Authors you want to shout about

Sara 1954 I agree with you about Sue Gee such a good author.

That’s the Dr Dan series she’s now written 3 - I was also shocked to hear she had to self publish - she’s such a fabulous writer. I loved the Dr Dan books - albeit different from her usual.

Glad to see my favourites being praised - Kate Atkinson, Elizabeth Stroutt, Ian Rankin, Donna Tartt and the incomparable Anne Tyler. I also think Hilary Mantel is very talented, but you have to like writing that is quite dark (and darkly funny at times.)

I liked The Dutch House by Anne Patchett. I haven't read anything else by her, so I thought I might try The Magician's Assistant next. I would like to recommend Barbara Pym. Her work is dated now but it's sharp, perceptive and beautifully written.

My DD recommends Longbourn (can't remember the author). Pride and Prejudice from the servants' point of view. Lizzie might not have been so unconcerned about her muddy hem if she had to scrub it clean... So that's on my reading list too.

Nicci French, also writes under the name Nicci Gerrard. I really like her books. Some are written with her husband ( hence ' French ' ). Some are psychological thrillers, but all good stories.

Another fan of Mike Gayle here and not just because he's a fellow Brummie! I've read lots of his books and was due to go to hear him talk locally before Covid struck.

Cmcpne
Have just finished Jo Nesbo, Knife.
Lots of twists and turns and a very unexpected ending.

The one thing I have noticed after a year of downloading dozens of books - is the lack of description- if the ‘hero or heroine’ went missing - I’d have a hard job describing them to the police - although the plot line is not bad, trying to imagine the lead characters, without knowing age group, tall, short, fat, thin, hair colour, age, eye colour, type of dog etc or other characteristics for eg - you could smell the wild garlic, when reading a Jilly Cooper book - or visualise the villain in a Jackie Collins - re-reading an old Tilly Bagshaw - it was a delight

I’m going to look up all the recommends on here I haven’t tried yet. I too adore Anne Tyler and Kate Atkinson. I’m also a huge fan of audiobooks and never fail to have one on the go. Some books are better listened to I think like Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. The narrator Angus King on this was superb but some reviews of the written version say although it’s well worth it the dialect was sometimes difficult to read.
I do think that sometimes you get one or two excellent books from an author and then a rubbish one and I wonder if publishers insisting on another book within a set period of time is to blame. I loved Graham Norton’s ‘ A Keeper’ and. ‘Holding’ but found his third book’Home Stretch’ was dire.
Some authors I love to recommend are Jo Nesbo, Emma Donoghue, Kylie Kaden Chris Whitaker and Hannah Kent to name but a few. Oh I could go on all day lol!!!

I absolutely love "The Lost Lights of St Kilda" by Elizabeth Gifford, and so do the friends I have recommended it to.

Depends on your tastes. Lately I've been looking for escapism, and I've enjoyed several books by Lisa Jewell.

I have 2 I really like, J D Robb series, about Eve Dallas, I think I am on about book 40, plus Elly Griffiths series, book 13 just released . I would advise starting either set with book one as obviously the characters run right through the stories, although you can read them as stand alone if you wish.

Who couldn’t love Olive?

I love all of Anne Tyler’s books and Elizabeth Strout especially Olive Kitteridge and Olive Again.

I can recommend ‘dogged’ a first novel by West Midlands author Emma Purshouse. A brilliant read and deserves to be enjoyed by many. It was launched on Valentine’s Day and is well worth buying.

Shreveport? Don’t know where that came from!!

Jennie
Agree with a lot of your choices, so glad to find someone who likes Sue Gee, I just wish she would write more.

Sue Miller is another favourite, and Anita Shreveport.

I like a lot of Jodi Picoult, some of her books are really good, but I have found some to be quite poor.

Similar with Susan Lewis, some her subjects are really interesting and topical, but I don’t like her writing style, very stereotyped.

I love C J Sansom’s ‘Shardlake’ novels and the ‘Crowner John’ series by Bernard Knight.

rowyn

This is the opposite of what you are asking for, but a good chance to have a rant! I'm currently reading Richard Osman's so called murder mystery and finding it annoyingly written in the style of storytelling for 5 year olds. There is no characterisation or flow. Every time I pick it up I have to go back a few pages to remind me what is happening.

It just confirms my antipathy to any novels written by so - called celebrities. Suspect half are ghost written and the other half are only published because they are well known and their fans will buy.

The Osman book cover is splattered with other celebrities' gushing recommendations, none of which are upheld by the actual story, as far as I can see, and presumably are written on a "you scratch my back and .......... ! basis. I doubt very much that the same book sent in by an unknown would get beyond the first reading.

I should add that I didn't buy it, - it was a gift. Am I the only curmudgeon or do others agree with me?

I’m very sure that the hugh numbers of people who have read this book would not agree with you and that just because you didn’t enjoy it doesn’t mean that it’s not a well written book. He actually wrote the book in secret so no help from anyone.

Have you written and published a best seller?.

I have read that he has signed a deal with Viking publishers for 2 more books in the series, not bad eh?. I haven’t read it yet but I know that it’s somewhere in the house.

Whatever you do, do not read Maggie O’Farrell’s book “The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox” which by the way I thoroughly enjoyed.

K.L. Slater, Cath Staincliffe, Diane Chamberlain and for pure joy .. Maeve Binchy.

NanaPlenty Have you read any Diane Chamberlain? Not dissimilar to Jodi Picoult in some ways - the topics are possibly less controversial but the character studies are similar.

I agree with many of the suggestions on here - I love Clare Chambers, Sue Gee, Catherine Ryan Hyde, Anne Tyler etc. I really enjoyed the early Sophie Hannah books but I think her later ones aren’t as good. Some authors I like that haven’t been mentioned are Sue Miller, Anita Shreve, Rosie Thomas, Paulina Simons, Eva Ibbotson, Lindsey Davis. I’ve rediscovered William Horwood - years ago his Duncton Wood books were popular. If you like Tolkien-style fantasy, his Hyddenworld quartet are wonderful (the first is Hyddenworld:Spring) but my favourite is Skallagrig. So many brilliant authors!

Anything by Douglas Kennedy - fantastic writing - just wish I hadn’t read them all! Jodi Picoult - love all her books - always about subject matter that makes you really think about life as well as actually enjoying the story.

Whoops - cross post with Lizzie44. I agree that The Dutch House was better.

Belinda Bauer - a really intelligent and clever novelist who writes about how we survive trauma....the underpinning of her crime novels.
Her books have a dark humour too.
Wonderful stuff.

I've just discovered Mike Gayle and B A Paris. Some of my favourite authors are Douglas Kennedy, Jojo Moyes and Nicci French. Always good to hear others favourites.