Alexei

Lethal Lies

Rebecca Zanetti2017

A woman uses herself as bait to catch the serial killer who murdered her sister. She works with a private investigator to track the murderer.

Same propulsive register, still romantic suspense

pace0·prose0·bleak0

Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert1856

A doctor's wife in provincial France seeks escape from her mundane life through expensive tastes and extramarital affairs.

propulsive → tense

pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

Paradise Logic

Sophie Kemp2025

A young woman follows advice from a magazine to become a perfect partner. Her quest involves surreal jobs and messages from the beyond.

propulsive → epic

pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

Mad Mabel

Sally Hepworth2025

An eighty-one-year-old woman with a history of killing people tries to hide her past when a curious young girl moves into the neighborhood.

propulsive → dark

pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

The Pursuit

Janet Evanovich2016

An FBI agent tracks down a kidnapped con man she was secretly working with. The chase moves from Hawaii to the remote mountains of Europe.

propulsive → playful, still romantic suspense

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Rock Chick Revenge

Kristen Ashley2018

Ava seeks vengeance against the men who hurt her, leading to a confrontation involving a private security team. It is a romance with heavy action.

propulsive → playful, still romantic suspense

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Body Movers

Stephanie Bond2006

A department store employee joins a body-transport service for a trip to Florida that involves a missing socialite and a loan shark.

propulsive → playful, still romantic suspense

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

The Risk

S.T. Abby2016

A serial killer seeking revenge on her childhood tormentors falls for the FBI profiler hunting her. She kills while he investigates.

pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

Breaking Point

Pamela Clare2011

A journalist and a deputy sheriff are targeted by a drug cartel in the Colorado mountains. They must survive the wilderness while being hunted.

propulsive → tense, still romantic suspense

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Quantum Radio

A.G. Riddle2023

A scientist at CERN discovers a signal from a parallel universe. He must flee a conspiracy while exploring the implications of the data.

Same propulsive register

pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

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

Absalom, Absalom!

William Faulkner1936

The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

propulsive → elegiac

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2

Either/Or

Søren Kierkegaard1992

A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

propulsive → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Tess of the D’Urbervilles

Thomas Hardy

A country girl is sent to claim kinship with wealthy relatives. Her life is derailed by a sequence of social betrayals and rigid moral standards.

propulsive → elegiac

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

Brokeback Mountain

Annie Proulx1997

Two ranch hands begin a secret sexual and emotional relationship in 1963 Wyoming. The story follows their occasional meetings over twenty years.

propulsive → elegiac

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

Bright Side

Kim Holden2014

An optimistic college student moves to Minnesota for a fresh start while hiding a terminal diagnosis from her best friend.

propulsive → tender

pace0·prose0·bleak+2