Friday Face-Off: A Murder Scene
Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme created by Books by Proxy! Each Friday, we will pit cover against cover while also taking the opportunity to showcase gorgeous artwork and feature some of our favorite book covers. If you want to join the fun, simply choose a book each Friday that fits that week’s predetermined theme, post and compare two or more different covers available for that book, then name your favorite. A list of future weeks’ themes are available at Lynn’s Book Blog.
This week’s theme is:
“Murder most foul, as in the best it is.”
~ a cover featuring A MURDER SCENE
Mogsy’s Pick:
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
My pick today is a book I read back around the time I first started blogging, but I still remember the premise of it very well, for you see, The Last Policeman would likely be considered a pretty standard a police procedural if not for a huge twist: while everything is taking place, a killer asteroid is hurtling towards Earth, set to end all life on the planet when it impacts in about six months. As you can imagine, everyone is freaking the hell out, though each person appears to have their own way of dealing with the impending apocalypse. Most have ditched their jobs to tackle bucket lists or to reconnect with their friends and loved ones. Others have found religion. Sadly, some chose suicide.
But then there are those like Hank Palace, a rookie detective who is still out there trying to be the best damn policeman he can be. Currently, he’s investigating the death of a man found hanged in the bathroom of a fast-food chain restaurant, though not surprisingly, most of his colleagues on the force have already dismissed the case as an asteroid-related suicide. However, Hank is not so sure. There are signs of foul play and something about this one feels suspiciously like murder. But with the end of the world set to occur in mere months, our protagonist might be the only cop left in the city who cares enough to uncover the truth.
Time to take a look at the covers! There are a wide range of options this week:
From left to right:
Quirk Paperback (2012) – Quirk eBook (2012) – Czech Edition (2015)
Russian Edition (2015) – Portuguese Edition (2015)
Polish Edition (2017) – Hungarian Edition (2015) – Romanian Edition (2015)
Spanish Edition (2017 – Japanese Edition (2016)
German Edition (2013) – French Edition (2015) – Thai Edition (2016)
Winner:
I had several that I liked this week, and I tried to show bigger images of the ones that really caught my eye. In the end though, I’m going with the Spanish (2017) edition as my favorite. It’s not the only cover to go the “silhouette” route, capturing an image of the killer asteroid inside the outline (of whom I assume is Hank) as it streaks across the sky. However, I felt this version pulled it off best, because unlike the other covers that attempted the same theme, this one actually shows a bit of the character’s facial features. There’s a hint of melancholy and hopelessness in his expression, but at the same time his upward gaze shows determination, which perfectly captures the mood of the story.
But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?
The BiblioSanctum 
Love your pick!!
LikeLike
Thanks!
LikeLike
You’re welcome!
LikeLike
It was between your pick and Russian edition for me, Russian kinda has the old-covers vibe. Quite a few of them are trying to depict both murder investigation and incoming asteroid, but artist did the best job with this one, imo.
LikeLike
I thought the Russian cover was pretty cool too with the chalk outline on the ground. It was one of the few that really depicted a “murder scene” 😀
LikeLike
I’m usually not a fan of people on covers, but I totally agree that the subtlety in the man’s facial expression and placement is perfect! My personal pick was the German edition, but I think you changed my mind. 😉
LikeLike
The German one is nice, but…maybe a little too menacing for me! That HUGE killer asteroid! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kekeke I feel you! 😂😂😂
LikeLike
It was actually hard today! I like the Polish one and the French is cool. But I think I will go with the Czech one
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right! There were so many cool covers 🙂
LikeLike
Ooh The Last Policeman- I remember that I wanted to kinda read these, they seemed really intriguing. I like the Spanish one too, and the Polish and Quirk editions as well. I seem to gravitate towards the one showing the impending asteroid strike, for some reason…
LikeLike
The addition of the impending asteroid does lend quite a bit of drama! 😀
LikeLike
I like the Czech version myself.
LikeLike
Hank looking very shady on that cover 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great choice! Another book I need to find and read (I have a copy somewhere around here!) I really like the Quirk paperback and the Portuguese editions. Who knew there were so many choices for this book?😁
LikeLike
I like how those two feature the same format and play on the same theme, but use different images 😀
LikeLike
This sounds like a good book. I think it’s a trilogy right? I liked the one you picked as well as Polish edition. Who knew this book had so many covers? When someone is talking about it, I usually just see the Quirk one.
LikeLike
Yep, it’s a trilogy! Ironically though, even with doomsday getting closer in the later books, this one was still the best and my favorite!
LikeLike
A difficult choice this week, considering the huge number of different covers from all over the world! Your pick is indeed the best of the group 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, there’s a huge variety this week! I love it 😀
LikeLike
I liked Spanish and czech most.
The Japanese seems to have a teenage dude on the cover. Assuming that i s meant to be the detective, it’s just weird🤔
LikeLike
LOL re: Japanese cover! Yeah, that guy looks a bit young 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the Czech Edition (2015) edition best and the one you picked second best!
LikeLike
I still laugh at his shades 😀
LikeLike
Mine’s a tossup between the Japanese and the Portugest one! And I like how specific the polish and the Quirk ebook covers are. All the other ones seem like abstract representations of the story, and these two are just, “Here are some dead bodies!” 😀
LikeLike
And thank goodness for that, or I wouldn’t have had any book to feature today! LOL! 😀
LikeLike
I love the Hungarian cover, which is very close in style to your winner. I love this feature, too. 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, there are a couple great “silhouette” covers 😀
LikeLike
I’d go with the Polish one. I like the asteroid on the Portuguese cover but not the bottom of the cover.
LikeLike
I really like the French edition of this – the guy looks like he’s on a mission!
Lynn 😀
LikeLike