Want to Know a Secret?

Things We Do in the Dark

Jennifer Hillier2022

A woman is accused of killing her famous husband. The media attention threatens to reveal a secret identity she has kept for twenty-five years.

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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.

tense → playful

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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.

tense → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator

pace-1·prose+3·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.

tense → cold, still unreliable narrator

pace-1·prose+3·bleak+2

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.

tense → propulsive

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Moneyball

Michael Lewis2003

The Oakland A's general manager uses statistical analysis to build a competitive baseball team on a budget. It follows the 2002 season.

tense → wry

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This Man

Jodi Ellen Malpas2013

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

Same tense register

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Honeymoon

James Patterson2001

An FBI agent tracks a woman who marries and murders wealthy men. The narrative follows her next seduction and his attempt to catch her.

tense → propulsive, still psychological thriller

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Never Lie

Freida McFadden2022

A couple trapped in a blizzard at a missing psychiatrist's estate find hidden tapes of her sessions. The story alternates between past and present.

tense → propulsive, still psychological thriller

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Verity

Colleen Hoover2018

A ghostwriter moves into a secluded estate to finish a series for an injured author and finds a hidden, disturbing autobiography.

Same tense register, still psychological thriller

pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

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.

tense → playful

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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.

tense → playful

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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.

tense → meditative

pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1

Sharp Objects

Gillian Flynn2006

A reporter returns to her hometown to cover the murders of two girls while grappling with her own history of self-harm.

Same tense register, still psychological thriller

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Shutter Island

Dennis Lehane2003

Same tense register, still psychological thriller

pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

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.

tense → cold, still psychological thriller

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2