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After

Six Years

Harlan Coben2013

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The enemy

    Lee Child2004

    In 1990, military policeman Jack Reacher investigates the death of a general in a motel. The case uncovers a conspiracy within the army ranks.

    tense → propulsive, still thriller

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → cold

    pace-1·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·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.

    tense → cold

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak+2

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → wry, still mystery

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • Murder Past Due

    Miranda James2010

    A librarian and his Maine Coon cat investigate the murder of a former classmate in a small Mississippi town.

    tense → warm, still mystery

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

  • Wish you were here

    Rita Mae Brown1990

    A small-town postmistress investigates a series of murders linked by mysterious postcards. Her cat and dog provide their own perspective.

    tense → warm, still mystery

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

Faster

tense → propulsive, still thriller

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

  • Persuader

    Lee Child2003

    Jack Reacher goes undercover to infiltrate a drug kingpin's coastal estate. He seeks revenge for a colleague murdered ten years prior.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • Dead Fall

    Brad Thor2023

    Scot Harvath tracks a rogue Russian unit through war-torn Ukraine to exact revenge. He operates alone in a landscape of shifting loyalties.

    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-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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

  • 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·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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+2

  • 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.

    Same tense register

    pace0·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.

    tense → clinical

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2