LitQueuelitqueue

After

The naked eye

Iris Johansen2015

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The cutting

    James Hayman2009

    A detective in Maine investigates the mutilation of a high school girl. The search for the killer leads toward the city's wealthy elite.

    Same propulsive register, still thriller

    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.

    propulsive → 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.

    propulsive → 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.

    propulsive → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

To recover

Same propulsive register, still thriller

3 more ↓

  • Fast & loose

    Stuart Woods2017

    Wealthy investigator Stone Barrington deals with a hostile family after a boating accident. He manages legal and financial assets in Maine.

    propulsive → playful, still crime

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Chef

    James Patterson2019

    A New Orleans police detective who moonlights as a food truck chef is framed for murder. He must clear his name while uncovering a conspiracy.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Ghost Ship

    Clive Cussler2014

    Kurt Austin survives a yacht sinking but suffers from conflicting memories. He investigates a global cybercrime conspiracy to find the truth.

    Same propulsive register

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

Same propulsive register, still thriller

3 more ↓

  • Dark Tide

    Elizabeth Haynes2013

    A woman living on a boat in London discovers a body in the water. The narrative follows the police investigation and her own history of debt.

    propulsive → tense, still thriller

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Persuader

    Lee Child2003

    Jack Reacher goes undercover to infiltrate a drug kingpin's coastal estate. He seeks revenge for a colleague murdered ten years prior.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Pursuit

    Thomas Perry2001

    A specialist who tracks down killers is hired to find a man who committed a mass shooting at a restaurant.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

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.

    propulsive → 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.

    propulsive → 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.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

propulsive → bleak, still crime

3 more ↓

  • Páradais

    Fernanda Melchor2020

    Two teenagers in a luxury housing complex plot a crime to escape their lives. The prose consists of long, rhythmic, and breathless sentences.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Full Dark, No Stars

    Stephen King2010

    Four novellas explore the themes of retribution and the capacity for violence. Characters commit and suffer from crimes in isolated settings.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • The Virgin Suicides

    Jeffrey Eugenides

    A group of neighborhood boys obsessively observes five sisters in 1970s Michigan. They document the girls' lives leading up to their suicides.

    propulsive → tense, still crime

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2