Crimson Lake

Off the Grid

C.J. Box2016

A game warden and a fugitive friend investigate a terror threat and federal activity in the Wyoming desert.

Same tense register, still crime

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Mr. Mercedes

Stephen King2014

A retired detective receives a letter from a mass murderer who drove a car into a crowd. The two engage in a game of psychological cat-and-mouse.

Same tense register, still crime

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The Son

Jo Nesbø2014

An escaped convict seeks revenge on the people who framed him and caused his father's death. He targets corrupt officials across Oslo.

Same tense register, still noir

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Redemption Road

John Hart2016

A detective under investigation and an ex-cop recently released from prison are drawn into a case involving a serial killer and a girl's murder.

Same tense register, still noir

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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.

tense → cold, still noir

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+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.

tense → meditative, still whodunit

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

The Chef

James Patterson2019

A New Orleans police detective who moonlights as a food truck chef is framed for murder. He must clear his name while uncovering a conspiracy.

tense → propulsive, still thriller

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Crewel World

Monica Ferris1999

A woman takes over her late sister's needlecraft shop in a small Minnesota town. She investigates her sister's murder while learning the business.

tense → warm

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Gone

James Patterson2013

A drug lord escapes prison and hunts Detective Michael Bennett, who is hiding in the California woods with his ten children.

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Extreme Prey

John Sandford2016

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

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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.

tense → playful

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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.

tense → dreamlike

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Gone, Baby, Gone

Dennis Lehane1998

Private investigators search for a missing four-year-old girl in Boston. They navigate a criminal underworld and face a final moral choice.

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Dead and Gone

Andrew Vachss2000

After a hit squad kills his partner, an underground mercenary gets plastic surgery and hunts his attackers across the country.

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