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After

Reluctant hero

Debra Webb2017

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tense register, still romantic suspense

1 more ↓

  • If She Only Knew

    Lisa Jackson2000

    A woman wakes from a car crash with amnesia and a new face after reconstructive surgery. She suspects her family is lying to her.

    pace0·prose+1·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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·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.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+3·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.

    tense → cold

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak+2

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Drop Dead Gorgeous

    Linda Howard2006

    While planning her wedding, a former cheerleader survives a hit-and-run and tries to convince her detective fiancé she is being targeted.

    tense → playful, still romantic suspense

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Don't Look Down

    Jennifer Crusie2007

    A director struggles to film an action movie while dealing with her ex-husband and a rigid military consultant.

    tense → wry, still romantic suspense

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Code Name: Baby

    Christina Skye2005

    A Navy SEAL protects a civilian trainer and four genetically enhanced service dogs from mercenaries. It is a fast-paced romantic suspense novel.

    tense → propulsive, still romantic suspense

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • New York to Dallas

    J.D. Robb2011

    A homicide lieutenant pursues a serial killer who escaped prison. The chase takes her back to her childhood home in Dallas to face her own trauma.

    Same tense register, still romantic suspense

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Sidetracked (Mindf*ck #2)

    S.T. Abby2016

    As Lana continues her revenge killings, she is targeted by a new threat. Her boyfriend, an FBI profiler, tries to protect her from himself.

    tense → propulsive, still romantic suspense

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    tense → propulsive

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·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.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·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.

    tense → clinical

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    Same tense register

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    Same tense register

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2