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After

Happiness Falls

Angie Kim2023

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • I'll Never Tell

    Catherine McKenzie2019

    Five siblings return to their family summer camp to hear their father's will. They must solve a decades-old cold case to claim their inheritance.

    earnest → tense, still mystery

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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+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.

    earnest → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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+2

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Truly, Madly

    Heather Webber2010

    A woman with the psychic ability to find lost objects takes over her family's matchmaking business. She teams up with a cynical private investigator.

    earnest → playful, still mystery

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Surrounded by Idiots

    Thomas Erikson2014

    A guide to a four-color personality model designed to help readers categorize and communicate with different behavioral types in the workplace.

    earnest → wry

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • A Veiled Deception

    Annette Blair2009

    A vintage shop owner investigates a murder during her sister's wedding preparations to clear her family's name.

    earnest → playful

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Verity

    Colleen Hoover2018

    A ghostwriter moves into a secluded estate to finish a series for an injured author and finds a hidden, disturbing autobiography.

    earnest → tense, still psychological thriller

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    earnest → propulsive, still mystery

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Behind Closed Doors

    B.A. Paris2016

    A woman is held captive by her husband in a high-security home. She must find a way to escape before her sister moves in with them.

    earnest → propulsive, still psychological thriller

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

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.

    earnest → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-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·bleak0

  • 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.

    earnest → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

earnest → tense, still psychological thriller

3 more ↓

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • The Wasp Factory

    Iain Banks1984

    A teenager living on a remote island performs violent rituals while waiting for his brother to return from an asylum.

    earnest → cold, still psychological thriller

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Birdman

    Mo Hayder1999

    Detective Jack Caffery hunts a serial killer in London who performs surgical procedures on his victims while they are alive.

    earnest → bleak, still psychological thriller

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2