Tall Bones Book Review

Tall Bones digs deep into what happens to a family when religion is taken too far. The struggles children in such households’ face and the long-term consequences when abuse takes over. It looks at a town where the preacher rules the community and is quick to take matters into their own hands – when it suits them. This deeply moving tale will keep the book glued to your hands as you turn page after page.

A huge thank you to Penguin Random House South Africa for send me a copy of this book. I simply loved it, what a brilliant debut from Anna Bailey.

The author tells her story shifting between then and now, revealing little pieces of what happened to Abigail and the rest of her family that leads to the conclusion of the story. As you are transported to “Then” where all the dirty laundry of what happened behind closed doors are revealed you are sucked into the story, desperately needing to know what happened to Abigail. The author set a perfect pace leading you along with just enough breadcrumbs to make sure there is no way you can give up on the story.

Emma left Abigail at a party in the forest. She knows she is heading into the trees with a boy, but she has no idea who. When Abigail does not return and is reported missing Emma is consumed with guilt. She blames herself, if only she did not leave. Determines to find out what happened, Emma takes it upon herself to dig into Abigail’s movements before the disappearance.

What Emma digs up is a lot more than she was hoping for and realises that maybe she didn’t know Abi quite as well as she thought. There are so many people with secrets of their own in this small town. Where will it all end…

This thriller left goosebumps running down my spine, as the story developed my heart broke for Samuel’s children. At times I found I was angry with Dolly, but the more I discovered about her the more she had my sympathy. I was so invested in this book I gave my normal routine a skip and spent the day finishing it.

The characters in this book were beautifully crafted. The author spent a lot of time creating realistic, “salt of the earth” kind of people to fill her little community with. They included a healthy mix that is guaranteed to draw you in.

I enjoyed Noah, the boy was dealt a tough hand, and little Jude made you realise that kids just need to be hugged. Emma proved to be a really good friend, focusing on Abigail when she had so many of her own troubles to deal with. Paster Ed Lewis, well he got off a little too easy for the role he played. But Hunter turned into the character I like most of all – you are left wondering about him for a large part of the book only to see him turn into the good guy.

I ended up surrendering a day to finish this book, giving most of my normal routine a skip, so yes, without a doubt I loved this book. I simply could not wait to see where this story was going to end. The author managed to hook me and reel me in page by page.

Tall Bones is a gripping story, moving between then and now sinking its teeth into you until it is completely impossible to put it down. This book will have Crime and Thriller fans reading until the early hours of the morning.

Please add this book to your to-be-read list, it is gripping, emotional and guaranteed to keep you turning the pages. Reaching for this book is a very good idea!