Monday, January 22, 2018

I Have M.C. Beaton Covered!


It's been a while since I last had a "Cover-Off," so I thought I'd grab an author I used to read regularly back in the last ice age when I first started reading crime fiction with a passion.

M.C. Beaton has written three traditional mystery series (what we Americans tend to call "cozies"). One, the historical Captain Harry Cartwright and Lady Rose Summer series, has only four books while the other two, the Hamish Macbeth series set in the Highlands of Scotland and the Agatha Raisin series set in the English Cotswolds, have been going strong since the mid-80s and early-90s respectively. 

I began reading both series, but I didn't last long with Agatha at all. Men-hungry women as main characters-- even if played for laughs-- just rub my fur the wrong way. But Hamish? Ah, he was another matter entirely, probably because he is a police constable in one of my favorite places on Earth, the Highlands of Scotland. However, I soon stopped reading Hamish as well, and I know why. I tired of the formula, and I'd also gotten a chance to watch Robert Carlyle portray him in a BBC television series that lasted three seasons. The scenery is wonderful (I've walked the streets of the village of Plockton where it was filmed), and I just flat-out prefer the writing of the televised series. But enough of all this. Let's get to comparing the US and UK covers of one of Beaton's Macbeth covers, shall we?



One of these days, I'm going to have a Cover-Off and not tell you which cover I prefer. You're going to have to guess, and the first one to do so correctly will win something like a Poisoned Pen gift card or a book. How does that sound? Let me know because if no one pipes up, I'll figure you're not interested.

The US Cover...

...is just plain too busy. Crashing waves, shorebirds, a nurse's cap, gulls, footprints in the sand, and way off in the distance, a village, and a lighthouse. I know many readers who are drawn naturally to covers with lighthouses on them, but this one is so small that you have to work to see it.

Then we have all the print. We have to be told that she's a New York Times bestselling author, and there's the ubiquitous blurb. We're told it's a Hamish Macbeth mystery, which is a good thing, then there's the author's name and the title of the book, neither of which stand out well on all that busy-ness. And... I don't know if it's by accident or design... Death of a Nurse looks like it could take place here in the US. All in all, a ho-hum cover.

The UK Cover...

...on the other hand, screams the Highlands of Scotland to me, and I have plenty of photographs to prove it. The font, its size and color, stand out well on the title and the "A Hamish Macbeth Murder Mystery," but although I know why the author's name is in that size and color (and well done that her other series is mentioned!), I find it annoying.

The bottom quarter of the cover is superb, and I love it and the fact that the entire thing is not overwhelmed with things to see.

The Verdict

If I were walking down the bookstore aisle, the US cover would not catch my eye at all. There's no focal point, nothing that grabs my eye or my attention. On the other hand, that stone cottage on the shore of a loch on the UK cover would make me pick it up immediately.

What say all of you? Which cover do you prefer? US? UK? Neither one? Too close to call? Inquiring minds would love to know!



16 comments:

  1. I'm with you, Cathy. The UK cover is the one I'd choose, no question. And it's great that there's a new Hamish Macbeth out there...

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    1. Hamish is one of those characters who's hard to forget.

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  2. BUSY is right: that was the first word that came to my mind when I looked at the U.S. cover.

    I also prefer the U.K. cover - and I like it even more than you do. In fact, I think it's just about perfect.

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    1. I have a feeling that the US cover designer(s) would think we're both nuts.

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  3. Add me to the UK side. Much better. I've not ever read a Hamish book. Read several of the Agatha books, but got tired of her. I have the 3rd series - the historical one. I think I read all 4 books. And if you want to make us guess, I'll play along. If you just want to send me a PP gift card, that will be OK too! LOL LOL

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    1. I knew that PP gift card would get a response! LOL

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  4. I like them both, but they are definitely two different "feels." I think it would depend on my mood as to which one I'd choose, but I wouldn't immediately guess they were the same book.

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    1. Good point. I wouldn't think they were either!

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  5. I like the UK cover. The US cover does look too busy.

    Trying to guess which cover you like sounds like it would be fun.

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    1. Sounds like I might have to start coming up with a good test of all y'all's skills....

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  6. Neither cover would grab me. Although the British cover is less busy, I don't get a feel for anything murderous or menacing; nothing shows that it is crime fiction (unless my eyesight fails me here).

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    1. You made me think with your comment. I realized that I don't look for something murderous or menacing in crime fiction covers. I think that's because some of the most horrendous deeds ever committed have been done in lovely, peaceful settings.

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  7. Just in case you think I'm talking to myself, Kathleen told me I could share her comment that I received via email:

    "I agree with you totally. The US cover is way to busy, especially with the embossed look to the main font. Putting the title in red barely makes it stand out from the crashing waves. There is simply nothing to focus on or to entice you to pick it up.

    The UK cover is wonderful: clean, clear, and simple. This one makes the title stand out and I want to read it to find out how a nurse could end up dead in such a quiet setting, which of course if what a title and cover should do.

    Love the idea of a contest!"

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    1. I know it's silly to think this way, but places like the one on the UK cover just shouldn't be the scenes of violent deaths.

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  8. I knew from looking at the covers that you would prefer the UK version - as do I,for the same reasons.

    So of course I'd be interested in a contest! (As long as I can use the gift certificate online ...)

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    1. It would be downright cruel to give you a gift card to The Poisoned Pen and then expect you to come here to use it. No, about 95% of that bookstore's business is online, so you'd be safe. Now all I have to do is get in gear for a contest!

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