Oh and I forgot, I read one of the Sophie Cousens books - This Time Next Year. Definitely a decent chick lit / rom com!! --OP

OP here, so far I've read 3 of the recommended books.

1) Thus Was Adonis Murdered (Sarah Caudwell)
Mini review: Overall liked, based on the writing I thought this book was set much earlier than it actually was (1980). Story was pretty good, though the buildup to the 'whodunnit' could've been better executed. Characterization was OK. I'd read more of the series, but didn't love it enough to immediately rush back to the library.

2) The Rachel Incident (Caroline O'Donoghue)
Mini review: Decent read, got invested in the characters and story at least to some degree, though the plot is a bit thin. I'm not a Sally Rooney fan and this book is kinda in that same genre (down to the setting in Ireland).

3) The Quiet Tenant (Clement Michallon)
Mini review: Pretty good thriller, I definitely got invested in the story. Some aspects were reminiscent of a Lifetime movie, there were some definite plot holes and the characterizations of the secondary characters was nonexistent. Still, I would recommend as an airplane read / if you're in the mood for a page-turner!

I enjoyed Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware was also a very good mystery.

I read The Alice Network, which I've seen recommended here and on the other thread a lot and I just didn't enjoy it. Half of the book (the part set in WWI) was very good, but every-other-chapter was set right after WWII and the main character in those scenes is just so terrible and such an unbelievable Mary Sue. Basically, if that book was just about the female spy network in WWI and their lives post-WWII, it would have been great. But the framing device of having the spy get dragged back into it by this college girl post-WWII was bad and that girl's whole story was really lazy.

If you like older classics and mysteries I’d recommend The Count of Monte Cristo and The Woman in White, both of which I listened to as audio books in the past year or so and enjoyed.

I was recommendations on this site for Nothing to See Here and Someone Else’s hire and enjoyed both.

For decently written romance, last year I read and enjoyed “In a New York Minute”.

These are all older at this point but I could imagine you liking The Historian (Elizabeth Totova); The Golum and the Jinni; and Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell as all are well written fiction with some mysterious elements.

Anonymous wrote:Laurie Frankel's new book, Family Family was very good.

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston is a great mystery/thriller.

If you like historical fiction, The Frozen River by Ariel Lawthon is excellent. I'm not normally a historical fiction reader, but my book club chose this and I love it.

This might be a stretch but you said you like quirky stories - Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. I loved it.

Some others I've loved recently are:
The Hop by Diana Clarke
The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
None of This is True by Lisa Jewell
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
James by Percival Everett

DP Wasn't Skippy Dies great in such a quirky way? Loved it! Now I've got The Bee Sting on my list.

Anonymous wrote:Wrong Place Wrong Time (twisty, non-linear thriller)

The Latecomer (somewhat sprawling novel about a family with triplets and a fourth sibling who comes much later - interesting characters doing relatively normal things but with excellent inner lives that are shared slowly)

Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel (Excellent novel by the author of Station Eleven (which I liked somewhat but did not love) - time-travel novel that spans our relatively recent past to quite a bit forward in the future, all connected in a plot that includes some interesting social and psychological commentary. Hard to explain, but I truly loved it. Also really liked The Glass Hotel by the same author. I think she wrote it before Sea of Tranquilty, but I read it after. The two books are lightly linked through a few characters, but they're also great stand-alone stories, too.)

Sea of Tranquility was great

If you want something absolutely idiotic but fun, I liked Suburban Dicks and its sequel the Self Made Widow - they're mysteries involving a bored former FBI agent who's given up her career to be endlessly pregnant and her friend, a disgraced reporter trying to get his mojo back.

Anonymous wrote:OP I couldn't read thru the other thread to see if anyone suggested the mystery series by William Kent Krueger. Have you read any of those?

I haven't but I'll add him to my list! I am currently reading one of the Sarah Caudwell novels someone suggested upthread. --OP

OP I couldn't read thru the other thread to see if anyone suggested the mystery series by William Kent Krueger. Have you read any of those?

Anonymous wrote:Wrong Place Wrong Time (twisty, non-linear thriller)

The Latecomer (somewhat sprawling novel about a family with triplets and a fourth sibling who comes much later - interesting characters doing relatively normal things but with excellent inner lives that are shared slowly)

Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel (Excellent novel by the author of Station Eleven (which I liked somewhat but did not love) - time-travel novel that spans our relatively recent past to quite a bit forward in the future, all connected in a plot that includes some interesting social and psychological commentary. Hard to explain, but I truly loved it. Also really liked The Glass Hotel by the same author. I think she wrote it before Sea of Tranquilty, but I read it after. The two books are lightly linked through a few characters, but they're also great stand-alone stories, too.)

