Please recommend a great page turner..

[Milpale]

something I can really get into but that doesn't require much effort to read as I'm finding it hard to concentrate just now.
.
Not bothered too much about genre but I don't like sci fi or graphic novels much.
The last book I read that I couldn't put down was The Nightingale.

Background : struggling with low mood, poor sleep and loneliness currently.

Following for exactly the same reasons!!

They're old so you might have read them already but I love The series of books set around the Walsh family by Marian Keyes.
In order they are..
Watermelon
Rachel's holiday (my favourite)
Angels
Anybody out there
Mystery on Mercy Close
Again Rachel
My favourite mistake.
Easy to read and a real mood booster, they're really funny.
I also enjoyed So Lucky and The Cows by Dawn Porter.

This thread has been going for a while in the Book of the Month topic; might be of use:-

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/bookoffthemonth/5030277-i-need-a-gripping-totally-in-your-face-you-cant-put-it-down-book

I haven't read any of them but I do have Rachel's Holiday on Kindle. Could I start with that or must they be read in sequence?

Perfect, thank you.

@Milpale
Yeah I don't think it really matters, it's only the last two on that list that are actual sequels. Rachel's holiday is one of my all time favourite books, really sweet and also very very funny.

Any of the Cormoran Strike books.
I'm impatiently awaiting the next one.....

I have The Running Grave on my Kindle. Haven't read any of the others but have watched them all on tv. I've been avoiding making a start on The Running Grave at the moment just in case it's very tense and dark. Not sure!

If you are going to read the Robin and Strike books do read them in order.
The TV programmes are good but the books are excellent.
Superb character development which you should need to get all the enjoyment you can from The Running Grave.

Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie books are so good.

Jackson Brodie

I've literally just finished a fantastic book that I didn't want to end, it's "Firefly Lane" by Kristin Hannah. Apparently it's a series on Netflix now, although I didn't know that until I finished it this afternoon. It's about two teen girls who become best friends and their friendship through the years as they become adults. Lots of ups and downs, I honestly couldn't put it down.

The Housemaid. It's brilliant.

Have you read Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce?

Brilliant. I forgot about Kate Atkinson. Just bought the ebooks (will get the paper ones soon - too late tonight and desperate!). Thanks!

Georgette Heyer is great for anyone who is feeling a bit down and wants cheering up a bit.

Also, the Chronicles of St Mary's by Jodi Taylor. Bad things do happen to some characters, but they are also laugh out loud funny in places. There's an ongoing storyline, so they do need to be read in order.

John boyne - any but hearts invisible furies is brilliant

Following. I am nearing the end of the Jackson Brodie books and grieving in advance!

Haven't read the Strike books yet though.

Just looked up the nightingale and I don't think I could hack it, anything too emotional just leaves me a wreck nowadays.

I recently decided to read some old Ruth Rendells and started with One Across, Two Down. One of her very early ones, written in 1971.
I literally could not put my Kindle down. Fabulous.

I love the Jackson Brodie books too but I'm not sure that they're that uplifting

Agree with the Strike books, just great. I absolutely loved Hearts invisible furies recommended by pp it is beautiful but quite difficult at times which may not fit your current vibe - although if you want a bit of a cry may work. I've just finished We Solve Murders, the new Richard Osman book and it might hit the brief, it's a proper page turner but also very comforting and funny. Circe and Song of Achilles may be worth looking at.

I know lots of people turn their nose up at it - and great literature it absolutely is not - but I love me some fantasy when I'm looking for some pure, easy reading escapism - Sarah J Maas & Rebecca Yarros are good starting point.

Circe and Song of Achilles may be worth looking at

I love both of these.

If I'm ever stuck in a reading rut I usually try one of the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency novels. It's always worked so far

Oh you must read Rachel's Holiday. You can read it 1st it's not a follow on. Then read Again, Rachel which follows it. Both are brilliant op

I always come back to my old favourites, like Ruth Rendell. Haven't read this one, so thanks

Mother Mother by Annie Macmanus

I read this when I felt similar to you and really resonated with the protagonist. It’s about a mum who has disappeared one day and what has led her to where she currently is. It’s a page turner but also a lovely slow read if that makes sense

hope you feel better soon ❤️

Perhaps not enough of a page turner, but Maeve Binchy.

Or Penny Vincenzi for more glitzy bonkbusters.

Is The Nightingale you refer to the book by Kristin Hannah? I loved The Four Winds (set in 1930s California) by her, and enjoyed The Women (a nurse in the Vietnam war and her life afterwards through until the 1980s), and she has written lots of others.