After
Plugged
Eoin Colfer2011
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
Same sardonic register, still noir
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Last ditch
G. M. Ford1999
A Seattle private investigator discovers a skeleton in his father's backyard. He must investigate his late father's political past.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Der Koch
Martin Suter2010
A Tamil dishwasher and a waitress start an underground catering business using aphrodisiac recipes to serve Zurich's elite.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
Urban Renewal
Andrew Vachss2014
A professional hitman navigates the criminal underworld on a mission of vengeance. The story is told in a sparse, cynical noir style.
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
Dallas noir
David Hale Smith2013
This anthology features short stories from various authors, each set in a different neighborhood of Dallas, Texas.
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Something from the Nightside
Simon R. Green2003
A private eye with the ability to find anything returns to a hidden, magical London underworld. He takes a case to find a missing daughter.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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.
sardonic → cold, still noir
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Trainspotting
Irvine Welsh1993
A group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh navigate poverty, violence, and withdrawal. The narrative uses heavy phonetic Scottish dialect.
Same sardonic register, still noir
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
My Name Is Red
Orhan Pamuk
In 1591 Istanbul, miniaturists investigate a colleague's murder. Objects and colors narrate chapters alongside the human characters.
sardonic → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
A Higher Call
Adam Makos2013
In 1943, a German fighter pilot chooses not to shoot down a crippled American bomber. The book follows both men before and after the encounter.
sardonic → earnest
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
And One Last Thing...
Molly Harper2010
After a public divorce, a woman moves to a small town to start over and finds herself pursued by a local deputy.
sardonic → wry
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Pleasure of a Dark Prince
Kresley Cole2010
A Lykae prince follows a Valkyrie through the Amazon to protect her. He intends to claim her as his mate while she hunts for a mystical object.
sardonic → propulsive
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Perfection
R.L. Mathewson2011
A woman tries to ignore her neighbor, a man with a massive appetite who constantly steals her food. They bicker until a relationship forms.
sardonic → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Walking Disaster
Jamie McGuire2013
This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.
sardonic → propulsive
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+1bleak+1
Les gommes
Alain Robbe-Grillet1953
A detective spends twenty-four hours in a labyrinthine city searching for an assassin. The prose focuses on clinical, geometric descriptions.
sardonic → clinical, still noir
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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.
sardonic → cold, still noir
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+1bleak+1
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
John le Carré1963
A British agent pretends to defect to East Germany to frame a high-ranking official. The focus is on the bureaucratic coldness of espionage.
sardonic → cold, still noir
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-3prose+2bleak+1
Dhalgren
Samuel R. Delany1975
An amnesiac wanderer enters Bellona, a city cut off from the world where time and geography shift. He joins a gang and writes poetry.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+2·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Horace McCoy1935
Two strangers enter a grueling 1930s dance marathon for prize money. The narrative is framed by a murder trial.
sardonic → bleak, still noir
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Trainspotting
Irvine Welsh1993
A group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh navigate poverty, violence, and withdrawal. The narrative uses heavy phonetic Scottish dialect.
Same sardonic register, still noir
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
The Killer Inside Me
Jim Thompson1952
A small-town Texas deputy maintains a boring public persona to hide his identity as a serial killer. He describes his crimes in a flat, cold voice.
sardonic → cold, still noir
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
Every Dead Thing
John Connolly1999
A former detective haunted by his family's murder tracks a serial killer known as the Traveling Man. The story includes supernatural elements.
sardonic → bleak, still noir
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
