the dynamics that drive small-town relationships are the same the world over' VAL McDERMID 'Packed with secrets like firecrackers ready to ignite.' FRANCINE TOON, author of Pine 'One of my all-time favourite reads' 5-star reader review 'I loved this book from the very first line' 5-star reader review 'Wow!! This book was incredible! I never saw any of the twists coming' 5-star reader review 'A gritty, haunting and intricately woven, explosive firecracker of a thriller' 5-star reader review DISCOVER OUR LAST WILD DAYS - the stunning new novel from Anna Bailey, 'Propulsive, bold and brutal. A truly atmospheric thriller' Chris Whitaker Review: Beautifully written and very moving, this is an assured debut. * Laura Wilson, GUARDIAN * A nuanced thriller that will haunt you long after you race through its pages. * GRAZIA * One of the most exciting debuts of the year. * SUNDAY EXPRESS * Spellbinding and darkly beautiful.... intricately plotted and exquisitely written, Tall Bones is a stunning debut. * WOMEN & HOME * Fast paced and moving. * LITERARY REVIEW * With Tall Bones, Anna Bailey bursts onto the scene with a wonderfully haunting debut. Small-town intrigue, exquisitely drawn. * JANE HARPER, author of The Dry and The Lost Man * The best kind of small-town crime novel... one that drips with atmosphere... an intricately weaved and haunting story that will stay with you for days after. * Culturefly * Both menacing and haunting, a compelling and atmospheric debut. * DAILY MAIL * Anna Bailey writes like a dream about teenage love and lust, the terror of knowledge and the claustrophobia of families and of small towns. * EMMA FLINT, author of Little Deaths * Bailey writes with perfect poise. She is destined for great things - I feel it in my bones. * SAGA magazine * Author Biography: Anna Bailey is a Sunday Times bestselling author from Gloucestershire. Their debut novel, Tall Bones, inspired by their experiences living in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, was nominated for the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year and Goldsboro Glass Bell awards, as well as the Prix Nouvelles Voix du Polar. Their short stories, based on their travels through rural America, have been dramatised for BBC Radio 4, including 'Long Way to Come For a Sip of Water', which was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award. They live in Bordeaux with their wife.