I did read 'Wrong Place Wrong Time' - picked it up in the airport and it was perfect for a plane read! I read Station Eleven (which like you, I liked somewhat but did not love) but I should check out that author's other books. Since starting this thread I read one of the Sophie Cousens rom-com novels and I have about a dozen other titles on hold at the library. Thank you all for the excellent suggestions! --OP

Wrong Place Wrong Time (twisty, non-linear thriller)

The Latecomer (somewhat sprawling novel about a family with triplets and a fourth sibling who comes much later - interesting characters doing relatively normal things but with excellent inner lives that are shared slowly)

Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel (Excellent novel by the author of Station Eleven (which I liked somewhat but did not love) - time-travel novel that spans our relatively recent past to quite a bit forward in the future, all connected in a plot that includes some interesting social and psychological commentary. Hard to explain, but I truly loved it. Also really liked The Glass Hotel by the same author. I think she wrote it before Sea of Tranquilty, but I read it after. The two books are lightly linked through a few characters, but they're also great stand-alone stories, too.)

Anonymous wrote:Laurie Frankel's new book, Family Family was very good.

NP here. I absolutely loved one of her other books - This Is How It Always Is. It's great!

I couldn't get into her next book (One, Two, Three) though the premise sounded interesting.

If you are open to quirky, I recently read and enjoyed:

The Brass Queen
by Elizabeth Chatsworth

In a steam-powered world, Miss Constance Haltwhistle is the last in a line of blue-blooded rogues. Selling firearms under her alias, the “Brass Queen,” she has kept her baronial estate’s coffers full. But when US spy J. F. Trusdale saves her from assassins, she’s pulled into a search for a scientist with an invisibility serum. As royal foes create an invisible army to start a global war, Constance and Trusdale must learn to trust each other. If they don’t, the world as they know it will disappear before their eyes.

Chosen Ones: Veronica Roth
Fifteen years ago, five ordinary teenagers were singled out by a prophecy to take down an impossibly powerful entity wreaking havoc across North America. He was known as the Dark One, and his weapon of choice—catastrophic events known as Drains—leveled cities and claimed thousands of lives. Chosen Ones, as the teens were known, gave everything they had to defeat him.

After the Dark One fell, the world went back to normal . . . for everyone but them. After all, what do you do when you’re the most famous people on Earth, your only education was in magical destruction, and your purpose in life is now fulfilled?

Of the five, Sloane has had the hardest time adjusting. Everyone else blames the PTSD—and her huge attitude problem—but really, she’s hiding secrets from them . . . secrets that keep her tied to the past and alienate her from the only four people in the world who understand her.

On the tenth anniversary of the Dark One’s defeat, something unthinkable happens: one of the Chosen Ones dies. When the others gather for the funeral, they discover the Dark One’s ultimate goal was much bigger than they, the government, or even prophecy could have foretold—bigger than the world itself.

And this time, fighting back might take more than Sloane has to give.

and Assistant to the Villain
by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Once Upon a Time meets The Office in Hannah Maehrer’s laugh-out-loud viral TikTok series turned novel, about the sunshine assistant to an Evil Villain…and their unexpected romance.

ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem, terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.

With ailing family to support, Evie Sage's employment status isn't just important, it's vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer—naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.

Anonymous wrote:Laurie Frankel's new book, Family Family was very good.

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston is a great mystery/thriller.

If you like historical fiction, The Frozen River by Ariel Lawthon is excellent. I'm not normally a historical fiction reader, but my book club chose this and I love it.

This might be a stretch but you said you like quirky stories - Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. I loved it.

Some others I've loved recently are:
The Hop by Diana Clarke
The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
None of This is True by Lisa Jewell
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
James by Percival Everett

Family Family was not very good in my opinion, but I enjoyed The Rachel Incident and James.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you like historical then the Ariana Franklin books (Mistress of Death) are good (along with Daughter of Time)

I will check out Franklin! Loved Daughter of Time and a couple other Tey books I've read. --OP

Have you read Elizabeth Peters’ mysteries? Not sure why my brain related the two except that I like both authors lol.

Anonymous wrote:If you like historical then the Ariana Franklin books (Mistress of Death) are good (along with Daughter of Time)

I will check out Franklin! Loved Daughter of Time and a couple other Tey books I've read. --OP