Another Look: “Playback”

Warning: Artistic inspiration drawn from book titles may vary.



Left: Playback, by Raymond Chandler (Cardinal, 1960); cover art by William Rose. Right: Playback, by Raymond Chandler (Pyramid, 1968), with a cover illustration by J. (Joseph) Lombardero.

Neck and Neck

Two vintage paperback yarns that really go for the jugular.



There Is a Tide, by Agatha Christie (Dell, 1955), with cover art by William Rose. An earlier front for this novel is here.

Strangler’s Holiday, by “Kurt Steel,” aka Rudolf Hornaday Kagey (Crime Novel Selection, 1942), with a cover illustration by Norman Saunders. This book was originally titled Murder in G Sharp (1937). Under the Kurt Steel pseudonym, Hornaday (1904-1946) created “tough and well-muscled private investigator” Hank Hyer, who premiered in Murder of a Dead Man (1935).

Rollin’ Out the Old Gold

An editor at Litro, the self-identified “little London literary magazine with a big worldview,” asked me recently to submit a selection of my 12 favorite vintage crime-novel covers. I hesitated to take the assignment, knowing that to pare my extensive collection down to a mere dozen choices was not going to be easy. Sure enough, in the end I left plenty of sacrificial carnage on my office floor in order to give the editor what she wanted. You’ll find those results here.

But since I know how to blog about covers myself, I am installing below the picks I didn’t have room for in Litro. Enjoy!

And to My Beloved Husband, by Philip Loraine (Pocket, 1953)
Artist: William Rose



The Butcher’s Wife, by Owen Cameron (Dell, 1956)
Artist: William Rose



Call Me Deadly, by Hal Braham (Graphic, 1957)
Artist: Walter Popp



Murder in Majorca, by Michael Bryan, (Dell, 1957)
(Bryan was a pseudonym used by Brian Moore.)
Artist: Unidentified



Let Them Eat Bullets, by Howard Schoenfeld (Gold Medal, 1959)
Artist: Barye Phillips



Bare Trap, by Frank Kane (Dell, 1960)
Artist: Harry Bennett


Solomon’s Vineyard, by Jonathan Latimer (Pan, 1961)
Artist: Sam “Peff” Peffer



Guilty Bystander, by Wade Miller (Signet, 1963)
Artist: Mitchell Hooks



Incidentally, my post about vintage covers is just one of several mystery- and crime-fiction-themed pieces appearing this month in the pages and on the Web site of Litro. A number of other free posts can be found here, including several short works of fiction worth reading when you find a spare moment or two.