superlative authors, revisited

Loyal readership,

Who’s the best British author?

More specifically, do you know of any books by British authors about 250 pages in length that would be good selections for a book group? After my first choice, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was rejected (they’re using it for an online book group & don’t want to double up), I am at a loss. I want things that interesting enough to sustain an hour and a half of discussion but still accessible to English Language Learners (so that one novel you love with no punctuation would be a bad choice). Also: they like mysteries and the supernatural. My mom sent me a list of books and they are either too long or the British Council, where I host the book group, does not have them in their library.

I spent a while in my favorite bookstore this evening with minimal results. I perused their English-language offerings looking for something British that I had already read. I realize that I read few British authors. I don’t restrict myself to Americans; I read Canadians, South Africans, Indians, and translations, but I apparently don’t read Brits.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Sincerely,

Rachel