Our Last Wild Days

(Hardback)

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From the author of Sunday Times bestseller, TALL BONES, comes a story of journalist returning to her home in the swamplands of Louisiana. Brilliantly atmospheric, utterly compelling, for fans of Chris Whitaker, Jane Harper, Gillian Flynn and Delia Owens 'A propulsive, bold and brutal slice of Southern Gothic brilliance. Anna Bailey writes so beautifully about family, friendship, loyalty and betrayal, yet also delivers a truly atmospheric thriller.' Chris Whitaker, author of All the Colours of the Dark and We Begin at the End FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author of TALL BONES- A Guardian Book of the Month Grazia's Book Club's Book of the Month Thriller of the Month, Observer 'Irresistible' PAULA HAWKINS, author of The Girl on the Train 'Wonderfully haunting' JANE HARPER, author of The Dry 'Conjuring up... Twin Peaks and Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects' Stylist 'One of the most exciting debuts of the year' Sunday Express ______ 'There is nothing like it. The way the world gets real quiet when a gator's nearby...And then the water, suddenly boiling as that black head surfaces and the ancient reptile erupts into the air hissing like a devil...The way the crack of the rifle seems to come from deep inside Cutter. The way she feels it in her throat; she knows she's a good killer - and yet. She is stalling...' 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... ______ Praise for TALL BONES- ' The 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 'A clever, twisting debut, about the dark side of small town America. It is packed with secrets like firecrackers ready to ignite' FRANCINE TOON, author of Pine 'Anna Bailey writes like a dream about teenage love and lust, the terror of knowledge and the claustrophobia of families and of small towns. Tall Bones is as brutal, as bittersweet, as tender and as tense as first love itself' EMMA FLINT, author of Little Deaths 'An intricate and compelling thriller, beautifully nuanced and wonderfully claustrophobic. Brilliant.' SJ WATSON, author of Before I Go to Sleep 'Tall Bones is as atmospheric as it gets. Anna writes beautifully and it was so refreshing to experience a different voice - a stunning debut that delivers on every level.' RENEE KNIGHT, author of Disclaimer Anna Bailey, Sunday Times bestseller, April 2021

Reviews

A bewitching slice of southern Gothic, in Our Last Wild Days, Anna Bailey cements her reputation for writing thought provoking, character driven crime fiction. * Paula Hawkins *
A propulsive, bold and brutal slice of Southern Gothic brilliance. Anna Bailey writes so beautifully about family, friendship, loyalty and betrayal, yet also delivers a tough and truly atmospheric thriller. * Chris Whitaker, author of All the Colours of the Dark and We Begin at the End *
Raw and unflinching, Anna Baileys Our Last Wild Days is about the mystery of how anyone survives as much as it is the mystery of how one woman didnt. In a beautifully observed story brimming with singular characters, small-town Louisiana still manages to steal the show, with Bailey playing anthropologist as much as fiction writer, painting a vivid portrait of a South that feels both familiar and fantastical. Out of alligators, fox skulls, violence, poverty, and love, they weave a spell that lasts from the first page until the shocking, unforgettable ending. This is a stunner. * Ashley Winstead, author of Midnight is the Darkest Hour *
With a setting as atmospheric as Where The Crawdads Sing, and characters as memorable as those in All The Colours of The Dark, this is a stunningly written thriller and I savoured single page. Congratulations Anna - another blistering triumph to follow Tall Bones. * Nikki Smith, author of Look What You Made Me Do *

Author Bio

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.