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Fiction Filters

Trope tagging and searching for books

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Books

Mystery

This is the preferred term. Synonyms are included. You can turn off synonyms.

Broader terms: Realistic fiction

Narrower terms: Historical mystery, Cozy mystery, Procedural, Hobby mystery, Paranormal mystery, Bounty hunter mystery, Noir mystery, Whodunit, Serial killer mystery, Occult mystery, Forensic procedural, Detective mystery, Police procedural, FBI procedural, Locked room mystery

Petty Treason

Cover art for Petty Treason
by Madeleine E. Robins

Series:

Sarah Tolerance

Genres:

Alternate history, Fantasy of manners, Historical mystery

Tropes:

Characters:

Detective, Swordswoman

Time Periods:

Regency Era

Places:

London

Point of Honour

Cover art for Point of Honour
by Madeleine E. Robins

Series:

Sarah Tolerance

Genres:

Alternate history, Fantasy of manners, Historical mystery

Tropes:

Characters:

Detective, Swordswoman

Time Periods:

Regency Era

Places:

London

The Missing Page

Cover art for The Missing Page
by Cat Sebastian

Series:

Page and Sommers

Genres:

Cozy mystery, Historical mystery

Tropes:

Complicated inheritance, Dysfunctional family, Secret relationship

Characters:

Doctor, Spy, Transgender side character(s), White/European main character(s)

Time Periods:

1940s, Post WWII

Places:

Cornwall

Arsenic and Adobo

Cover art for Arsenic and Adobo
by Mia P. Manansala

Series:

Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery Series

Genres:

Cozy mystery

Tropes:

Amateur detective, Back home from the big city, Best friend's brother, Family first, Framed for a crime, Love triangle, Shitty exes

Characters:

Baker, Characters in their 20s, Cisgender woman main character(s), East Asian diasporic side character(s), Lesbian side character(s), South Asian diasporic side character(s), Southeast Asian diasporic main character(s), Southeast Asian diasporic side character(s), Stubborn main character

Time Periods:

2010-2020

Places:

Illinois, Restaurant, Small town

The Maltese Falcon

by Dashiell Hammett

Series:

Genres:

Noir mystery

Tropes:

Conspiracy

Characters:

Time Periods:

Places:

San Francisco

Final Girls

by Riley Sager

Series:

Genres:

Serial killer mystery, Thriller

Tropes:

Betrayal, Camping murder spree, Final girl, Killer in plain sight, Killing the Survivors, Manipulative bastard, Murdered in the forest, Spree Killer, Tragic backstory

Characters:

Character(s) with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Characters in their 20s, Cisgender woman main character(s), Detective, Final girl

Time Periods:

Information Age

Places:

City, Forest, Northeastern United States

Gideon the Ninth

Cover art for Gideon the Ninth
by Tamsyn Muir

Series:

The Locked Tomb

Genres:

Occult mystery, Science fiction, Speculative fiction, Sword and sorcery

Tropes:

Anyone can die, Dysfunctional family, Everyone is gay, Tragic backstory, Unreliable narrator, Women loving women

Characters:

Characters in their late teens, Cisgender woman main character(s), Lesbian main character(s), Loner, Necromancer, Orphan, Queer side character(s), Warrior

Time Periods:

Long-Term Future

Places:

Castle, Fictional planet, Outer space

Alice Isn’t Dead

Cover art for Alice Isn't Dead
by Joseph Fink

Series:

Genres:

Creature horror, Paranormal mystery, Science fiction

Tropes:

Conspiracy, Depressing road trip, Inhuman killer, Missing spouse, Second chance romance, Stranger than fiction, The bad guys aren't human, Woman in a man's world, Women loving women

Characters:

African American main character(s), American main character, Character(s) with anxiety, Character(s) with depression, Characters in their 30s, Lesbian main character(s), Truck driver

Time Periods:

Information Age

Places:

United States

Search books…

Include:

Genres

Tropes

Character Traits

Setting: Time Period

Setting: Location

Sex Ratings

Language Ratings

Violence Ratings

Ending Type

Content Notes or Warnings

Appeal

Publication Date

Note that we don't have dates for all the books in our database.

Exclude:

Genres

Tropes

Character Traits

Setting: Time Period

Setting: Location

Sex Ratings

Language Ratings

Violence Ratings

Ending Type

Content Notes or Warnings

Appeal

Authors

Publishers

Publication Date

Note that we don't have dates for all the books in our database.

Search Tips

  • use “quotation marks around a phrase” to search for an exact phrase
  • use – in front of a word or quoted phrase to exclude it from the search results, e.g. -“enemies to lovers”
  • right now, the checkbox options aren’t narrowed down as you search, but stay tuned! We’re working on it.

This is an academic research project on crowdsourced tagging and building a vocabulary for fiction.

How does this work?

  1. Add books to our database, if the book you want to tag isn’t already there. You can import your books from StoryGraph or Goodreads if you want to save time.
  2. Add tags to the books. Your tag set is your own, and you’ll be able to come back and edit it if you want. Other taggers can’t view your tag set or overwrite your tags.
  3. View the book, and use the tags to see what other books share your favorite tropes and characters!
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