LitQueuelitqueue

After

Hatchet

Stefani Koorey2009

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Brain Damage

    Freida McFadden

    A dermatologist survives a gunshot to the head and suffers from amnesia. She tries to reconstruct her memories to identify her attacker.

    Same tense register, still psychological thriller

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

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.

    tense → playful

    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.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak0

  • American Psycho

    Bret Easton Ellis1991

    A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.

    tense → cold

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Deacon King Kong

    James McBride2020

    A hard-drinking deacon shoots a drug dealer in a 1969 Brooklyn housing project. The story follows the neighborhood's reaction and the deacon's past.

    tense → warm, still crime fiction

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2

  • Rendezvous with Rama

    Arthur C. Clarke1973

    A human crew intercepts and explores a giant, hollow alien cylinder passing through the solar system. It is a technical study of the unknown.

    tense → clinical

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-2

  • Redshirts

    John Scalzi2012

    Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.

    tense → playful

    pace0·prose0·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → propulsive, still psychological thriller

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

  • You

    Caroline Kepnes2014

    A bookstore manager becomes obsessed with a customer and uses social media to orchestrate a relationship. He removes obstacles through murder.

    tense → sardonic, still psychological thriller

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Along Came a Spider

    James Patterson1993

    Detective Alex Cross hunts a private school teacher who kidnapped two high-profile students. The kidnapper mimics famous historical crimes.

    tense → propulsive, still psychological thriller

    pace+1·prose0·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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak-2

  • 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.

    tense → playful

    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.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

Heavier

Same tense register, still psychological thriller

3 more ↓

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    tense → cold, still psychological thriller

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Birdman

    Mo Hayder1999

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

    tense → bleak, still psychological thriller

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1