After
Cleek, the man of the forty faces
Thomas W. Hanshew1910
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Holy Terror
Leslie Charteris1932
Simon Templar, known as the Saint, targets three different criminals to steal their ill-gotten wealth. He uses disguises and physical force.
earnest → playful, still detective
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Dream Doctor
Arthur B. Reeve1914
Detective Craig Kennedy uses early 20th-century forensic technology and psychology to solve a series of criminal mysteries.
Same earnest register, still detective
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Forgotten
Faye Kellerman2001
A detective and his wife investigate the desecration of a synagogue, leading them to a wealthy teenager with a hidden family history.
Same earnest register, still detective
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Feared
Lisa Scottoline2018
A female-led law firm faces a reverse sex discrimination lawsuit orchestrated by a rival lawyer seeking a personal vendetta.
Same earnest register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Mystery Guest
Nita Prose2023
A hotel maid with a rigid worldview investigates the death of a famous author. She uses her attention to detail to find clues others miss.
Same earnest register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
My Name Is Red
Orhan Pamuk
In 1591 Istanbul, miniaturists investigate a colleague's murder. Objects and colors narrate chapters alongside the human characters.
earnest → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Amberes
Roberto Bolaño2002
A fragmented series of fifty-six short sections follows a police officer, a redhead, and a hunchback through a series of loosely linked crimes.
earnest → cold
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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.
earnest → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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.
earnest → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+3
American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis1991
A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.
earnest → cold
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
Summer Knight
Jim Butcher2002
A wizard detective in Chicago investigates a murder to settle a debt with the Winter Queen. He must navigate the politics of two rival faerie courts.
earnest → propulsive, still detective
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Medusa
Clive Cussler2009
The NUMA team investigates a missing undersea lab and a bathysphere attack. They uncover a corporate plot involving a deadly virus and jellyfish.
earnest → propulsive, still adventure
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
Kill Alex Cross
James Patterson2011
Alex Cross investigates the kidnapping of the President's children while a terrorist threat targets the D.C. water supply.
earnest → propulsive, still detective
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
earnest → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
The Housemaid's Secret
Freida McFadden2023
A housemaid with a criminal record takes a job for a wealthy couple. She becomes obsessed with the wife she is forbidden from seeing.
earnest → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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.
earnest → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
Dhalgren
Samuel R. Delany1975
An amnesiac wanderer enters Bellona, a city cut off from the world where time and geography shift. He joins a gang and writes poetry.
earnest → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
Moby Dick
Herman Melville1851
A sailor joins a whaling voyage led by a captain seeking revenge on a specific whale. Large sections digress into the mechanics of 1850s whaling.
earnest → meditative, still adventure
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
earnest → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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.
earnest → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace-1prose+2bleak+3
American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis1991
A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.
earnest → cold
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3
- pace0prose0bleak+3
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.
earnest → tense
pace0·prose0·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
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.
earnest → clinical
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
Lord of the Flies
William Golding1954
Schoolboys are stranded on an island and try to organize a society. Order collapses into tribalism and violence.
earnest → tense
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
