After
The Gangs of San Francisco
Herbert Asbury1933
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Easy Money
Ben McKenzie2023
An actor travels the world to interview founders and victims of the cryptocurrency industry. He documents evidence of systemic fraud.
Same sardonic register, still true crime
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Poseidon's Gold
Lindsey Davis1993
In ancient Rome, private informer Marcus Didius Falco investigates a murder and a stolen gold hoard to clear his family name.
Same sardonic register, still historical
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The last duel
Eric Jager2004
A knight and a squire fight a judicial duel to the death in 1386 France after a nobleman's wife accuses the squire of rape.
sardonic → clinical, still true crime
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Empire of sin
Gary Krist2014
A non-fiction account of New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century. It follows the vice district's czar, jazz musicians, and an active axe-man.
sardonic → wry, still true crime
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
The Devil in the White City
Erik Larson2003
Parallel true stories of the 1893 World's Fair architect and a serial killer operating nearby. It uses historical records to reconstruct events.
sardonic → tense, still true crime
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+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-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+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-1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+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
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+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-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
The Sentinel
Lee Child2020
A drifter helps an IT manager targeted by criminals after a cyberattack. He uses physical force to protect the man and uncover a conspiracy.
sardonic → propulsive
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-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.
Same sardonic register
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-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
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake
Frank W. Abagnale
A teenager poses as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer to cash millions in fraudulent checks. He evades the FBI across several countries.
sardonic → playful, still true crime
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Sticks & scones
Diane Mott Davidson2001
A caterer prepares Elizabethan dishes for a series of events at a Colorado castle while investigating a murder.
sardonic → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
sardonic → propulsive
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
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
- pace+1prose-1bleak+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
- pace-2prose+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-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Umbrella
Will Self2013
A psychiatrist in 1971 treats a woman who has been catatonic for decades. The prose shifts between eras and consciousnesses without paragraph breaks.
sardonic → clinical, still historical
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+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-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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
sardonic → clinical, still true crime
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
Columbine
Jeff Kass2009
A journalist provides a detailed account of the 1999 Colorado school shooting based on a decade of research and police files.
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Patrick Süskind
In 18th-century France, a man with a genius sense of smell murders women to capture their scents. The prose is detached and sensory.
sardonic → cold, still historical
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done?
Eric Powell2021
A graphic novel documenting the life of Ed Gein and the 1950s Wisconsin crimes that inspired several horror films.
sardonic → bleak, still true crime
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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