LitQueuelitqueue

After

New tricks

David Rosenfelt2009

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Clear and convincing proof

    Kate Wilhelm2003

    Attorney Barbara Holloway defends a client accused of murdering a surgeon who planned to close a local rehabilitation center.

    sardonic → earnest, still legal thriller

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The case of the fiery fingers

    Erle Stanley Gardner1951

    Perry Mason defends a nurse accused of theft and poison. The case hinges on forensic evidence involving ultraviolet light and aspirin tablets.

    sardonic → wry, still legal thriller

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Secret Adversary

    Agatha Christie1922

    Two broke friends in post-WWI London form a business for hire. Their first job involves a missing woman and a political conspiracy.

    sardonic → playful

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Faster

sardonic → propulsive, still legal thriller

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-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.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace+1·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.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace+1·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.

    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

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → clinical

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Lord of the Flies

    William Golding1954

    Schoolboys are stranded on an island and try to organize a society. Order collapses into tribalism and violence.

    sardonic → tense

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    sardonic → tense

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2