LitQueuelitqueue

After

Folly

Laurie R. King2001

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The shape of snakes

    Minette Walters2000

    A woman spends twenty years investigating the death of a neighbor she believes was murdered. The story follows her obsession through a cold case.

    meditative → tense, still psychological thriller

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

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.

    meditative → cold

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    meditative → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Speaking of Summer

    Kalisha Buckhanon2019

    A woman searches for her twin sister who vanished from a Harlem rooftop. She navigates police apathy and her own deteriorating mental state.

    meditative → elegiac, still psychological thriller

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Score

    Elle Kennedy2016

    A college senior has a one-night stand with a hockey player to get over a breakup. They continue the arrangement as graduation approaches.

    meditative → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • All Rhodes Lead Here

    Mariana Zapata2021

    A woman moves back to her Colorado hometown after a breakup and rents a garage apartment from a grumpy single father.

    meditative → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Hannah's List

    Debbie Macomber2010

    A widower receives a letter from his late wife suggesting three women he should date. He begins to interact with each woman over the following year.

    meditative → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

meditative → propulsive, still psychological thriller

3 more ↓

  • Verity

    Colleen Hoover2018

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

    meditative → tense, still psychological thriller

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Angels & Demons

    Dan Brown2000

    A symbologist and a scientist race through Rome to stop an ancient secret society from destroying the Vatican. It takes place over 24 hours.

    meditative → propulsive, still mystery

    pace+2·prose-1·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.

    pace+2·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.

    meditative → playful

    pace-1·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.

    meditative → playful

    pace-1·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.

    Same meditative register

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

meditative → tense, still psychological thriller

3 more ↓

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    pace+1·prose+1·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.

    meditative → cold, still psychological thriller

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Birdman

    Mo Hayder1999

    Detective Jack Caffery hunts a serial killer in London who performs surgical procedures on his victims while they are alive.

    meditative → bleak, still psychological thriller

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+2