After
Blood on the dining-room floor
Gertrude Stein1948
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing denser, nothing slower
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same playful register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
All of a Winter's Night (Merrily Watkins Mysteries Book 14)
Phil Rickman2017
Diocesan exorcist Merrily Watkins investigates a mystery involving local folklore and ancient rituals in the Welsh Border country.
playful → wry, still mystery
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
The Thief of Venice
Jane Langton1999
An American scholar in Venice investigates the murder of a local official's husband and the disappearance of the widow.
playful → wry, still mystery
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
My Name Is Red
Orhan Pamuk
In 1591 Istanbul, miniaturists investigate a colleague's murder. Objects and colors narrate chapters alongside the human characters.
playful → meditative, still mystery
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Baudolino: A Medieval Literary Adventure of History, Myth, and Invention in Byzantine Realms
Umberto Eco
In 1204, a talented liar tells a historian about his life traveling through the Crusades in search of a mythical kingdom in the East.
Same playful register
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
Hot mahogany
Stuart Woods2008
A lawyer guards a former spy with amnesia who restores antique furniture. They uncover a conspiracy linked to the man's service in Vietnam.
playful → wry, still mystery
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
Two for the dough
Janet Evanovich1996
An inexperienced bounty hunter tracks a man who jumped bail for shooting his friend. She competes with a vice cop to find him first.
Same playful register, still mystery
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-3bleak-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.
playful → propulsive, still mystery
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
Catering to Nobody
Diane Mott Davidson1990
A Colorado caterer is accused of poisoning a guest at a wake. She investigates the murder to save her business and includes recipes in the text.
playful → warm, still mystery
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
Real Murders
Charlaine Harris1990
A librarian in a small Georgia town belongs to a club that studies famous crimes. A real murder occurs that mimics a historical case.
playful → wry, still mystery
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
Faster
playful → propulsive, still mystery
- pace+3prose-3bleak0
Angels & Demons
Dan Brown2000
A symbologist and a scientist race through Rome to stop an ancient secret society from destroying the Vatican. It takes place over 24 hours.
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+3prose-3bleak0
Tell No One
Harlan Coben2000
A widower receives an email from his wife eight years after her murder. He flees the FBI to discover if she is still alive.
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-3bleak-1
Ten Big Ones
Janet Evanovich2004
Stephanie Plum witnesses a gang hit and becomes a target herself. She balances the threat with her ongoing romantic indecision.
Same playful register, still mystery
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-3bleak0
Private Vegas
James Patterson2015
Jack Morgan investigates a man who trains women to become killers in Las Vegas. The story follows multiple perspectives in short chapters.
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+3prose-3bleak+1
Pines
Blake Crouch2012
A Secret Service agent searches for missing colleagues in an Idaho town he cannot leave. The townspeople and physics itself seem to work against him.
playful → tense, still mystery
pace+3·prose-3·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace+2prose-1bleak+2
The Virgin Suicides
Jeffrey Eugenides
A group of neighborhood boys obsessively observes five sisters in 1970s Michigan. They document the girls' lives leading up to their suicides.
playful → tense, still mystery
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis1991
A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.
playful → cold
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak+2
Sharp Objects
Gillian Flynn2006
A reporter returns to her hometown to cover the murders of two girls while grappling with her own history of self-harm.
playful → tense
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+2
- pace+1prose-1bleak+2
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote1965
A reconstruction of the 1959 murder of a Kansas family and the subsequent investigation. It follows both the victims and the killers.
playful → clinical
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+2prose-1bleak+2
Lord of the Flies
William Golding1954
Schoolboys are stranded on an island and try to organize a society. Order collapses into tribalism and violence.
playful → tense
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
