LitQueuelitqueue

After

Missing Presumed Dead

Arlene Hunt2007

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tense register, still noir

1 more ↓

  • La tête d'un homme

    Georges Simenon1931

    Inspector Maigret helps a condemned man escape prison to track him, hoping the fugitive will lead him to the real killer.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Trainspotting

    Irvine Welsh1993

    A group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh navigate poverty, violence, and withdrawal. The narrative uses heavy phonetic Scottish dialect.

    tense → sardonic, still noir

    pace0·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

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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+2·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Sentinel

    Lee Child2020

    A drifter helps an IT manager targeted by criminals after a cyberattack. He uses physical force to protect the man and uncover a conspiracy.

    tense → propulsive

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • All Rhodes Lead Here

    Mariana Zapata2021

    A woman moves back to her Colorado hometown after a breakup and rents a garage apartment from a grumpy single father.

    tense → warm

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Hannah's List

    Debbie Macomber2010

    A widower receives a letter from his late wife suggesting three women he should date. He begins to interact with each woman over the following year.

    tense → warm

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

tense → propulsive, still police procedural

3 more ↓

  • The Crucifix Killer

    Chris Carter2010

    An LA detective finds a signature mark on a victim that suggests a previously executed serial killer is still active or has a copycat.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Memory Man

    David Baldacci2015

    A detective with a brain injury that prevents him from forgetting anything hunts for the person who murdered his family.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • New York to Dallas

    J.D. Robb2011

    A homicide lieutenant pursues a serial killer who escaped prison. The chase takes her back to her childhood home in Dallas to face her own trauma.

    Same tense register, still police procedural

    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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·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+2·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+2·bleak0

Heavier

tense → bleak, still noir

3 more ↓

  • Acid Test

    Elmer Mendoza2016

    Detective Lefty Mendieta investigates the murder of a stripper in Mexico. The case leads him into the violent conflict between narcos and the state.

    tense → sardonic, still noir

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • A killing winter

    Tom Callaghan2015

    Inspector Akyl Borubaev investigates a series of murders in the Kyrgyz capital. The setting is a corrupt, freezing post-Soviet landscape.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

    Horace McCoy1935

    Two strangers enter a grueling 1930s dance marathon for prize money. The narrative is framed by a murder trial.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1