Please help me find a book for my friend

[QueenHilda]

She’s 40 and recently bereaved. She loves to read and I want to get her a couple of light books to enjoy in the evenings.

Things she would like:
Mystery / adventure page turner
Lighthearted / amusing / uplifting
Escapism, unrelatable, and a distraction from daily life.
Well written (she has an English degree)

Things she would not like:
Anything sci fi / fantasy
Anything depressing
Anything too serious or poignant, especially about death or other ‘big life’ themes.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

Toast by Nigel Slater is a lovely food memoir, it's warm and comforting without being saccharine. Always makes me feel better!

The series of Agatha Raisin or Hamish Macbeth books by M C Beaton

Anything by Simon Brett. Does a range of light murder mysteries.

I’m part way through We Solve Murders by Richard Osman. That’s very light hearted while still having a good plot etc.

Your poor friend. Good books are a lovely idea.

I’d suggest Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day or Mrs Tim of the Regiment for genuinely funny, charming and comforting reads.

The 100 year old man who climbed put of a window and disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. Crazy story of a100 year old man who doesn't want to go to his birthday party so jumps out of his window and ends up on an adventure which also makes him reflect on his life and all the other crazy things that have happened.

The Diary of a Provincial Lady is ace - its Bridget Jones set in the 1930s countryside.

Any of Colin Cotterill's dr Siri mystery books. Light, well written and some really funny sections.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is my go to book for this sort of circumstance. I also recommend Fannie Flagg’s books. Daisy Faye and the Miracle Man made me laugh when I didn’t think anything could. One of my favourite books is Graham Greene’s Travels with my Aunt - curiously uplifting.

The Appeal. Janice hallett

Georgette Heyer books. Love them. Regency romance, brilliantly written, funny. Not sure which to recommend first - maybe Black Sheep, Sylvester or Cotillion?

Cotillion (as per @Talipesmum above), The Grand Sophy or Friday's Child...

They're a million years old but easy to get second hand - Emma & I and the sequels by Sheila Hockett about her guide dog are a lovely read.

"Another time, another place" and "The white bird passes" both by Jessie Kesson

The Grampian Quartet by Nan Shepherd

Completely off the wall but any Calvin and Hobbes collection. Brilliant comic strips

In the same vein - The Far Side

American Indian Stories by Zitkala-Sâ

How about PG Wodehouse? A bit of Jeeves and Wooster can't fail to lift the spirits.

Mystery: would she like the Ruth Galloway mysteries by Elly Griffiths? These are really well-written. The first is The Crossing Places. Here's a review.

Lighter, but also mysteries: maybe the Miss Silver vintage detection novels by Patricia Wentworth. These are good escapism as the life of a governess-turned-PI is not like most of our lives! They vary a bit in quality; Lonesome Road, The Traveller Returns and Through the Wall are all good ones.

There's also Elizabeth Edmonton's short series of "Very English Mysteries", again well-written but lighter than the Ruth Galloway ones, I'd say. There's a review of the first one here. They are set in the 1950s.

Re a previous poster's suggestion - I've just read the first of Nan Shepherd's Grampian novels and think it would be too bleak for your friend. A fascinating book but not light at all, and there is a lingering death in it (though oddly, that is one of the cheerier bits).

Cold Comfort Farm - it's a very funny book

@HearMeSnore , that's exactly what I came on to say. Jeeves and Wooster would be ideal I think, especially if she's seen the TV show because it's so easy then to "hear" their voices when you're reading. It was absolutely perfectly cast, in my opinion.

A Month in the Country by J L Carr is a beautifully written book, full of gentle humour, with perfectly drawn characters. While it's not overlong, the neat plot and the believable characters draw you in to their world, so reading it is total escapism.

A Genteman in Moscow by Amor Towles, a wide range of characters in the real setting of a famous Moscow hotel, a clever plot and a satisfying ending. Altogether a lovely read.

The Thrush Green and Fairacre series' by Miss Read. Perfect comfort reading.

In the lighthearted and amusing category - The Drink Shrink by Zoe McCann

Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman or anything by Naomi Novak

I'm giving another strong vote to the Ruth Galloway books - they're really readable with great characters (and a strong story arc over the series), nice touches of humour, etc.

I've read them all and my partner - who rarely reads what I like - binge-read the lot from start to finish.

How about the Marlow Murder Club series by Robert Thorogood. There are 3 out with another due next year. Light read and very entertaining.