LitQueuelitqueue

After

Blod på snø

Jo Nesbø2015

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Pop. 1280

    Jim Thompson1984

    A corrupt sheriff in a small 1910s town maintains order through murder and manipulation. He narrates his crimes with a detached, joking air.

    cold → sardonic, still noir

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Blood on the dining-room floor

    Gertrude Stein1948

    A repetitive, circular narrative about a death in a country house. It uses experimental prose to obscure the facts of a traditional mystery.

    cold → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • Trainspotting

    Irvine Welsh1993

    A group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh navigate poverty, violence, and withdrawal. The narrative uses heavy phonetic Scottish dialect.

    cold → sardonic, still noir

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Doves Necklace

    Raja Alem2014

    A detective investigates an unidentified woman's body found in a Mecca alleyway. The city itself narrates parts of the story.

    cold → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Lost Symbol

    Dan Brown2009

    Symbologist Robert Langdon follows a trail of Masonic puzzles through Washington D.C. monuments to save his kidnapped mentor.

    cold → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • And One Last Thing...

    Molly Harper2010

    After a public divorce, a woman moves to a small town to start over and finds herself pursued by a local deputy.

    cold → wry

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Fast & loose

    Stuart Woods2017

    Wealthy investigator Stone Barrington deals with a hostile family after a boating accident. He manages legal and financial assets in Maine.

    cold → playful, still crime

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Extreme Prey

    John Sandford2016

    While working on a presidential campaign, Lucas Davenport tracks an armed man planning to assassinate the governor.

    cold → propulsive, still crime

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Run Away

    Harlan Coben2019

    A father searches for his estranged, drug-addicted daughter in New York. The search uncovers a conspiracy involving a cult and multiple murders.

    cold → propulsive, still crime

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Da Vinci Code

    Dan Brown2003

    A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.

    cold → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Gödel, Escher, Bach

    Douglas R. Hofstadter1979

    An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.

    cold → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    cold → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • A maça no escuro

    Clarice Lispector1961

    A man flees into the Brazilian interior believing he killed his wife. He works on a remote farm while navigating his own internal monologue.

    cold → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

cold → bleak, still noir

3 more ↓

  • They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

    Horace McCoy1935

    Two strangers enter a grueling 1930s dance marathon for prize money. The narrative is framed by a murder trial.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Trainspotting

    Irvine Welsh1993

    A group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh navigate poverty, violence, and withdrawal. The narrative uses heavy phonetic Scottish dialect.

    cold → sardonic, still noir

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Killer Inside Me

    Jim Thompson1952

    A small-town Texas deputy maintains a boring public persona to hide his identity as a serial killer. He describes his crimes in a flat, cold voice.

    Same cold register, still noir

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1