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.

Abi's disappearance cracks open the façade of the small town of Whistling Ridge, its intimate history of long-held grudges and resentment. Even within Abi's family, there are questions to be asked - of Noah, the older brother whom Abi betrayed, of Jude, the shining younger sibling who hides his battle scars, of Dolly, her mother and Samuel, her father - both in thrall to the fire and brimstone preacher who holds the entire town in his grasp. Then there is Rat, the outsider, whose presence in the town both unsettles and excites those around him.

Anything could happen in Whistling Ridge, this tinder box of small-town rage, and all it will take is just one spark - the truth of what really happened that night out at the Tall Bones....

From the author of Sunday Times bestseller, TALL BONES, comes a story of journalist returning to her home in the swamplands of Louisiana.

The Labasques aren’t like other families. Living in a shack out in the swamps, they scrape a living hunting down alligators and other animals just to get by. To the good people of Jacknife, Louisiana, they are trouble-makers, outcasts, the kind of people you wouldn’t want living on your doorstep. So when Cutter Labasque is found face down in the muddy swamp, no one seems to care, not even her two rough-cut brothers.

The only person who questions the official verdict of suicide is Cutter’s childhood friend, Loyal May, who has just returned home to care for her ageing mother.

Loyal left town at the age of 18, having betrayed Cutter. Now there may be no way to find forgiveness, but there may be restitution…

'Wonderfully haunting' JANE HARPER, author of The Dry 'Extremely well written, fantastic' HARRIET TYCE, author of Blood Orange 'Conjuring up... Twin Peaks and Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects' Stylist 'Spellbinding.... a stunning debut' Woman & Home 'Irresistible' PAULA HAWKINS, author of The Girl on the Train 'Clever, twisting' FRANCINE TOON, author of Pine '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 ________________________________________________ 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, beneath the stark beauty of the stars, but Emma will never see her friend again. But what happens next in Whistling Ridge is so much more than the story of a missing girl. It's a spellbinding story that will keep you guessing, a story of surprises and secrets, regrets and rage, love and lies. Abi's disappearance cracks open the facade of this small town, peeling away the layers of its past. Even within Abi's own family there are questions to be asked - of the older brother whom Abi betrayed, of the shining 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 whole 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. Beautifully written, arresting, and constantly surprising, TALL BONES is a gripping read from a stunning new voice. ______________________________________ READERS AND REVIEWERS praise TALL BONES: 'A striking first novel' Observer 'Fast-paced and moving' Literary Review 'Will haunt you long after you race through its pages' Grazia (Book of the Month) 'A compulsive literary crime-drama' Culturefly 'Bailey writes like a dream' Emma Flint, author of Little Deaths 'Brilliant, could not put it down' Katie Fford 'One of my all-time favourite reads' Goodreads 'I loved this book from the very first line' Goodreads