Twitches Dead Wrong by H. B. Gilmour
lex and Cam return to Alex’s hometown in Montana to settle some scores. The first someone is trying to block Alex from being adopted by Cam’s family. Could it be Alex’s deadbeat stepdad? The second Alex’s friend Evan is being blamed for a school death threat. When Alex’s stepfather turns up six feet under, the [...]
The Duchess by Jude Deveraux
From Publishers Weekly Mutual deception lies at the heart of this agreeable romp set in 1883 Scotland. American money (Claire Willoughby) is to snare a Scottish title (Harry, 11th duke of MacArran). But Claire’s parents are bankrupt and spend Claire’s dowry on their own lavish pleasures. Unknown to the Willoughbys, Harry’s family is also penniless [...]
Roadwork by Stephen King
The novel starts with a “man on the street” interview in which Dawes, currently unknown, gives his acidic opinion of the extension to the highway. Seemingly unaware of his own actions, he then begins to procure means to defend himself, starting with a visit to a gun shop. As the book progresses, it is revealed that his son had succumbed to an inoperable brain tumor, and that Dawes is unable (or unwilling) to sever the emotional tie between the memory of his son and the house that he grew up in. His wife is aware of the order to demolish their house and cannot understand why he is unwilling to finalize the sale, and eventually leaves him. He quits his job after sabotaging the purchase of a new facility for the laundry business he works for, which will be displaced by the construction. He begins a working relationship with a used-car dealer who has ties to the Mob, and through him purchases explosives and the use of his services to sweep his house for listening devices. He even launches an attack on the construction equipment that will be used to raze his home and build the highway, using Molotov cocktails to burn the machines. Throughout the novel, he systematically severs all his connections to the community, until the last day runs out, and his house is scheduled for demolition.
When the police come to escort him from the house, he shoots at them with the weapons he ordered from the gun shop: a .44 Magnum revolver and a .460 Weatherby Magnum rifle. The resulting exchange of fire damages a police car and attracts the attention of the media. He agrees to leave the house after a reporter (the same one who interviewed him in the beginning, though neither recognizes the other) is allowed to enter and speak to him. Once the reporter has left, Barton tosses out his guns and sets off explosives he has bought, destroying the house with him inside it.
The epilogue describes the aftermath of the standoff. Secrets are revealed about the extension, the city’s attempt to try and cheat Dawes’ widow out of the money she got from the sale of the house, and the fact that there was no real reason for the extension. If the city had not spent the rest of its budget on this project, it would have had its allocation for future project reduced.
Maiden’s Grave by Jeffery Deaver
A school bus carrying eight deaf school-girls and their teachers brakes suddenly on a flat Kansas highway. They should never have stopped. Waiting for them are three heartless men just escaped from prison — each with nothing to lose. And now, with the girls as their hostages, they have everything to gain. They make their stand in an abandoned slaughterhouse, and it is there that Lou Handy, a murderer and the convicts’ ringleader, announces his terms: to kill one captive an hour unless his demands are met.
Harlot’s Moon by Ed Gorman
Interview with Ed Gorman It is a cold, rainy morning and out of the blue, ex-detective Robert Payne receives a phone call from an old friend. Steve Gray and Robert Payne grew up together in the small town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Now Steve is a Catholic priest, inviting Payne to the scene of a [...]
A Desperate Call by Laura Coburn
Art Director: George Cornell Synopsis The last person to see eight-year-old Billy alive was Kate Harrod, a homicide detective and the mother of Billy’s best friend. When he turns up dead, she becomes obsessed with finding the killer–and winds up putting herself and her family in jeopardy
Butterfly Avenger by Barbara Atlee
Lethal Measures: A Novel of Medical Suspense by Leonard S. Goldberg
Forensic Pathologist Joanna Blalock is back to solve a diabolical crime
Leonard Goldberg is the highly acclaimed author of five previous suspense novels, all of which make splendid use of his expertise as a medical doctor. In Lethal Measures, a devastating explosion rocks a residential Los Angeles neighborhood, killing several presumed terrorists and innocent bystanders. Dr. Joanna Blalock is called to the scene to investigate what is left of the victims — and what at first looks like an accident caused by the mishandling of plastic explosives is unexpectedly linked to a previously unsolved murder case. By piecing together the forensic evidence, and working closely with homicide detective Jake Sinclair, Joanna unveils a horrifying, sinister plot by a group whose fanatical leader has a much more ambitious goal: to assassinate the president of the United States. In order to solve this deadly and complex mystery, Joanna and Jake race against the clock as the chosen hour approaches, putting their lives on the live to save the president, the city of Los Angeles, and ultimately the nation.
