LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes [12 stories]

Arthur Conan Doyle1892

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Egyptian Cross Mystery

    Ellery Queen1932

    Ellery Queen investigates a series of beheadings across America that leave the victims in the shape of a cross.

    wry → propulsive, still locked room

    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.

    wry → playful

    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.

    wry → 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.

    wry → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The clue of the new pin

    Edgar Wallace1923

    A reporter investigates the murder of a wealthy miser found dead inside a locked cellar vault.

    wry → propulsive, still locked room

    pace0·prose0·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.

    Same wry register

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Secrets in Death

    J.D. Robb2017

    Lt. Eve Dallas investigates the murder of a professional gossip columnist in a futuristic New York City.

    wry → propulsive

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

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.

    wry → 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.

    wry → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Kiss the Girls

    James Patterson1995

    Detective Alex Cross tracks two serial killers operating on opposite coasts who are communicating and competing with one another.

    wry → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

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.

    wry → playful

    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.

    wry → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·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.

    wry → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

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.

    wry → 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.

    wry → tense

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    wry → tense

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2