I've read many great books that are longer but they all inevitably drag at points. Maybe there was one (needless) twist too many. Or one too many obstacles for the protagonist. Or endless description.
Iain Reid's Foe and We Spread are the perfect length. So is Robert Bloch's Psycho. I didn't fell like I was cheated out of a fuller story.
By speculative I mean human/Earth based stories. I'm not into aliens, non-human protagonists, other planets, outer space, etc. Apocalyptic, pre-apocalyptic, time travel, multiverse, and stories about the real world but with one "out there" difference are more my jam.
Think Age of Miracles, Sea of Tranquility, The Warning, The Strange Case of Jane O, The One, The Measure, If Tomorrow Doesn't Come, All Our Wrong Todays.
By others, I like me some thrillers/mysteries/suspense. The Push was good but it was too long. Same with The Silent Patient. I got into the plagiarism sub-genre: Yellowface, The Plot, Who is Maud Dixon? I've read most of Carola Lovering's stuff but DNF'd Tell Me Lies within the first chapter. All these books could have been better if trimmed a bit.
So what do you all suggest?
by TheShowLover