LitQueuelitqueue

After

Touch & go

Lisa Gardner2013

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tense register, still psychological thriller

1 more ↓

  • The Prisoner

    B.A. Paris2022

    Amelie is kidnapped and held in a dark room shortly after marrying a billionaire. The story alternates between her past and her captivity.

    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 ↓

  • Body Movers

    Stephanie Bond2006

    A department store employee joins a body-transport service for a trip to Florida that involves a missing socialite and a loan shark.

    tense → playful

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • The Unknown Ajax

    Georgette Heyer1959

    A family expects a crude heir to arrive at their estate, but the new arrival is more clever than he appears. He plays the fool to test his relatives.

    tense → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

  • Nobody's Baby But Mine

    Susan Elizabeth Phillips1997

    A physics professor decides to have a child with a man she believes is unintelligent. She chooses a professional quarterback as the father.

    tense → playful

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Honeymoon

    James Patterson2001

    An FBI agent tracks a woman who marries and murders wealthy men. The narrative follows her next seduction and his attempt to catch her.

    tense → propulsive, still psychological thriller

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • Never Lie

    Freida McFadden2022

    A couple trapped in a blizzard at a missing psychiatrist's estate find hidden tapes of her sessions. The story alternates between past and present.

    tense → propulsive, still psychological thriller

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • Verity

    Colleen Hoover2018

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

    Same tense register, still psychological thriller

    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 ↓

  • Sharp Objects

    Gillian Flynn2006

    A reporter returns to her hometown to cover the murders of two girls while grappling with her own history of self-harm.

    Same tense register, still psychological thriller

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    Same tense register, still psychological thriller

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

  • The Wasp Factory

    Iain Banks1984

    A teenager living on a remote island performs violent rituals while waiting for his brother to return from an asylum.

    tense → cold, still psychological thriller

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2