Once upon a river

Dude On Arrival

J. S. Borthwick1992

A mystery following Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn as they investigate a murder at a Maine estate during a winter gathering.

dreamlike → tense, still mystery

pace0·prose-1·bleak+1

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.

dreamlike → cold

pace0·prose+1·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.

Same dreamlike register

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

Niccolò Rising

Dorothy Dunnett1986

A dyer’s apprentice in 15th-century Bruges uses his intellect to navigate the world of international trade. He builds a mercantile empire.

dreamlike → wry

pace0·prose+1·bleak0

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.

dreamlike → playful, still mystery

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either

Meg Cabot

A former pop star working at a college dormitory investigates the murder of a cheerleader. She balances the case with her own personal life.

dreamlike → playful, still mystery

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Vampires Are Forever

Lynsay Sands2008

A woman suspects her business partner is a vampire after he attempts to bite her. He tries to convince her they are fated mates.

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Ten Big Ones

Janet Evanovich2004

Stephanie Plum witnesses a gang hit and becomes a target herself. She balances the threat with her ongoing romantic indecision.

dreamlike → playful, still mystery

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Private Vegas

James Patterson2015

Jack Morgan investigates a man who trains women to become killers in Las Vegas. The story follows multiple perspectives in short chapters.

pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

Pines

Blake Crouch2012

A Secret Service agent searches for missing colleagues in an Idaho town he cannot leave. The townspeople and physics itself seem to work against him.

dreamlike → tense, still mystery

pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1

The Habitation of the Blessed

Catherynne M. Valente2010

A priest finds the lost kingdom of Prester John. The story is told through three nested layers of journals, myths, and historical accounts.

Same dreamlike register, still historical fantasy

pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

The miracle at Speedy Motors

Alexander McCall Smith2008

Mma Ramotswe helps a woman find her long-lost family in Botswana. The story follows small domestic complications and slow-paced investigations.

dreamlike → warm

pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

Same dreamlike register

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

Sharp Objects

Gillian Flynn2006

A reporter returns to her hometown to cover the murders of two girls while grappling with her own history of self-harm.

dreamlike → tense

pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2

In Cold Blood

Truman Capote1965

A reconstruction of the 1959 murder of a Kansas family and the subsequent investigation. It follows both the victims and the killers.

dreamlike → clinical

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

Lord of the Flies

William Golding1954

Schoolboys are stranded on an island and try to organize a society. Order collapses into tribalism and violence.

dreamlike → tense

pace+1·prose0·bleak+2