Duck!

Left: The Nine Wrong Answers, by John Dickson Carr (Bantam, 1955). Wikipedia explains that this particularly clever whodunit, “first published in 1952, is a detective story by John Dickson Carr which does not feature any of his series detectives. It is an expansion of Carr's 1942 radio play ‘Will You Make a Bet With Death.” The cover artist is not identified, but betting is heavy that the Mitchell Hooks was behind this one.

Right: Brotherhood of Evil: The Mafia, by Frederic Sondern Jr. (Bantam, 1960). Originally published in 1959, this non-fiction work is described as a history of the well-known criminal organization that had its roots in Italy but extended its reach to the United States in the late 19th century—and of efforts (largely unsuccessful) to rein in both its power and influence. According to his 1966 New York Times obituary, author Sondern was “a roving editor for The Reader’s Digest, a war correspondent and a writer on crime and law-enforcement …” He’s said to have contributed more than 100 articles to Reader’s Digest. Sondern died of cancer in 1966 at age 55.

Unfortunately, I don’t know who painted the Sondern cover.