LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Likeness

Tana French2008

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Picnic at Hanging Rock

    Joan Lindsay1970

    Several schoolgirls and a teacher vanish during a Valentine's Day outing in 1900. The story follows the aftermath and the search for answers.

    Same dreamlike register

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

dreamlike → meditative

3 more ↓

  • Amberes

    Roberto Bolaño2002

    A fragmented series of fifty-six short sections follows a police officer, a redhead, and a hunchback through a series of loosely linked crimes.

    dreamlike → cold

    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.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    Same dreamlike register

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

dreamlike → playful

3 more ↓

  • Mile High

    Liz Tomforde2023

    A professional hockey player and a flight attendant clash on the team's private plane during a season-long road trip.

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Behind the Net

    Stephanie Archer2024

    A former musician becomes the live-in assistant for a professional hockey goalie she knew in high school.

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • She Went All the Way

    Meg Cabot2002

    A screenwriter and an actor survive a helicopter crash in the Alaskan wilderness and must hike to safety while being pursued by a killer.

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    dreamlike → propulsive, still psychological thriller

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Along Came a Spider

    James Patterson1993

    Detective Alex Cross hunts a private school teacher who kidnapped two high-profile students. The kidnapper mimics famous historical crimes.

    dreamlike → propulsive, still psychological thriller

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

  • Tell No One

    Harlan Coben2000

    A widower receives an email from his wife eight years after her murder. He flees the FBI to discover if she is still alive.

    dreamlike → propulsive, still psychological thriller

    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.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    dreamlike → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

dreamlike → tense, still psychological thriller

3 more ↓

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    pace+1·prose0·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.

    dreamlike → cold, still psychological thriller

    pace0·prose0·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.

    dreamlike → bleak, still psychological thriller

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1