Mortal Fear by Greg Iles
Art Director : George Cornell Greg Iles is perfectly suited for an online interview. His new book, Mortal Fear, crosses into a new cyber-genre of fiction, the “online thriller.” The third book from this Mississippi-based author, known for his previous novels Spandau Phoenix and the bestselling Black Cross, Mortal Fear flirts tantalizingly with the notion [...]
No Night is Too Long by Rendell Writing as Barbara Vine
No Night is Too Long By Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine Art Director: George Cornell No Night is Too Long is a 1994 novel by British writer Ruth Rendell, written under the name Barbara Vine. Plot summary Set in Alaska and Suffolk, this story involves a brother (Ivo) and sister (Isabel), each of whom [...]
A Kiss Gone Bad by Jeff Abbott
A Kiss Gone Bad by Jeff Abbott Art Director: Richard Hasselburger This piece which I always liked was never published, I use as an example of an assembled image. Synopsis Set on the Texas Gulf Coast, award-winning author Jeff Abbott’s suspenseful breakout novel is punctuated by a steamy Southern atmosphere, unforgettable characters, wicked humor, jolting [...]
Dangerous Attachements by Sarah Lovett
This was an interesting assignment, one of the most challenging aspects of the job was finding all the objects in the fetish bag. As it turned out I ended up taking the leather from a leather purse I found in a thrift store and cutting it up and stitching it together finally curing it in [...]
Shattered Bone by Chris Stewart
I did several variations for this cover, which do you think the art director chose. Synopsis A blazing technothriller of a first novel. Publishers Weekly We learned from a recent John Travolta movie that “broken arrow” is the military code for a stolen nuclear missile. Now we discover, in this sputtering first thriller by U.S. [...]
Night Calls by Tony Miller
I love these kinds of coincidences. I came home the other day to find a message on my answering machine from a woman who wanted to buy a print of one of my paintings. She said she had seen the print at a neighbors house and really loved it. The print was of an oil [...]
Murder She Wrote: A Deadly Judgement by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain
Art Direction: George Cornell This was the first illustration I did for the Murder She Wrote series. The challenge for this cover and the series in general was to put a skull somewhere within the image using only the elements that would naturally be there. All I was told was to put it somewhere on [...]
Skin Deep by Timothy Hallinan
Skin Deep by Timothy Hallinan Publisher: Penguin Group ISBN-13: 9780451403094 Series: Simeon Grist Suspense Novel Ser. Edition Description: REPRINT Annotation Private eye Simeon Grist has his hands full when he’s hired to baby-sit TV’s leading man, whose very bad habits include sex, drugs–maybe even murder. Sure enough, before Simeon’s first day on the job is [...]
Wasted Space by Elizabeth Manz
Art Direction: Jerry Todd Synopsis Envirospace is one of the country’s most respected companies, specializing in ecologically sound waste disposal and cleanup of hazardous materials. But some toxic secrets lie hidden below the surface. Secrets like the cause of a worker’s bizarre suicide. Driven to learn the reasons behind his girlfriend’s suicide, David follows leads [...]
Razzle Dazzle by En Naha
Telling Christina Goodbye by Lurlene McDaniel
Art Direction: Vikki Sheatesly I always liked this piece. It was created from a collection of photographs I had with the addition of the flowers and some added road work. Synopsis Trisha Thompson and her best friend Christina are having a great senior year. Trisha and her boyfriend, Cody, are making plans to attend Indiana [...]
Black Water by Doug Allyn
Art Direction: AnneToumi For this photo illustration I needed to buy an old suitcase and stuffed it with clothes. I drove out to a riverbank not far from my apartment in Ct. where I was living at the time. I attached a rope to the suitcase so that after I threw it into the river [...]
Dawn of the Vampire by William Hill
Art Direction Janis Rossi I received the assignment for Dawn of the Vampire in the spring of 1989. This was not the first horror book cover that I’ve done but it is one of my favorites and my first Vampire book cover. The technique was a combination of photography, darkroom maneuvers and acrylic airbrush. I [...]
Three Novels by Mary Higgens Clark
I had a crush on my model, don’t tell her. I was a little disappointed that this really sexy image only appeared as a small insert in the corner.
Anna’s Book by Ruth Rendell: Cover art by David Loew
Anna’s Book by Ruth Rendell, writing as Barbara Vine, published by New American Library in 1994. The art director was George Cornell, I believe he’s retired, his place has been taken by Richard Hasselberger. One of the great things about George was that he gave me projects to work on in styles that weren’t represented [...]
The Long Walk: By Stephen King: Book Cover by David Loew
Art Direction Richard Hasselberger Plot summary One hundred teenage boys (picked at random from a large pool of applicants) participate in an annual walking contest called “The Long Walk.” Each Walker must maintain a speed of at least four miles per hour; if he drops below this speed for a total of 30 seconds (all [...]