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After

Poirot investigates

Agatha Christie1924

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Murphy's law

    Rhys Bowen2001

    Molly Murphy flees Ireland for New York in 1901. When a man is killed on her ship, she must clear her name while navigating Ellis Island.

    Same playful register, still cozy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

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.

    Same playful register

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    playful → 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.

    playful → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Two-Dollar bill

    Stuart Woods2005

    Attorney Stone Barrington deals with a flamboyant Texas con man who is being pursued by the CIA.

    playful → wry

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Thus was Adonis murdered

    Sarah L. Caudwell1981

    A group of London barristers exchange letters to solve a murder committed during a holiday in Venice. An academic narrates the investigation.

    playful → wry, still cozy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Glazed Murder

    Jessica Beck2010

    A donut shop owner finds her rival dead in his shop. She investigates the local community to clear her own name.

    Same playful register, still cozy

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    Same playful register, still cozy

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    playful → propulsive

    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.

    playful → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    playful → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    Same playful register

    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.

    Same playful register

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    playful → clinical

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    playful → tense

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    playful → tense

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2