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After

Zero Day

David Baldacci2011

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same propulsive register, still crime

1 more ↓

  • Cold Hit

    Stephen J. Cannell2005

    LAPD detective Shane Scully investigates a series of murders that lead to a high-level conspiracy involving federal agencies.

    Same propulsive register, still conspiracy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

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.

    propulsive → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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

3 more ↓

  • The Rooster Bar

    John Grisham2017

    Three law students realize their school is a scam and drop out to pose as lawyers. They steal identities to survive and pay off their debts.

    propulsive → sardonic

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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 Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra

    Vaseem Khan2015

    A retired police inspector in Mumbai investigates a boy's death while caring for a baby elephant inherited from his uncle.

    propulsive → warm

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Days of rage

    Brad Taylor2014

    A black ops team tracks a weapon of mass destruction from Russia to a Nigerian extremist group. The plot moves quickly across global locations.

    Same propulsive register, still military thriller

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Extreme Prey

    John Sandford2016

    While working on a presidential campaign, Lucas Davenport tracks an armed man planning to assassinate the governor.

    Same propulsive register, still crime

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Use of force

    Brad Thor2017

    Navy SEAL Scot Harvath is hired to track a missing terrorist after a body washes up in Italy. He works outside the law to stop a summer attack.

    Same propulsive register, still military thriller

    pace+1·prose-1·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