LitQueuelitqueue

After

Total Exposure

J.A. Huss

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Enigma

    Dee Davis2005

    A bomb specialist and a CIA operative track a serial bomber while navigating their own professional friction.

    Same propulsive register, still romantic suspense

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Madame Bovary

    Gustave Flaubert1856

    A doctor's wife in provincial France seeks escape from her mundane life through expensive tastes and extramarital affairs.

    propulsive → tense

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Paradise Logic

    Sophie Kemp2025

    A young woman follows advice from a magazine to become a perfect partner. Her quest involves surreal jobs and messages from the beyond.

    propulsive → epic

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Mad Mabel

    Sally Hepworth2025

    An eighty-one-year-old woman with a history of killing people tries to hide her past when a curious young girl moves into the neighborhood.

    propulsive → dark

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • No Ordinary Man

    Suzanne Brockmann2008

    A woman suspects her new tenant of being a serial killer after local women are murdered. She must decide if he is the culprit or her protector.

    propulsive → tense, still romantic suspense

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Quicksilver

    Jayne Ann Krentz2011

    A woman wakes up with a bloody knife and no memory. She teams up with a glass-hunter to clear her name using their psychic talents.

    propulsive → playful, still romantic suspense

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • Fish & Chips

    Abigail Roux2010

    Two FBI agents go undercover as a married couple on a Caribbean cruise to catch smugglers. The plot balances a criminal case with their romance.

    propulsive → playful, still romantic suspense

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Savage Prince

    Meghan March2018

    A powerful man in the New Orleans underworld becomes obsessed with a woman and pursues her despite the danger of his lifestyle.

    Same propulsive register, still romantic suspense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Ruthless People

    J.J. McAvoy2017

    The heirs to the Irish and Italian mobs marry to end a war. They compete for dominance while eliminating shared enemies.

    Same propulsive register, still romantic suspense

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • Quantum Radio

    A.G. Riddle2023

    A scientist at CERN discovers a signal from a parallel universe. He must flee a conspiracy while exploring the implications of the data.

    Same propulsive register

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    propulsive → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Tess of the D’Urbervilles

    Thomas Hardy

    A country girl is sent to claim kinship with wealthy relatives. Her life is derailed by a sequence of social betrayals and rigid moral standards.

    propulsive → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Brokeback Mountain

    Annie Proulx1997

    Two ranch hands begin a secret sexual and emotional relationship in 1963 Wyoming. The story follows their occasional meetings over twenty years.

    propulsive → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Bright Side

    Kim Holden2014

    An optimistic college student moves to Minnesota for a fresh start while hiding a terminal diagnosis from her best friend.

    propulsive → tender

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2