Pajaro De Sol

The Huntress

Kate Quinn2019

A British journalist and a female pilot hunt a Nazi war criminal. The narrative spans from the front lines of WWII to the 1950s.

Same propulsive register, still historical fiction

pace0·prose0·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.

propulsive → cold

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

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.

propulsive → wry, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

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.

propulsive → playful

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

This Man

Jodi Ellen Malpas2013

An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.

propulsive → tense

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Ready Player One

Ernest Cline2008

A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Real Murders

Charlaine Harris1990

A librarian in a small Georgia town belongs to a club that studies famous crimes. A real murder occurs that mimics a historical case.

propulsive → wry

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

The Da Vinci Code

Dan Brown2003

A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.

Same propulsive register

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

The Housemaid's Secret

Freida McFadden2023

A housemaid with a criminal record takes a job for a wealthy couple. She becomes obsessed with the wife she is forbidden from seeing.

Same propulsive register

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

Same propulsive register

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

A Month in the Country

J. L. Carr1980

A WWI veteran spends a summer in a quiet village restoring a medieval mural in a church. He reflects on his trauma while observing local life.

propulsive → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace-2·prose0·bleak-1

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.

propulsive → warm

pace-2·prose0·bleak-2

Kolyma tales

Varlam SHALAMOV1980

Short stories documenting daily life and survival in a Soviet labor camp. The prose is detached and focuses on the physical reality of starvation.

propulsive → clinical, still historical fiction

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Affinity

Sarah Waters1999

A grieving socialite visits a medium in a Victorian women's prison. Their relationship develops through diary entries and clandestine meetings.

propulsive → bleak, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

Libra

Don DeLillo1988

A fictionalized biography of Lee Harvey Oswald. It follows his life and the CIA conspiracy that leads to the assassination of JFK.

propulsive → eerie, still historical fiction

pace0·prose+1·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.

propulsive → cold

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1