After
A Spell for Trouble
Esme Addison2020
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
In the Company of Witches
Auralee Wallace2021
A young witch living in a small town uses her mediumship to solve the murder of a local resident while managing her family's B&B.
warm → playful, still cozy mystery
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Curiosity Thrilled the Cat
Sofie Kelly2011
A librarian in a small town investigates a murder with the help of two cats that can walk through walls. It is a paranormal cozy mystery.
Same warm register, still cozy mystery
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
A killer stitch
Maggie Sefton2007
In a Colorado town, a knitter investigates the death of an alpaca rancher found in a canyon during the holiday season.
Same warm register, still cozy mystery
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Coffee, tea, or murder?
Donald Bain2007
Jessica Fletcher travels to London for an airline's inaugural flight and investigates the murder of the company's owner.
Same warm register, still cozy mystery
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree
Susan Wittig Albert2010
In 1930s Alabama, members of a garden club investigate a local mystery involving a body found under a tree and a rumored treasure.
Same warm register, still cozy mystery
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
My Name Is Red
Orhan Pamuk
In 1591 Istanbul, miniaturists investigate a colleague's murder. Objects and colors narrate chapters alongside the human characters.
warm → meditative
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
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.
warm → cold
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
warm → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
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.
warm → dreamlike
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+3
American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis1991
A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.
warm → cold
pace0·prose+2·bleak+3
Faster
warm → propulsive
- pace+2prose-1bleak0
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
pace+2·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
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.
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
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.
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak+2
Kiss the Girls
James Patterson1995
Detective Alex Cross tracks two serial killers operating on opposite coasts who are communicating and competing with one another.
warm → tense
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+2prose-1bleak+2
Verity
Colleen Hoover2018
A ghostwriter moves into a secluded estate to finish a series for an injured author and finds a hidden, disturbing autobiography.
warm → tense
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
Slower
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
warm → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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.
warm → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
warm → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
warm → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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.
warm → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
Heavier
- pace0prose+2bleak+3
American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis1991
A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.
warm → cold
pace0·prose+2·bleak+3
- pace+1prose0bleak+3
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.
warm → tense
pace+1·prose0·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote1965
A reconstruction of the 1959 murder of a Kansas family and the subsequent investigation. It follows both the victims and the killers.
warm → clinical, still small town secrets
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace+1prose+1bleak+3
Lord of the Flies
William Golding1954
Schoolboys are stranded on an island and try to organize a society. Order collapses into tribalism and violence.
warm → tense
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3
