LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Ice Princess

Camilla Läckberg2008

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Pyramiden

    Henning Mankell1999

    Five short stories follow Kurt Wallander’s early career as a patrolman and his transition into a detective.

    Same meditative register, still nordic noir

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

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.

    meditative → playful

    pace-1·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.

    meditative → dreamlike

    pace0·prose+2·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.

    Same meditative register

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    meditative → warm, still small town

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Trouble With Magic

    Madelyn Alt2006

    A shop clerk in a small town discovers she has heritage in witchcraft while investigating a local murder.

    meditative → playful, still small town

    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.

    meditative → propulsive, still police procedural

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Golden Prey

    John Sandford2017

    A U.S. Marshal tracks a pair of thieves who robbed a drug cartel and killed a small child during their escape.

    meditative → propulsive, still police procedural

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

  • The Crucifix Killer

    Chris Carter2010

    An LA detective finds a signature mark on a victim that suggests a previously executed serial killer is still active or has a copycat.

    meditative → propulsive, still police procedural

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Memory Man

    David Baldacci2015

    A detective with a brain injury that prevents him from forgetting anything hunts for the person who murdered his family.

    meditative → propulsive, still police procedural

    pace+2·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.

    meditative → playful

    pace-1·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.

    meditative → playful

    pace-1·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.

    Same meditative register

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Mystic River

    Dennis Lehane2001

    Three childhood friends are reunited in Boston when one's daughter is murdered. One is the detective, one the father, and one the lead suspect.

    meditative → bleak, still police procedural

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Birdman

    Mo Hayder1999

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

    meditative → bleak, still police procedural

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+2

  • Broken Harbor

    Tana French2012

    A detective investigates a family murdered in a failed housing development. The story focuses on the investigator's mental unraveling.

    meditative → bleak, still police procedural

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2