Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Bad Intentions - Cover Opinions

This week's selection for "cover opinions" is the US and UK covers for Karin Fossum's Bad Intentions translated by Charlotte Barslund which is being published in the US on 9 August.

So what are your thoughts on the US (LHS) and UK (RHS) covers? Which would entice you to pick the book up if you were not familiar with the books of Karin Fossum?

If you have read it, how well do the covers match the story?

Read the Euro Crime review by me of Bad Intentions.

12 comments:

Dave Morris said...

I prefer the UK cover, which I should qualify by adding that it's on the assumption this is a regular genre crime novel. The block of single colour in the US version makes it look more like regular literary fiction. (Though maybe it's borderline, in the way that The Time Traveller's Wife isn't genre SF, for example, despite having a science fictional premise?)

Tim said...

The boat on the water relates to the central event in the story. The fact that it is empty could be seen as symbolic.

I don't understand the US cover. I assume that it is dark water, although it could equally well be rumpled silk(?)

Anonymous said...

Karen - I prefer the UK cover as well. Somehow it's got more character to it, for lack of a better way to express what I think... ;-).

Philip Amos said...

The UK cover, without a doubt. RE the US one, is that a rope? And signifying what?

Uriah Robinson said...

The UK cover is far better, and also is very relevant to the plot.

harriet said...

I much prefer the UK cover.

Dorte H said...

An orange cover? Yuck.

The UK cover with the boat and the blue colours is nicely suggestive of the tension that is waiting for you inside this book.

Maxine Clarke said...

Agreed, the UK cover is superior. It is also relevant to the plot. I don't like orange covers (eg One Day by David Nicholls) and I don't like what looks like bad photoshopping on it.

Tim said...

... but why did they choose to say "Author of Broken"? Any of the others would be more relevant, given that Broken is one of the only ones without Inspector Sejer ...

Mike said...

Definitly the UK one! The US is nasty!

Maxine Clarke said...

But Broken is the book by her that most sticks in my mind compared with all the others. Also, there is a policeman at the end who "could" be Sejer ;-) (though he is not named).

kathy d. said...

UK cover, without a doubt.

I don't understand what the US cover represents. It looks like someone just ran a streak through orange paper.