Something in the Water

The Silent Patient

Alex Michaelides2018

A criminal psychotherapist becomes obsessed with treating a famous painter who shot her husband and has not spoken since.

propulsive → tense, still psychological thriller

pace0·prose+1·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.

propulsive → playful

pace-2·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.

propulsive → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator

pace-1·prose+3·bleak0

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, still unreliable narrator

pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen1813

Elizabeth Bennet navigates social expectations and her own prejudices against a wealthy landowner. The story focuses on marriage and class in 1813.

propulsive → wry

pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2

Changeless

Gail Carriger2010

A woman without a soul investigates a plague of spontaneous ghost-disappearances in Victorian London. She travels to Scotland via dirigible.

propulsive → playful

pace0·prose+1·bleak-2

Plum Lucky

Janet Evanovich2007

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum chases a man who stole a horse and a bag of money. Her grandmother and a mysterious ally join the pursuit.

propulsive → playful

pace0·prose0·bleak-2

Don't Turn Around

Jessica Barry2020

Two strangers drive through the New Mexico desert at night while a truck driver hunts them. The story alternates between the chase and their pasts.

Same propulsive register, still psychological thriller

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, still psychological thriller

pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

You

Caroline Kepnes2014

A bookstore manager becomes obsessed with a customer and uses social media to orchestrate a relationship. He removes obstacles through murder.

propulsive → sardonic, still psychological thriller

pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

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.

propulsive → playful

pace-2·prose+3·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.

propulsive → playful

pace-2·prose+3·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.

propulsive → meditative

pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

Shutter Island

Dennis Lehane2003

pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

The Wasp Factory

Iain Banks1984

A teenager living on a remote island performs violent rituals while waiting for his brother to return from an asylum.

propulsive → cold, still psychological thriller

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

Birdman

Mo Hayder1999

Detective Jack Caffery hunts a serial killer in London who performs surgical procedures on his victims while they are alive.

propulsive → bleak, still psychological thriller

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1