This was a tough one for me, because as I write in the same genre these are the very covers I pay the most attention to. I love both Stephanie and Jennies--they are both covers I would love to have on a future book--both give a good sense of suspense, and are very appealing.
Tough call on this one--I kept going back and forth on THREE. But I went with the one that gripped me the hardest on first sight--Murder by the Book. The bullet and blood dripping are effective storytelling in a cover!
I have to go for the Betsy Brannon Green cover, too. Even without the title, you know immediately it means murder!
The cover for the Stephanie Black book just makes my fingers twitch. I can't think of murder, mystery, or mayhem when I see that; instead, I just want to grab that hair and secure it in a wind-resistant ponytail. It's a personal quirk because I'm not a fan of long hair in my personal life. And on the cover of Jennie Hansen's book, the hand doesn't look threatening enough -- sorry. It looks like the model simply laid his hand over her face, barely touching her skin, and any sense of suspense or threat was lost (to me, anyway.)
An addition to my first post -- the cover of the Brenda Novak book is very striking, too. You see the beautiful woman, the spider web, and immediately think, "Black widow!"
I liked the juxtaposition of the lemon tart with the "police do not cross" tape, too, on Josi Kilpack's book. But ultimately, I went with my other choice.
The Lemon Tart cover worked for me. It's as good as anything I've seen on a Joanna Fluke or Pamela Mott Davidson cover and it tells exactly what kind of book I'm going to pick up. There were two other covers here I thought worked really well but ultimately, I also like the police tape with the lemon tart. I automatically wonder what the story is.
The best thing about The Perfect Liar is the shadow of the spider web over that very lovely almost innocent face. That's what did it for me. However, I don't like the way the author's name and title fight with that image. The orange coloring bugs me a bit. But I keep going back to the face and the web.
I love the simplicity and color of the Lemon Tart cover. It's borderline boring until they draped that police tape across the front. That juxtaposition of mundane vs deadly got my attention and held it. I had to buy it. Just had to.
Unlike some of the commenters, I love that flowing hair on Methods of Madness. And the expression in the eye? Looks just a tad off balance to me. Of course, I may be unduly influenced by the green title, which I think pops against that black background. And it's green, not red (which would be the obvious choice). I like that eerie subtlety to this one.
Shudder is good. Real good. The first thing you see are those eyes and they don't let go! I like the way the title gives a little shudder of its own, and the coloring is soft so it doesn't detract from the eyes. I love that the face and the hand take up the hole cover space. Although, like another commenter, I'd like to see the fear in the eyes and the menacing of the hand pumped up just a tad.
Oh. My. Gosh. The bullet holes and dripping blood on Murder by the Book just creeps me out! Which is exactly what this type of book cover is supposed to do. I saw this in the bookstore before I saw it online and my hand had picked it up before my brain realized what I was doing. Automatic reaction = winner.
The Perfect Liar by Brenda Novak
12 comments:
This was a tough one for me, because as I write in the same genre these are the very covers I pay the most attention to. I love both Stephanie and Jennies--they are both covers I would love to have on a future book--both give a good sense of suspense, and are very appealing.
Tough call on this one--I kept going back and forth on THREE. But I went with the one that gripped me the hardest on first sight--Murder by the Book. The bullet and blood dripping are effective storytelling in a cover!
I have to go for the Betsy Brannon Green cover, too. Even without the title, you know immediately it means murder!
The cover for the Stephanie Black book just makes my fingers twitch. I can't think of murder, mystery, or mayhem when I see that; instead, I just want to grab that hair and secure it in a wind-resistant ponytail. It's a personal quirk because I'm not a fan of long hair in my personal life. And on the cover of Jennie Hansen's book, the hand doesn't look threatening enough -- sorry. It looks like the model simply laid his hand over her face, barely touching her skin, and any sense of suspense or threat was lost (to me, anyway.)
An addition to my first post -- the cover of the Brenda Novak book is very striking, too. You see the beautiful woman, the spider web, and immediately think, "Black widow!"
I liked the juxtaposition of the lemon tart with the "police do not cross" tape, too, on Josi Kilpack's book. But ultimately, I went with my other choice.
I voted for my own book, Shudder, because it is one of the most effective covers I've ever had. It grabs attention.
The Lemon Tart cover worked for me. It's as good as anything I've seen on a Joanna Fluke or Pamela Mott Davidson cover and it tells exactly what kind of book I'm going to pick up. There were two other covers here I thought worked really well but ultimately, I also like the police tape with the lemon tart. I automatically wonder what the story is.
I chose Lemon Tart. I love the colors and the clean feel of it. It didn't creep me out and it didn't over stimulate my senses either.
Lemon Tart because yellow is my favorite color, so it really appealed to me. The others were a little too scary/gross for my tastes.
I choose Lemon Tart too. It looks too delicious for the potential reader to ignore.
Methods of Madness! I LOVE books with partially veiled faces! Down with the rubber bands!
I think this is the hardest category! Lemon Tart looks so cheery until you notice the police tape :)
Again least fav to most fav...
The best thing about The Perfect Liar is the shadow of the spider web over that very lovely almost innocent face. That's what did it for me. However, I don't like the way the author's name and title fight with that image. The orange coloring bugs me a bit. But I keep going back to the face and the web.
I love the simplicity and color of the Lemon Tart cover. It's borderline boring until they draped that police tape across the front. That juxtaposition of mundane vs deadly got my attention and held it. I had to buy it. Just had to.
Unlike some of the commenters, I love that flowing hair on Methods of Madness. And the expression in the eye? Looks just a tad off balance to me. Of course, I may be unduly influenced by the green title, which I think pops against that black background. And it's green, not red (which would be the obvious choice). I like that eerie subtlety to this one.
Shudder is good. Real good. The first thing you see are those eyes and they don't let go! I like the way the title gives a little shudder of its own, and the coloring is soft so it doesn't detract from the eyes. I love that the face and the hand take up the hole cover space. Although, like another commenter, I'd like to see the fear in the eyes and the menacing of the hand pumped up just a tad.
Oh. My. Gosh. The bullet holes and dripping blood on Murder by the Book just creeps me out! Which is exactly what this type of book cover is supposed to do. I saw this in the bookstore before I saw it online and my hand had picked it up before my brain realized what I was doing. Automatic reaction = winner.
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