Two-fer Tuesdays: Trip Traps

A twice-monthly pairing of book fronts that just seem to go together. Click on either of these images to open up an enlargement.



Journey Into Violence, by Harry Whittington (Pyramid, 1960), featuring a powerful cover illustration by Lou Marchetti; Journey Into Ecstacy, by Albert L. Quandt (Venus, 1951), with cover art by Howell Dodd (see Dodd’s original painting here).

It’s Always Good to Have a Plan

Cover design by Will Staehle.

While contemplating the imminent release, in late July, of Killing Is My Business (Tor), Adam Christopher’s second novel in his speculative-fiction/crime-fiction series starring steely eyed, tough-talking robot private investigator Raymond Electromatic, I got to thinking about how many other imaginative yarns based in the realm of crime and corruption have included the word “business” in their titles. At least a good handful, it seems.

Click on the images below to open enlargements.


(Left to right) Murder Is My Business, by Brett Halliday (Dell, 1963); and Murder Is My Business (Hard Case Crime, 2010). Both editions feature cover art by Robert McGinnis.

No Business for a Lady, by James L. Rubel (Gold Medal, 1965); and No Business for a Lady (Gold Medal, 1950).

Bullets Are My Business, by John B. West (Signet, 1960)—the fourth book featuring Manhattan boxer-turned-private eye Aloysius Algernon “Rocky” Steele—with a cover illustration by Barye Phillips; and Strictly Business, by Eunice Brandon (Midwood, 1965), with cover art by Paul Rader.

Trouble Is My Business, by Raymond Chandler (Pocket, 1965), with a front likely painted by Harry Bennett; and Trouble Is My Business (Pocket, 1958), featuring cover art by Robert Schulz.

My Business Is Murder, by Henry Kane (Avon, 1957), with cover art by Robert Maguire; and My Business Is Murder (Avon, 1954).

The Venom Business, by Michael Crichton (Hard Case Crime, 2013), featuring a captivating illustration by Gregory Manchess; and Violence Is My Business, by Stephen Marlowe (Gold Medal, 1958), with cover artwork by Barye Phillips.

Bad for Business, by Rex Stout (Century, 1945); and “Pleasure Girls Are Big Business!” (True Cases of Women in Crime, January 1951), with a façade painting by Howell Dodd.