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After

Mad Honey

Jodi Picoult2022

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • A Walk Across the Sun

    Corban Addison2012

    Two orphaned sisters are sold into human trafficking in India while an American lawyer joins a task force to find them.

    Same earnest register, still legal thriller

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Don Quixote

    Kathy Acker1986

    A woman undergoes an abortion and adopts the persona of Don Quixote to pursue a quest in a fragmented, postmodern landscape.

    earnest → sardonic

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Gravity's Rainbow

    Thomas Pynchon1973

    During the end of WWII, an American lieutenant's sexual encounters seem to predict where German V-2 rockets will fall. The narrative is fragmented.

    earnest → sardonic

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • A Brief History of Seven Killings

    Marlon James2014

    A large cast of characters recounts the 1976 attempt on Bob Marley's life. The narrative spans decades and moves from Jamaica to New York.

    earnest → propulsive

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

To recover

earnest → playful

3 more ↓

  • Size 14 Is Not Fat Either

    Meg Cabot

    A former pop star working at a college dormitory investigates the murder of a cheerleader. She balances the case with her own personal life.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Secrets

    Fern Michaels2022

    Siblings who restore antiques find a locked diary and a carnival flyer in a mysterious steamer chest. They work to find the owner.

    earnest → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    earnest → sardonic, still legal thriller

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The people vs. Alex Cross

    James Patterson2017

    Detective Alex Cross stands trial for murder while his partner investigates a series of kidnappings. The story moves between the court and the hunt.

    earnest → propulsive, still legal thriller

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Child 44

    Tom Rob Smith2008

    A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.

    earnest → tense

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Candide

    Voltaire

    A naive young man travels the world while his tutor insists that everything is for the best. He encounters a series of global catastrophes.

    earnest → sardonic

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Foster

    Claire Keegan1900

    A young girl from a crowded home is sent to live with a childless couple on an Irish farm. She experiences a different style of parenting.

    earnest → tender, still domestic fiction

    pace-2·prose+1·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.

    earnest → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Holiday

    Stanley Middleton1974

    A schoolteacher stays at a seaside resort to evaluate his failing marriage through quiet observation and memory.

    earnest → meditative, still domestic fiction

    pace-2·prose0·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • I'll Go to Bed at Noon

    Gerard Woodward2004

    The Jones family spends a decade succumbing to alcoholism. The book tracks their physical and social disintegration in 1970s Britain.

    earnest → bleak, still domestic fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • The Road

    Cormac McCarthy2006

    A father and son walk through a landscape of ash and scavengers toward the coast. They carry only what fits in a shopping cart.

    earnest → bleak

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • The Underground Railroad

    Colson Whitehead2016

    Two slaves escape a Georgia plantation via a literal underground train system while being pursued by a slave catcher.

    earnest → bleak

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2