Can you please please recommend a book….am in a rut….

[dameofdilemma]

I seem to have lost my way with a few books (that are popular with lots of people) that I’ve tried recently and not really liked - Hamnet; American Dirt; Piranesi etc

Books/authors I’ve really liked - Donna Tartt; Sarah Waters; Clare Chambers; Kate Atkinson (but not the crime series).

Unexpectedly I liked The Salt Path and Thursday Murder Club and Magpie Murders. Not my usual style.

Don’t like chick lit type books (Marian Keyes etc). I do read comfort books (Wodehouse, Agatha Christie etc) but in between something more substantial.

Really don’t want something harrowing full of abuse, despair etc.

Have tried a few samples on my Kindle but nothing is grabbing my attention….its driving me nuts! Please someone help….

Wow lots of recs - a few I’ve read/tried but most I haven’t. Thanks everyone.

I recently read Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and loved it!

5minutes - I recently watched the My Brilliant Friend series and thought it was amazing. Also read and watched The Lost daughter and am thinking of trying The Lying Life of Adults next.

Have you read 'any human heart' by William Boyd? I just discovered it & couldn't put it down.

Some recent finds from me

Catriona Ward The Last house on Needless Street dark as hell but wow!
Greg Buchanan Sixteen Horses similarly dark but fabulously well written
The Dog Stars Peter Heller just breathtaking
The sixteen trees of the Somme Lars Mytling utterly absorbing
Anything at all by David Mitchell but The Bone Clocks is stunning

I've obsessively read all of charity Norman's books after reading "see you in September"
I don't like chic lit or particularly happy endings but also don't like violence, gore, etc.
All her books are excellent except after the fall which was a bit saccharine at the end.

Do you like detective/police procedural books?

Cheryl Rees Price - Welsh detective series is good. Not too gory (more Midsummer murders type crime), but interesting characters and Det. Meadows is a bit of a sweetheart.

I knew someone would recommend How to kill your family! It was our book club book last month and of the 30 odd of us that made the meet up only 2 enjoyed it! Most of us said we only finished it was because it was book club

I've just read Restoration by Rose Tremain, and its sequel, Merivel. Historical, set in the time of Charles Ii. Easy to read, well-written, lots happens, and altogether very enjoyable. I've liked everything by her, but these are my favourites.
I also loved A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
Also The Star of the Sea. Can't remember who wrote it but it's a murder mystery set on board a ship taking immigrants from Ireland to the US during the potato famine. It uses contemporary accounts, songs, newspaper articles etc and is bloody brilliant, especially if you have any connection with Ireland, or just like history.

I am LOVING Still Life by Sarah Winwood right now - gorgeous characters, utterly charming. Her other books are great too - Tin Man etc

Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden.

Brilliant book (shit movie),

I'm a big fan of Anthony Horowitz. There is a sequel to Magpie Murders called Moonflower Murders, and his Daniel Hawthorne series is good too. But I also love Liane Moriarty and can highly recommend Big Little Lies. It's an excellent audiobook too.

I’ve just read Circe by Madeleine Miller. Loved it.

The Chronicles of St Mary - Jodi Taylor
Seven Sister sisters series - Lucinda Riley (plus her stand alone books)
Rhys Bowen books - Farleigh Fields etc
The Heatwave - Kate Riordan
Three Hours - Rosemary Lupton

All good books

Wow, big book club!

This. It's the best book I've read in ages.

She's a bit controversial, but have you read any Nancy Mitford? I found her books so funny and quite timeless. Her portrayal of family relationships is brilliant.

If you fancy a dip into sci/fi with a family story narrative and a social discourse then you might like Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

A Gentleman in Moscow. Lessons in Chemistry. The Vanishing Half.

The Love of My Life: Another OMG... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09DCZZCRF?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

The Editor's Wife www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003GFIWHO?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

When I Was Ten: 'Grips Like A... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082NYXFYS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Just checked my kindle for a few more.

My sister the serial killer by Oyonken Braithwaite - v good
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent v good but sad
The Godmother by Hannelore Kaye was a good story - a bit different - I picked it up from the library
I liked Damon Galguts The Promise - booker winner
I'm enjoying The Body on the Doorstep by A J McKenzie - another from the library - a historical who dunnit.

What about thrillers?
Lucy Foley
Mark Edwards
Claire Douglas
Ruth Ware
Shari Lapena
Alice Feeny
TM Logan

“Have you read 'any human heart' by William Boyd? I just discovered it & couldn't put it down.”

Loved this book. And also the series.

@dameofdilemma I've also watched the tv adaptation which I agree was fantastic too. Finished 'The Lying Life of Adults' last week, and while still good, was nowhere near as 'unputdownable' as My Brilliant Friend et al.

My recent favourites have been:

Circe
The Rose Code
All the Light We cannot see
Hearts Invisible Furies
Chronicles of St Mary's