LitQueuelitqueue

After

Poseidon's Gold

Lindsey Davis1993

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Death in Fifth Position (Mentor Books)

    Gore Vidal1952

    A public relations man is hired by a ballet company and must investigate when a dancer is murdered during a performance.

    sardonic → wry, still noir

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

  • 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-1·prose+2·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

To recover

3 more ↓

  • A Pedigree To Die For

    Laurien Berenson1995

    A woman investigates the death of her uncle and the disappearance of a prize-winning poodle. She navigates the world of professional dog breeding.

    sardonic → playful, still amateur sleuth

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Thraxas

    Martin Millar

    An overweight, beer-drinking private investigator with minor magical abilities solves crimes in a corrupt fantasy city.

    sardonic → wry

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Catering to Nobody

    Diane Mott Davidson1990

    A Colorado caterer is accused of poisoning a guest at a wake. She investigates the murder to save her business and includes recipes in the text.

    sardonic → warm, still amateur sleuth

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

sardonic → propulsive

3 more ↓

  • 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+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Kiss the Girls

    James Patterson1995

    Detective Alex Cross tracks two serial killers operating on opposite coasts who are communicating and competing with one another.

    sardonic → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Verity

    Colleen Hoover2018

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

    sardonic → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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-2·prose+2·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

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    sardonic → tense, still noir

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+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

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2