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After

The Girl Before

J.P. Delaney

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More like it

clinical → tense, still psychological thriller

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  • The Perfect Marriage

    Jeneva Rose2020

    A defense attorney represents her husband after he is accused of murdering his mistress. The narrative alternates between their perspectives.

    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.

    clinical → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·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.

    clinical → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1

  • The Turnout

    Megan Abbott2021

    Two sisters run a family ballet school until an outsider arrives and disrupts their equilibrium. It explores the physical toll of dance.

    clinical → tense, still psychological thriller

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

clinical → tense

3 more ↓

  • Fifty Shades Darker

    E.L. James2011

    A young woman resumes her relationship with a wealthy businessman while starting a new job. They navigate his past and his specific sexual needs.

    clinical → earnest

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • Release Me

    J. Kenner2013

    A billionaire with a need for control pursues a young woman who has her own secrets. They enter a physical relationship based on his terms.

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • The Lost Symbol

    Dan Brown2009

    Symbologist Robert Langdon follows a trail of Masonic puzzles through Washington D.C. monuments to save his kidnapped mentor.

    clinical → propulsive

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

Faster

clinical → propulsive, still psychological thriller

3 more ↓

  • Verity

    Colleen Hoover2018

    A ghostwriter moves into a secluded estate to finish a series for an injured author and finds a hidden, disturbing autobiography.

    clinical → tense, still psychological thriller

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • No Time for Goodbye

    Linwood Barclay2007

    Twenty-five years after her family vanished overnight, a woman receives a series of clues suggesting they may still be alive.

    clinical → propulsive, still domestic thriller

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • You

    Caroline Kepnes2014

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

    clinical → sardonic, still psychological thriller

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

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.

    clinical → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+3·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.

    clinical → 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.

    clinical → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

Heavier

clinical → tense, still psychological thriller

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

  • 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.

    clinical → cold, still psychological thriller

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2