An interesting book to read. Dark, menacing and foreboding at times and deeply disturbing. Other times, haunting and intriguing, not a light fluffy read but a very powerful storyline.
Highly recommended.

I've been left unsure on how to rate this one.

There was alot going for the book, the premise was intriguing and I really liked the cover BUT once I started to read I just felt confused.

There were so many characters to keep track of, which none of were likeable and the plot felt chaotic at times which just left my brain frazzled. Its definitely a book you have to invest in and concentrate on but it is an ok read once you've overcome the huge cast of horrible characters.

*warning* of bigotry, racism, homophobia and sexual abuse

Thanks to netgalley and Random House UK/Transworld Publishers for the ARC.

Brilliant novel , teenage friendships with dark undertones always a gripping plot . Twists and turns all the way a great psychological thriller .

I really struggled to write the review to Tall Bones. Anna Bailey has created a truly chilling story about small town mentality and how bible-belt principles are still present and toxic in society.

In this chilling tale we follow a small town in the wake of the disappearance of a young girl called Abi. No one seems to know where she is. Her disappearance is shocking and drives her community to come together to rid themselves of outsiders who they blame for the young girls disappearance.

Tall Bones is a shocking look at prejudice and how religion - when enforced in certain ways - can have an extreme and detrimental effect on community.

Tall Bones is a fantastic read. It is disturbing and highlights how human nature is often more terrifying than supernatural characters in horror fiction.

Tall Bones by Anna Bailey is available now.

For more information regarding Anna Bailey (@annafbailey) please visit her Twitter page.

For more information regarding Random House (@randomhouse) please visit www.randomhousebooks.com.

Anna Bailey has captured suffocating, insular small town life perfectly in this book which is a slow burner at times but you’re always itching to know more. Seventeen year old Abi Blake has gone missing out in the woods near the Tall Bones, and no-one seems to know what’s become of her. Not her best friend Emma, who reluctantly left her with a boy by herself, not her brother Noah who’s doing his best to hide his own secret, and not her parents Samuel an abusive drunk, and Dolly who pretends nothing is wrong, neither of whom are about to win any parenting awards any time soon. But someone knows something and it’s just a matter of time before they tell, but will it be too late?

This is a haunting, disturbing book, full of triggers - racism, child abuse, domestic abuse, incest, homophobia, guns, religious fanaticism, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, war trauma - that make it an unsettling read however the story is very well crafted. It’s difficult to say I ‘enjoyed’ a book like this as the content is quite depressing however I was hooked by it, I found it very immersive and I just wanted to solve the mystery of what had happened to Abi. I liked the resolution for the most part although for one or two characters (Emma and her dad, Hunter and his dad) I felt there was more that could have been discussed there. Overall you can easily imagine yourself there amongst all the action and this is a gripping read if you’re looking for family and community based trauma.

Set in a small American town, Bailey describes perfectly the small mindedness of the people who live there and how exclude and belittle all who go against what they believe. This was both amazing and infuriating to read - I found myself constantly shocked but what I read, but also amazed as how well the author portrayed this in her book.

The characters are a motley crew, most of them very unlikeable but this somehow draws you into the book and make you want to read more and see what will happen to them.

Anna Bailey had come up with a great storyline, one that kept me guessing and intrigued as to where it would go. The story telling and scene setting is brilliant and you become completely immersed in what this small, dark and disturbing American town is really like.

This was one of those that captures small town America so well, showing up all the imperfections under teh microscope. Some beautiful passages that made me think "damn wish I could have written that'. All in all a highly immersive read that kept its hooks in m until the bitter end.

Fab read and deffo an author to watch out for feeling she will be high on my hit list for her new novels. Loved it and considering its a debut novel i feel this will be a first of many and cant wait to read more from this author. Highly recommend.

I always get so excited when I find a new favourite author, and Anna Bailey has just made it onto my list of authors to watch. Her debut novel, Tall Bones (also titled Where The Truth Lies) is such a fantastic piece of fiction that I simply cannot wait for her to release her next title. I'll be at the front of the queue to grab a copy.

This book is so wonderfully written and I was absolutely and completely taken with the writing style from the very first chapter. This author uses a lot of similes and metaphors in her writing but rather than finding that a drag, I fell in love with the vivid images that she created in my head. Her ability to describe people and places was so wonderful that I couldn't help but be consumed by the story and its players.

This story is ultimately a mystery / suspense novel about a teenager that goes missing in a small town, but rather than having that sense of community spirit that one often encounters in small towns, this town is besieged by selfish, racist, homophobic and cruel characters. If you're expecting a lighter read when you dive into this story, definitely think again. It's a difficult read at times and there are triggers in this story that may make some people uncomfortable, but I just absolutely loved it. The family relationships were extremely difficult to read about but yet I couldn't tear my eyes away from the pages. It's intense, it's dark, it's cruel, it's abusive, and it's fairly depressing, but at the end of the day, the author has created a world so real and so uncomfortable that my dark little reading heart sung with joy while reading this one.

It's no secret that I like the novels that I read to make me feel something. I want to feel strong emotions, I want to feel outraged, and disgusted and appalled, and this book did all of those things. There were so many characters that I despised and I wanted to teleport myself into the story just so that I could extract my own sense of revenge on some of them, and man alive, isn't it great when a book does that?

This book is so much more than it appears to be at face value. Yes, it's about a missing girl, but it's also about abuse (in all it's forms), difficult family relationships, secrets, violence, homophobia, religion, PTSD, and loyalties (or lack thereof) to those we love. What more could one ask for in a novel.

