I need a really gripping page turner

[spaceforthree]

Am plodding through the Millenium Trilogy at the moment. I am clearly the only person in the country who is not much taken with them. Before that I gave up half way through 'The Little Stranger' which was supposedly brilliant (actually incredibly dull) and am fed up with so so books.

Please please suggest some really good, gripping books for me to order of Amazon. Fiction or non fiction.

I only read the last one of the Millenium trilogy - don't think I'll bother with the first two (was on holiday and desperate for a book - wouldn't normally read the third one first).

Soooo, how about Her Fearful Symmetry here? Much better than Time Traveller's Wife but is a bit "woo" so if you're not into supernatural you may not like it.

If you do like supernatural, I'm currently reading Farundellhere.

In all honesty, I prefer a good murder but most of the books I've read lately are the latest by the author in question.

I love the "Merrily Watkins" books by Phil Rickman but, again, they are more mysteries than murders.

Thanks belle .Yep I quite like supernatural, but most of all I want a good, unusual story. I have read so many books where I can see what is coming a mile off or I really don't care about the characters either - and that includes some v well loved books (The Kite Runner - bored after 3 chapters!!)

I love the Jackson Brodie books by Kate Atkinson. The first one is: Case Histories- easy to read but very well written. My favourite was "When will there be Good News?"

I'm reading "Like Bees to Honey" by Caroline Smailes at the moment and it is fab- very different style.

The hungry ghosts was fantastic on supernatural theme(also liked her fearful symmetry but fell away at end). What other kind of books do you like?

if you like medieval history then anything by Elizabeth Chadwick or Sharon Penman are very readable.

I love the Jackson Brodie books too - they're excellent and I don't think you can see what's coming.

I would, again, recommend the Merrily Watkins books here. They're excellent.

I love all kinds of things.

Read 'Water for Elephants' recently - loved that.

So I like:

Edgier stuff like The Road, The Secret History

Classics like the Brontes, Joseph Conrad, Kafka.

A bit of escapism - Twilight Saga - badly written but kept me totally gripped

Biographies

Non fiction such as Alison Weir

I don't suppose that helps much.......

You sound a bit like me in terms of taste and last night I was looking through the book case for something and saw Asta's Book by Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell) which I read many years ago and I found completely gripping but its a kind of slow steady burn.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is really good, you really don't expect what happens to happen!

Spaceforthree, I also couldn't get into the Millennium books. I've just finished One Day by David Nichols (author of Starter for Ten, also v good) and it was absolutely brilliant, best book I've read in the last year I'd say. Well worth a try, it's very well written but easy to read, and it's definitely a page-turner, I couldn't put it down and finished it in about three days.

I also enjoyed Sarah Walters' Nightwatch, also couldn't get into Little Stranger.

I thought "The Shadow of The Wind" (Carlos Ruiz Zafon) was fantastic, also "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell" (Susanna Clarke), much slower pace, similar style to Jane Austen. I'm going to get my little notebook out, make a note of suggestions & seek them out :-)

Barbara Vine has written some great books, but Asta's Book is probably my favourite.
If you like murder- history books, CJ Sansom's Shardlake series are brilliant, the first one is Dissolution.
Belle I loved the first two Millenium books and then ran out of steam for the third one, couldn't be bothered to finish it.

I just recommended this book on another thread. I re-read it occasionally because I like the female hero in it.

I am having a phase on the Phillipa Gregory historical novels. Have you read "The Help"? Tis fab. Or I love anything by Jeffery Deaver for a bit of a gruesome hit.

Or I recently read " Things I'd like my daughters to know" - at least I think that was what it was called. Very sad, but excellent characters and I was totally caught up with their lives.

Have you read any CJ Sansom - Matthew Shardlake books are good.

Light but good reading - Harlan Coben

'The Job', 'The Big Picture' () Kennedy also enjoyable

Oh loads of brill suggestions. Any recent prize winners you think worth recommending?

I really liked Cloud Atlas, a totally bonkers book which is quite confusing in places but once i 'got it' i found it hard to put down.

I really like Susan Howatch, not very fashionable now, and maybe even hard to find but Cashelmara and Penmaric! wow. Have re-read them recently. The wonder worker was fabulous too.

Also, if you really want something to get your teeth into Paullina Simons. Start with the Bronze Horseman. It's the first in a trilogy.

Cloud Atlas made me lose the will to live!

Restless/William Boyd was a proper pageturner.
Woman spy in 2WW Europe, gradually her life is being discovered by her daughter in the 70s, how will it end? etc. Gripping and suitably popcorny.

I have just sat and made a big list of all suggestions here. Thanks so much. Happy to accept more. I'm a voracious reader so will whip through these.

Any good non-fiction? I might have to go over to that thread!!

Try Kelley Armstrong's werewolf series. First one is called 'Bitten"

"We need to Talk about Kevin" Lionel Schriver, if you haven't already read it. 'Gripping' really doesn't even come close.

I find a lot of the books mentioned here quite dull, but I loved The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. Fascinating story and characters. I can`t recomend it strongly enough! Start with the book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

You've probably read this one already as well but 'Birdsong' by Sebastian Faulks has a very gripping/horrifying/heart-in-the-mouth/'watching a train smash in slow motion' quality to it once the action switches to the trenches.