Happy Birthday, Agatha!

The blog Books Tell You Why reminds us that today would have been mystery-fiction writer Agatha Christie’s 128th birthday. (She died back in 1976.) To commemorate the occasion, I’m doing what seems appropriate for this page: posting a couple of fronts from Christie’s extensive oeuvre. Above, you will find the 1949 Pocket Books paperback edition of There Is a Tide …, a Hercule Poirot novel originally published in the States in 1948 (and in Britain that same year, but under a different title: Taken at the Flood). The cover art is credited to Harvey Kidder. Below is the cover from what is said to be the 1972 Pocket edition of Endless Night, a standalone work first released in the UK in 1967. The cover painting was done by Tom Adams, who is famous for having produced the art for many Christie fronts over the years. To learn more about Dame Agatha Christie and her fiction, check out this excellent piece in Nick Fuller’s blog, The Grandest Game in the World.



READ MORE: “Agatha Christie: Hardboiled Philosopher” (CrimeReads).

Fronting for Macdonald

It was 28 years ago today that detective novelist Ross Macdonald (real name Kenneth Millar) died at age 67. I’d first been introduced to his work in high school, and had gone on to read all of his books. I took the opportunity in 1980 to interview Macdonald--an experience I shall never forget. And in the years since, I’ve written often in The Rap Sheet about that Southern California author’s work.

Although this isn’t the happiest occasion on which to revisit Macdonald’s books, I think it’s altogether appropriate. Therefore, I am embedding below some of my favorite Macdonald book covers. These editions come from various decades over the last 70 years and feature artwork by such well-known illustrators as Mitchell Hooks, Harry Bennett, Ray App, Robert Maguire, and Harvey Kidder (who created the cover for the 1950 Pocket Books edition of The Moving Target featured atop this post). I’ve also included two of Joe Montgomery’s recent designs for Vintage Crime/Black Lizard (bottom row), which I think are outstanding.

Click on any of the images below to pull up an enlargement.









READ MORE: “Together Again for the First Time,” by J. Kingston Pierce (The Rap Sheet).