There may be one explosive episode left, but if you’re anything like me you’ll already be mourning the end of Succession. As we wait with bated breath to see how the drama will unfold (there has to be one final twist, right?) it’s only natural that we begin to wonder what, exactly, will fill the gaping hole the show will inevitably leave.

And while there are plenty of exciting new shows on the horizon, including ITV’s Maryland, starring Suranne Jones, what if the alternative was a little more…tangible? Most of us say we’d like to read more, so what could be better than fiction plots that replicate some of our favourite TV shows.

From romantic period dramas like Bridgerton to the 80s nostalgia of Stranger Things, here are six books to read this summer that capture the best of the small screen.

If you loved Black Mirror and Chernobyl, read: The Coming Darkness

Set in a near future in which global warming and pandemics have torn through the fabric of society, Greg Mosse’s pacy thriller follows secret operative Alex Lamarque as he battles eco-terrorists set on plunging the world into shadow. Gripping and scarily true to life.

If you loved Succession, read: The Corrections  

Published in 2001 but predicting the financial crash of 2008, Jonathan Franzen’s novel sees The Lamberts – Enid, Alfred and their three grown-up children – forced to face the long-buried secrets and failures that haunt them as they gather everyone together for one last family Christmas. A comic, tragic masterpiece about a family breaking down in an age of easy fixes.

If you loved Emily In Paris, read: Paris For One  

A collection of 11 short stories from the internationally bestselling author of Me Before You, Jojo Moyes. Nell is 26 and has never been to Paris. She’s never even been on a romantic weekend away anywhere before. Travelling abroad isn’t really her thing. But when Nell’s boyfriend fails to show up, she has the chance to prove to everyone – including herself – that she can be independent and intrepid. Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed. 

If you loved Killing Eve and Citadel, read: The Chase 

In this breakneck, race-against-the-clock thriller by leading novelist Ava Glass, a British spy has 12 hours to deliver her asset across London after Russia hacks the city’s security cameras. Can she make it without being spotted… or killed?

If you loved Bridgerton and A Queen Charlotte Story, read: The Lost Diary Of Samuel Pepys 

Jack Jewers’ swashbuckling period drama reimagines the world’s most famous diary and reinstates Black women into 18th century society. Witty and escapist. 

If you loved Stranger Things, read: Children Of The Sun  

This thriller by Beth Lewis follows a sci-fi obsessed cult living deep in the woods in upstate New York during one blistering 1980s summer.

Lead image: HBO/Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Images: courtesy of publishers