Wednesday, March 11, 2015

I've Got Elly Griffiths Covered!


Oh, oh. I'm at it again. Me, a devout non-cover junkie talking about book covers. I have a lot of nerve, don't I? However, I've always been interested in the difference in book covers between countries-- especially since I read a lot of crime fiction published in the UK. I know that there are all sorts of legal reasons why the covers can't be the same, but the anomalies still intrigue me.

Coming soon, I'll be comparing the US and UK covers of a book that I've actually read, so it will be interesting to see if that knowledge will help in my "dissection" of the artwork. 

In the mean time, I'm going to be cruel to us all because I know a lot of you join me in loving Elly Griffiths' Dr. Ruth Galloway mysteries. The next book in the series, The Ghost Fields, will be released in the UK at the end of March, but we here in the US won't see it until mid-May. Oh, the pain of anticipation!

Here are the book's respective covers:





Well, what do you think?

As for me, the UK cover seems a bit... uninspired. We've got a woman wandering around a dark, creepy place in questionable weather. Sounds like a bad horror film, doesn't it? To top it all off, the woman has her back to us. Last week you learned that that is one of my pet peeves with covers. Why can't any of these characters turn around and look us in the eye? Huh? 

Since it reminds me of a bad horror film anyway, I almost feel as though I'm supposed to be sneaking up behind her. The only other comment I have about this cover is that-- knowing the book has something to do with a downed World War II plane-- the woman may be wandering around an old, abandoned air field. Cue the theme to Jaws, please!

The US cover immediately evokes the World War II plane flying over the mirror-like surface of the water. I actually spent more time looking at this cover and even did a bit of research. How many blades on a World War II-era propeller? Is the plane flying toward me or away from me? Weird stuff like that tends to go through my mind....

I've since decided that there are three blades on that propeller, and that the plane is flying toward me... coming in for a landing from the ghost fields, cargo unknown. Yes, the US cover gets my imagination going-- and gets my vote.

What about you? Which cover do you prefer? UK? US? Inquiring minds would love to know!



17 comments:

  1. Cathy - I really am excited for this next Ruth Galloway novel, that's for sure! As to the cover? Interestingly enough, I usually prefer UK covers to US covers; it's hard to say exactly why. But this time I'm with you. The US cover looks really interesting!

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    1. I knew my pick of Elly Griffiths would be a winner. I love her books, too!

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  2. For me, the US cover wins this time. And as to the woman walking away from you or the back of the head thing - well, I think the publishers don't want to have us think that this is a representation of the main character. I mean, does that woman look like your picture in your mind of Ruth Galloway. It doesn't look like mine. ;-)

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    1. If publishers are so worried that we'll think the woman in the cover is the main character, why bother having a woman there at all???

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  3. The UK cover is a rather run of mill cover. It could be a cover for many suspense or mystery books. The US cover is rather intriguing. It catches the eye and makes me as a reader wonder what the mystery in the book is about. Looking forward to this book as this is my favorite series. I want to catch up with the secondary characters too!

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    1. That's one of the things that makes Griffiths' series so special-- Ruth isn't the only interesting character in the book!

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  4. Love the US cover here. I love this series so much, and it's - to me - so different. The UK cover just looks like any old crime novel.

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    1. Yes, you and Lynn have it so right-- the UK cover is so run-of-the-mill!

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  5. The US cover has my vote, too. It's different than what we usually see on mystery novels.

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    1. Yes, the UK cover is same old, same old, while few people equate mysteries with flying.

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  6. Bah, humbug! I'll be a party pooper. Neither cover grabs me, not the one where the woman's back is to the readers, nor the one with the plane. Transportation vehicles don't grab my attention.

    I do like the sense of looming dancer in the UK cover, and I like the fonts used in the US cover, kind of interesting how the letters are done.

    But I"m going to grab up that book when the library gets it because I love Ruth Galloway and am interested in her life, and the coterie of characters around her.

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    1. Exactly-- who really gives a hoot about the cover when it's a RUTH GALLOWAY MYSTERY?!?! :-)

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  7. Oops, meant danger, not dancer. Oh, these late-night posts have typos.

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    1. I know what you mean, Kathy. I do a lot of my blog work during the wee hours of the morning (like right now), and I have to be especially careful of typos. Once in a while, one will sneak right past these tired eyes.

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  8. Right! Who cares about covers when Ruth Galloway is solving a crime and reflecting on her life?

    Oh, gosh, typos are one thing, but sometimes I really make mistakes. I almost sent out an email that would have been a horror had I not caught a mistake first. I would have been sent to the Yukon Territory by my friends.

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    1. Who knows? They may have less snow and cold up there than you do where you are. Of course, restaurants, libraries, and bookstores may be more of a problem....

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  9. I might not mind the weather or the lack of stress, but no way to order food delivered or go to the library or walk a block to get a newspaper or food and water? No way could I do that. I take advantage of living in the Big Apple. And I do not drive, so need accessible everything!

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