Authors you want to shout about

I've just downloaded a sample of The Hoarder to my kindle. Thanks for all the recommendations.

Thank you all for recommendations. Also, as a lover of detective stories, I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't warm to the Train / Gone books, or to Sophie Hannah (I couldn't finish her adaptation of The White Horse which completely altered the sense of it)

I love all sorts of detective stories, and lockdown has put me on a big re-read. I love the Sharon McCone series by Marcia Muller - a private detective who seems real, who ages and changes. A word of warning should you want to try them:
MM allows very little on Kindle, I borrowed them from the library years ago, and have now bought second-hand copies (abebooks).
Also, having kept the series alive and fresh for 30+ years, the last few have been disappointing. So please begin with the early ones - you can see them all on fantasticfiction.com. I am not sure why she is not as well known as Sara Paretsky or Sue Grafton, but I think she wasn't publicised so much in the UK (should have said, they are set in San Francisco)

I'm also a big Val McDermid fan, but in a perverse way don't like her most famous Jordan / Hill series. I recommend the older Lindsay Gordon & Kate Brannigan series, and the newer Karen Pirie ones.

Nannarose - I agree re Val McDermid, I've enjoyed the same ones more too.

Not heard of Marcia Muller, I shall look into it, thank you.

For those who like detective fiction combined with Scotland, the Lewis Trilogy by Peter May is good. Also loving the Lynne Truss “Constable Twitten” series, very funny!

I miss Sue Grafton followed her series for about 20 years.
With Ian Rankin I always feel i can settle down and relax into his novels.

blossom14 - if you liked Kinsey Milhone, I would definitely try the Sharon McCone books (with the caveat above)
NellG - have you tried any of Laurie R. King's books? I love her Kate Martinelli series (also San Francisco). I know Val McDermid rates them.
I enjoyed the first few of her Mary Russell books, but they began to suffer from 'long running series' syndrome. But the first few are a joy.

Laurie Graham has written some brilliant books.

Loved reading The Miniaturist and enjoyed meeting Jessica Burton when she came to our library for a chat. Took lots of photos and now keep an eye out for her new titles.

I have really enjoyed books by Simon McCleave, the Ruth Hunter series is absolutely riveting. I am also a fan of the following authors =Celina Grace, Fiona Grace, Soloman Carter, Adam Croft, JD Dalgleish, Joy Ellis. To name a few, they are mainly murder mysteries.

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?

Just got into the Mick Herron Slough House series . They are modern spy thrillers with a sense of humour. They are really good and well recommended.

I love Della Galton books - at the moment there are several free on Amazon (Kindle) or Kindle unlimited. My favourite is Ice and a Slice and then the following book, The Morning after the Life before.

Absolutely loved The Miniaturist! I really like Mitch Albom books although he’s not a prolific writer I will pick up anything he writes. He writes unusual books which are difficult to describe they are a bit supernaturally! Five people u meet in Heaven is fab! I love having other people suggest authors and books so thank you everyone! My DH doesn’t read so I’ve no one to discuss them with ? x

There are so many truly great books from the 19th century and I enjoy reading or re-reading many of those - different in style from modern books of course, and may need a bit more focus, but I enjoy that. Jane Austen goes without saying - but also Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte), and the marvellous Elizabeth Gaskell - I have no idea why she isn't as famous as Jane and Charlotte. I strongly recommend 'North and South' and 'Wives and Daughters".

JoJo Moyes. Her books are brilliant

And of course I should have added George Elliot especially The Mill on the Floss, Middlemarch, Silas Marner and Adam Bede. She was an amazing woman living a very unconventional life in a society very bound by social rules.

If you like Science Fiction, I am loving Allen Steele's "Coyote" series.

Well, there you are - I did not think the Miniaturist was good (which, btw, is different from liking it) and I adore A Gentleman in Moscow. The latest Setterfield, Once upon a River, is wonderful.

rowyn You're not the only one who feels mislead over that particular book. Unfortunately celebs are good for the money shot, so publishers tend to over enthuse I think.

Great suggestions for some new (to me) authors here.

For those who like crime set in the UK and who like a bit of a literary slant Sarah Hillary is very good.

Another series I enjoyed which is a bit different are by CJ Box. About a forest ranger in Wyoming. Crime, but with a fresh perspective because of the setting and protagonists.

Applegran - can't beat a classic!

These all sound interesting; I have put some onto my To-Read list, thank you. I would recommend "None Stood Taller" by Peter Turnham if you like romance, humour, excitement, WWII well-researched fiction; but I would --- family! But the amount of sales and KUP reads just don't lie!

Oh and Susan Grossey's books too.

For those who like spy stories, my DH and I have really enjoyed Mick Herron's quirky "Slow Horses" series. The characters and situations are fairly whacky and there are plenty of twists. John le Carré it ain't, but great entertainment.

Ealdemodor

Laurie Graham has written some brilliant books.

She certainly has! But I went to the launch of her last one (title I can't recall but it's about a medical practice) and she said she'd had to self-publish it as she couldn't get a new contract. I was horrified - she is SUCH a fabulous writer. I guess she's hard to pigeonhole though, and I know publishers these days like that. Her books are very different from each other. Some are rom-coms (one of my favourites is Perfect Meringues), others historical (A Humble Companion) and then there's wondrous things like The Future Home-Makers of America. I'll stop now - I'm going on like the total fan-girl that I am.

Applegran
I’m very much with you on George Elliot, read The Mill on the Floss when I was very young, and really love the other ones you’ve mentioned, I think Adam Bede is hugely underrated, and Middlemarch would be in my top ten ever.

I’m happy some of you enjoyed The Miniaturist, but obviously not everyones cup of tea.