[Catlady]

I'm about as likely to read Stephen King as I am to read Elmore Leonard! After Carrie, Salem's Lot, and The Shining, the books seemed to go downhill, and after a few more, I gave up--even took the extreme step of purging the books from the shelves (except for the three aforementioned titles). I think the last straw was some short story in which a guy got his arm caught in a machine that then developed a taste for blood and chased people around; it was laughable, not scary.

Lisa Unger and Elizabeth Haynes are two authors I was vaguely considering, and I was wondering if anyone would comment on them.

The Nancy Kopp books sound interesting, but not what I'm looking for now; I'll keep them in mind for the future. Ditto the Susan Hill books--I don't want to start another police series.

I appreciate all the recommendations. Even the ones that don't quite seem to fit my mood right now are offering me ideas for new authors to sample in the future. Many thanks!