Crime has an image problem
I'm just about to renew my subscription to Mystery People, the UK crime readers' and writers' organisation.
Every month Lizzie Hayes compiles a long ezine for members, and a big section of this is reviews of new books. The reviews are always accompanied by shots of the book covers.
And therein lies my problem. To me, crime suffers from the same image stereotyping as science fiction. While SF covers have a surfeit of black on them, and are designed, I was once told, to appeal to young men, crime has a surfeit of covers with blood or red on them.
I confess that very often I'm put off a book by the ghoulish cover, and sometimes by the blurb too. They all mention the murder, and many give little other detail about the book. But even though my reading in the crime genre couldn't be described as extensive, I have read enough to know that the genre is as rich and varied as SF. Unfortunately, in both genres, the covers of the books don't reflect that.
So come on, publishers. Have the courage to break out of the black and red mould and try something more original, a cover that accurately reflects the book within.
Every month Lizzie Hayes compiles a long ezine for members, and a big section of this is reviews of new books. The reviews are always accompanied by shots of the book covers.
And therein lies my problem. To me, crime suffers from the same image stereotyping as science fiction. While SF covers have a surfeit of black on them, and are designed, I was once told, to appeal to young men, crime has a surfeit of covers with blood or red on them.
I confess that very often I'm put off a book by the ghoulish cover, and sometimes by the blurb too. They all mention the murder, and many give little other detail about the book. But even though my reading in the crime genre couldn't be described as extensive, I have read enough to know that the genre is as rich and varied as SF. Unfortunately, in both genres, the covers of the books don't reflect that.
So come on, publishers. Have the courage to break out of the black and red mould and try something more original, a cover that accurately reflects the book within.
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