Okay, so enough from me. If your reading tastes tend to lend themselves to the darker side of human nature, then this is going to be the book for you. If, however, you prefer to read about solid relationships, uplifting environments and characters that inspire and move you, then give this book a miss. I loved it!

Whistling Ridge is a small, strange town. The residents are governed by a strange religion and outsiders are not looked on favourably. Abi, Noah and Jude are siblings living in Whistling Ridge and all have their secrets, like all the town residents. Then one night Abi goes missing. Abis friend Emma leaves her at a party and Abi never comes home. The police and other adults are convinced that Abi has run away but Emma and Abis brothers know better. They start asking questions and are helped by other kids, especially Rat who is an outsider and isolated.
This book is full of tension but that adds to the story. It eventually uncovers all the towns secrets before Abi is found.
This is the first book I have read from Anna Bailey and I will definitely read more.

"Tall Bones" is a dark, atmospheric book set in the eerie fictional town of Whistling Ridge in Colorado. The residents are God-fearing and Preacher Lewis is only too happy to keep them all in line. Anna Bailey's characters are extremely well-drawn. I particularly enjoyed the descriptive "drawstring lips". "Tall Bones" is a melting pot of small-town fury, secrets behind closed doors, religious fervour, homophobia and racism. Bailey also shows us the devastating combination of poor nurturing in childhood and PTSD. I was enveloped by the story from the outset and struggled to put it down. A great read!

A great book showing the twists and turns of living in a small community. Who can you trust? And who should you avoid?

Loved the two timelines in this book! It was filled with suspense and had a haunting vibe that meant I just couldn’t put this down. I read this alongside some friends and it was an amazing book to discuss. That ending!! Can’t wait to read more of Anna Baileys work!

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.

I'm very torn as to how I'm going to review this book. Part of me found it abhorrent and distasteful, and so depressing. Claustrophic. I would skip pages in a vain attempt to miss the worst of it, then find myself going back because I'd missed something.

I'm not a huge fan of raw, visceral, in-your-face behaviour, the hatred spewing from small-minded, illiterate homophobic racists, creatures born of generations of loathing and resentment, suspicion and superstition, a deep-rooted primal fear that can't leave well enough alone and mind its own damn business, I know it exists, I know it's very real and even more sickening than I could ever imagine while sitting and reading alll snug on my bed, cat on my lap and cup of tea beside me.

But... I also couldn't not finish it, and kept itching to get back to it. What sad, sick beings humans can be, and how smugly gleeful we are when the rot among us get what's coming to them. Not sure what that says about me, but glad I was. Hell yeah! Glad indeed, with righteos, fervent fire and zeal - and yes, that should tell you something about what lurks between the pages of this book (I categorize the latter school of thought very much with the afore-mentioned yobs).

Tall Bones had the same effect on me as Jane Harper's 'The Dry', and 'Into the Water' by Paula Hawkins, and lets just say I'll never re-read either. Nor this. But don't let me put you off. It itches and irritates until you reach the final page, where a tiny glimmer of light shines through, a glimmer that is red in colour. It paints a dark and sad picture of life for many, many families who live with abuse and madness, and how it wrings and twists the heart from anyone not of the witch-hunter general's faction. How it destroys hope and anything soft and good (and frankly, were I Dolly, Samuel would have been found in a shallow grave with his head bashed in way before Abi disappeared).

Tall Bones is chilling and often ugly, but tautly-written and the characters spring to vivid life, inspiring hate, pity and fury in turns. And I reckon that's pretty much why we escape into fiction in the first place.

I enjoyed this beautfully written, atmospheric debut thriller. The author really brings small town America to life and she is so skilful in portraying the characters. I did find the pace slow and it took me a while to really get into it but once I did I was glad I persevered. It is a novel to just immerse yourself in and soak up the writing and atmosphere. Recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC.

This has all the right ingredients for an amazing story - a mysterious disappearance, small-town secrets, difficult relationships. I was certainly pulled in at the start when the book establishes the characters in the town and how hard their lives were. The writing is compelling as well.

As the story goes on though, the pace slows down and becomes bogged down with details that I didn't feel were relevant. I didn't find any of the characters particularly interesting as they're mostly stereotypes like abusive dad, judgemental pastor, closeted boy, town outcast. The story is full of miserable people and bad things happening to good people so it was hard to read. The mystery is predictable and the storyline is frustrating. I appreciate that the author has a knack for writing the inner thoughts of the characters which shows another side of them. But I wish I was more invested in their lives.

This should have been perfect for me. Small town, disappearance and a mystery. But say this just didn't work.
The writing style, although I can't put my finger on why, just didn't work for me. One issue was definitely the pacing. Right from the start it felt too slow for me to fully get immersed.
Another issue was the characters all feeling flat. I disliked them all. I don't know if that was the plan but I found it hard to even care what happened to Abi.
This book is full of racism, homophobia and abuse. Non stop. Yet I also felt nothing much was happening regarding the mystery for me to care to find out the big reveal.

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.

I was looking forward to reading ‘Tall Bones’ but I really I struggled to get into this book. The characters were good but I didn't find the story compelling and it took me a very long time to read. I wanted to love this debut novel but I’m sad I didn’t.
Thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and #TallBones #netgalley for giving me a copy of ‘Tall Bones’ by Anna Bailey in exchange for an honest review.

Beautifully written with an unerring sense of place and time. This is a harrowing story, extremely well told although I found the mystery a little predictable