Sometimes, the manner in which a story is conveyed may prove to be as compelling as the events themselves. Instead of adhering to conventional narration, perceptive writers adopt innovative formats such as emails, transcripts, photographs, or even redacted documents to craft a more engaging and multifaceted experience. These distinctive styles effectively immerse the audience, fostering a sense of being a detective, a confidant, or an active participant in the core of the action.
If you love novels that push boundaries and challenge what a book can be, here are some incredible reads that prove form and content can work hand in hand to heighten the experience.
1. The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich
This haunting YA psychological thriller unfolds through fragmented formats—therapy notes, digital messages, emails, and written reflections—that mirror the chaos of the protagonist’s unraveling mind. The unconventional structure amplifies the intensity, making readers feel like they’re experiencing the breakdown in real time.
2. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
This sci-fi thriller is told through hacked documents, chat logs, classified files, and ship schematics. The fragmented storytelling keeps the tension sky-high and makes the space battles feel immediate.
Illuminae (The Illuminae Files)
“It certainly filled the Battlestar Galactica–shaped hole in my heart.” —Victoria Aveyard, bestselling author of The Red Queen
3. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
A cult classic, this novel weaves footnotes within footnotes, different fonts, and strange layouts to create a disorienting reading experience that mirrors the horror of a shifting, impossible house.
House of Leaves: The Remastered Full-Color Edition
”Simultaneously reads like a thriller and like a strange, dreamlike excursion into the subconscious.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
4. The Appeal by Janice Hallett
A modern murder mystery told entirely through emails, texts, and documents. Readers become armchair detectives, sifting through the evidence to figure out who committed the crime.
The Appeal: A Novel
Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell, this international bestseller and “dazzlingly clever” (The Sunday Times, London) murder mystery follows a community rallying around a sick child—but when escalating lies lead to a dead body, everyone is a suspect.
5. Sadie by Courtney Summers
Partly written as a podcast transcript and partly as Sadie’s narrative, this YA thriller blends true-crime podcast vibes with a deeply emotional story.
6. Night Film by Marisha Pessl
Told through interviews, news clippings, web pages, and photographs, this creepy thriller feels like diving down a rabbit hole of internet sleuthing.
Night Film: A Novel
“A hair-raising mystery that’s equal parts family drama, horror movie, and jigsaw puzzle. . . . It’s impossible to look away.”— People (four stars)
7. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
This Pulitzer Prize–winning novel experiments with perspective and even includes a chapter written entirely as a PowerPoint presentation.
A Visit from the Goon Squad: Pulitzer Prize Winner
Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs.
8. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
The story is interwoven with eerie vintage photographs, making the supernatural tale even more immersive.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children)
A captivating blend of horror, dark fantasy, paranormal mystery, and time travel brought to life with more than 50 haunting vintage photographs
9. Ill Will by Dan Chaon
Chaon breaks up timelines, uses unusual spacing, and fragments the narrative—perfectly reflecting the unreliability of memory and trauma.
Ill Will: A Novel
Two sensational unsolved crimes—one in the past, another in the present—are linked by one man’s memory and self-deception in this chilling novel of literary suspense.
10. S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst
This book within a book includes margin notes, postcards, and inserts, creating a layered narrative where the physical object is part of the story.
11. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
Told through interviews, transcripts, and mission reports, this sci-fi novel feels like classified government documents piecing together the discovery of alien technology.
Sleeping Giants (The Themis Files)
A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings.
12. Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
A quirky mystery told through emails, letters, reports, and journal entries—capturing the eccentric voice of Bernadette as her disappearance unravels.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette: A Novel
A misanthropic matriarch leaves her eccentric family in crisis when she mysteriously disappears in this “whip-smart and divinely funny” novel that inspired the movie starring Cate Blanchett (New York Times).
13. World War Z by Max Brooks
Structured as an oral history, this post-apocalyptic tale is a series of interviews with survivors of the zombie war, giving it chilling realism.
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
We survived the zombie apocalypse, but how many of us are still haunted by that terrible time? We have (temporarily?) defeated the living dead, but at what cost? Told in the haunting and riveting voices of the men and women who witnessed the horror firsthand, World War Z is the only record of the pandemic.
14. Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose by Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil
A nonfiction collection of letters and diary entries, this memoir’s raw honesty makes the format feel intimate and immediate.
Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose
Told through the actual diary entries of a real teenage girl, Dear Nobody chronicles Mary Rose’s struggles with drug addiction, bullying, and a deadly secret in this raw, authentic book. Her story will inspire you―and remind you that you’re not alone.
15. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
This epistolary novel unfolds through letters as an island bans letters of the alphabet one by one, forcing the story itself to change shape.
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters
A hilarious and moving story of one girl’s fight for freedom of expression, as well as a linguistic tour de force sure to delight word lovers everywhere.
Why These Formats Work So Well
Books like these don’t just tell you a story—they make you feel like you’re living it. Whether you’re scanning emails, reading redacted documents, or flipping through photographs, you’re not a bystander. You’re part of the mystery.
If you’re craving novels that break the mold and challenge what a book can be, these titles prove that form can be just as powerful as content.
