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The Leavenworth case

Anna Katharine Green1878

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Original Sin

    P. D. James1994

    Commander Adam Dalgliesh investigates the murder of a ruthless managing director at a London publishing house. The suspects are all employees.

    earnest → clinical, still traditional mystery

    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.

    earnest → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    earnest → dreamlike

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Niccolò Rising

    Dorothy Dunnett1986

    A dyer’s apprentice in 15th-century Bruges uses his intellect to navigate the world of international trade. He builds a mercantile empire.

    earnest → wry

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The case of the musical cow

    Erle Stanley Gardner1950

    A dog trainer is framed for smuggling after returning from Europe. He must find the real criminals to clear his name.

    earnest → propulsive, still traditional mystery

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Fer-de-Lance

    Rex Stout1941

    Nero Wolfe solves a murder involving a poisoned golf club without leaving his brownstone. His assistant Archie Goodwin does the legwork.

    earnest → wry, still traditional mystery

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Death of a Cad

    M.C. Beaton

    A village policeman investigates the death of a wealthy guest during a weekend party at a Scottish highland estate.

    earnest → wry, still traditional mystery

    pace0·prose-2·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.

    earnest → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·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.

    earnest → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·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.

    earnest → tense

    pace+2·prose-2·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.

    earnest → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    earnest → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    earnest → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    earnest → clinical

    pace0·prose0·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.

    earnest → tense

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+2

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    earnest → tense

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+2