Any recommendations for something midbrow - gripping but not too formulaic or forgettable?

[Jonad]

I often find crime and thrillers a bit forgettable but would like something easy to get into and absorbing right now - but well-written at the same time iyswim?

Sorry for such a poorly worded description on the books board!

Perfume?

His Bloody Project?

Burial Rites?

I'm reading Normal People atm. I know some hate it (and I might when I've finished and can look back on it) but I'm enjoying reading it. And I've hardly read any books for ages so has got me back into the habit I hope

Ann Patchett
Kate Atkinson
Joanne Harris
Elizabeth Strout

I wasn’t a big fan of Conversations with Friends by the same author but I suppose it was very readable so I might check it out Edith.

I just finished 'My Mother, The Psychopath' by Olivia Rayne.. its non fiction and so gripping.. it's an account of the author's childhood with her psychopathic mother and i finished it in a day

I've just finished reading the Joona Linna series by Lars Kepler. I started with the Rabbit Hunter (or Hunter) and then went back to the start and read them in order. Enjoyed Rabbit Hunter and the Hypnotist the best. Kind of formulaic by the time you get to the 4th book but enjoyable nonetheless!

I never rated thrillers before this, but this has swayed me .

Kate Atkinson books good just finished Big Sky gripping

I also really enjoyed Normal People.

What about The Rosie Project books. An easy read but smart and enjoyable.

Cadfael:
A Morbid Taste for Bones is the first one
One Corpse Too Many is the second and MUST BE READ before any of the rest to avoid major spoiler

I enjoyed The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, a page turner but not a thriller. Not too many characters to keep track of and well written.

I like pretty much anything by Joy Ellis. Crime but it's not formulaic.

The jackman and Evans series is probably my favourite

Have you read any of the 'Rivers of London' books by Ben Aaronovitch? Crime and the supernatural combined.

I am currently ploughing through the latest Phillipa Gregory, Tidelands. It fits the bill for what you are looking for.

Also I really enjoy that some of DP's relations used to live next door to Phillipa Gregory and they claim she was a lovely woman but had a very badly behaved dog. I don't know why I enjoy this bit of trivia so much but I do.

I've recently read The Heart's Invisible Future by John Boyne which I think meets your criteria.

I love Kate Atkinson.

Yes to The Heart's Invisible Furies (typo in PP)- I loved it! I also recently enjoyed The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead and The Green Road by Anne Enright.

Thank you for the correction! Typing without my glasses on 🙄

The hearts invisible furies definitely

CJ Sansom's Shardlake series

Love the Shardlake series, and Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth trilogy.

I recently read Educated by Tara Westover. It’s so so good and I am still thinking about it now.

I'm finally reading The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair and enjoying it a lot.

Dorothy L Sayers, if you haven't yet. Suggest starting with the Harriet Vane books (first is Strong Poison ) rather than going strictly chronologically.

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell. Completely sucks you in, reeeeally well written.