LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Shadow of the Wind

Carlos Ruiz Zafón2009

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The Ghost Writer

    John Harwood2004

    A man discovers his mother's secret past through a collection of Victorian ghost stories that seem to mirror his own life.

    Same elegiac register, still gothic

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • My Name Is Red

    Orhan Pamuk

    In 1591 Istanbul, miniaturists investigate a colleague's murder. Objects and colors narrate chapters alongside the human characters.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace-2·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.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • This Girl

    Colleen Hoover2013

    A husband retells the story of his early relationship to his wife. It uses dual timelines to revisit events from the first book in the series.

    elegiac → earnest

    pace-1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Walking Disaster

    Jamie McGuire2013

    This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

  • This Man

    Jodi Ellen Malpas2013

    An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.

    elegiac → tense

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Housemaid's Secret

    Freida McFadden2023

    A housemaid with a criminal record takes a job for a wealthy couple. She becomes obsessed with the wife she is forbidden from seeing.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak0

  • 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.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+1·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.

    elegiac → tense

    pace+1·prose-2·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.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The Anatomist's Wife

    Anna Lee Huber2012

    In 1830s Scotland, a widow who draws anatomical diagrams is suspected of murder. She must use her skills to find the real killer.

    elegiac → tense, still gothic

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak0

  • The House at Riverton

    Kate Morton2005

    A 98-year-old housemaid recalls a 1924 society party at a grand estate that ended in a poet's suicide and a family secret.

    Same elegiac register, still gothic

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