I am looking for a book to read while traveling for a week and would like to find a mystery book with a good sense of places, a good twist, and interesting characters. Bonus if coastal or woodsy setting and weather (cloudy, rainy, maybe snowy) or sense of unease/eeriness play a role. I am also a very slow reader, so something with good pacing I can get into and speed through would be nice. I am also not opposed to a sci-fi/fantasy element though not something I am specifically looking for. I have really not read a lot of mystery but I thoroughly enjoyed "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie (only Christie book I have read and sped right through it). I have also enjoyed some mystery/thriller TV/movies like A Murder at the End of the World, Knives Out (and others in that "series"), Stranger Things, Broadchurch, The Perfect Marriage, Big Little Lies, Twin Peaks. My wife has suggested Louise Penny books though I don't know much about them.
Other books I have enjoyed in general: Kraken (China Mieville), Good Omens (Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman) and most books by Neil Gaiman, Project Hail Mary (Andy Weird), Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series, Circe (Madeleine Miller), Song of Achilles (Madeleine Miller), ASOIAF (GRRM), The Hot Zone (Richard Preston). Currently reading Perdido Street Station by China Mieville which I am enjoying – wonderful world-building and interesting story though I find Mieville's writing style can be pretty "loquacious" and requires a lot of effort to get through at times, esp. for a slow reader.
One example I did not enjoy was "Into the Water" by Paula Hawkins. Pretty good sense of place but I found a bit heavy-handed on references to "the water" and somewhat boring characters. I feel like it tried to hit me over the head with descriptions of the setting and flashbacks that I would rather have worked in more subtly (this was while ago for a book club so I might be misremembering some :)). I would love some interesting characters.
Thanks for any suggestions!
by FlannelZebra