LitQueuelitqueue

After

Four to score

Janet Evanovich1998

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Size 12 Is Not Fat

    Meg Cabot2005

    A former pop star working as a dorm director investigates the death of a student in an elevator shaft. She lives with her crush's brother.

    Same playful register, still cozy mystery

    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.

    Same playful register

    pace-2·prose+3·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.

    playful → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak+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·prose+3·bleak+3

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Extreme Prey

    John Sandford2016

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

    playful → propulsive, still crime

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • First Lie Wins

    Ashley Elston2024

    A professional con artist takes an assignment to infiltrate a man's life in a small town. She must balance her job with her growing feelings.

    playful → propulsive, still crime

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Dark Tide

    Elizabeth Haynes2013

    A woman living on a boat in London discovers a body in the water. The narrative follows the police investigation and her own history of debt.

    playful → tense, still crime

    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.

    Same playful register

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

  • 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

    pace-2·prose+3·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.

    playful → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2

Heavier

playful → bleak, still crime

3 more ↓

  • Páradais

    Fernanda Melchor2020

    Two teenagers in a luxury housing complex plot a crime to escape their lives. The prose consists of long, rhythmic, and breathless sentences.

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+3

  • Full Dark, No Stars

    Stephen King2010

    Four novellas explore the themes of retribution and the capacity for violence. Characters commit and suffer from crimes in isolated settings.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+3

  • 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 crime

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+3