Hollywood moon

Bones

Jonathan Kellerman2008

Psychologist Alex Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis investigate a series of bodies found in a Los Angeles bird marsh.

pace0·prose0·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.

sardonic → playful

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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.

sardonic → dreamlike

pace-1·prose+2·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.

sardonic → cold

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

Secrets in Death

J.D. Robb2017

Lt. Eve Dallas investigates the murder of a professional gossip columnist in a futuristic New York City.

sardonic → propulsive, still police procedural

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Death of a Celebrity

Marion Chesney2002

A television reporter is found dead in a Scottish village after antagonizing the locals. Constable Hamish Macbeth investigates the suspicious death.

sardonic → wry, still police procedural

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Heat wave

Richard Castle2009

A New York homicide detective investigates a real estate mogul's death while a magazine journalist shadows her. It is a police procedural.

sardonic → playful, still police procedural

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

The Crucifix Killer

Chris Carter2010

An LA detective finds a signature mark on a victim that suggests a previously executed serial killer is still active or has a copycat.

pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

Memory Man

David Baldacci2015

A detective with a brain injury that prevents him from forgetting anything hunts for the person who murdered his family.

pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

Little boy blue

M. J. Arlidge2016

Detective Helen Grace investigates a murder in a BDSM club. Her own presence at the scene as a regular client complicates the search for the killer.

sardonic → tense, still police procedural

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.

sardonic → 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.

sardonic → 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.

sardonic → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Broken Harbor

Tana French2012

A detective investigates a family murdered in a failed housing development. The story focuses on the investigator's mental unraveling.

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

Shadow Man

Cody McFadyen2006

An FBI agent with a traumatic past tracks a serial killer who targets families. The narrative details extreme physical and psychological torture.

sardonic → tense, still police procedural

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

Phantom

Jo Nesbø

Harry Hole returns to Oslo to clear his stepson of a murder charge. He descends into the city's drug scene to find the real killer.

pace0·prose0·bleak+2