Friday Face-Off: Ice and Snow
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:
“In winter with warm tears I’ll melt the snow.”
~ a cover that features ICE AND SNOW
Mogsy’s Pick:
A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong
A Darkness Absolute is the follow-up to City of the Lost, continuing Kelley Armstrong’s mystery suspense series starring ex-homicide detective Casey Duncan. Months have passed since Casey first came to Rockton, a secret community nestled in the remote wilds of the Yukon. People come to this town to escape their past lives, expecting a safe haven, but the reality is much more sinister. Not everyone in Rockton is who they say they are.
Now winter has arrived with a vengeance, driving some of the townspeople stir-crazy with cabin fever. One night, a listless resident decides to do a runner in the middle of a snow storm, leaving Casey with no choice but to follow in an attempt at search and rescue. While taking shelter in a nearby cave system, she is shocked to discover a terrified and malnourished woman trapped in a hole. A former Rockton resident, the woman had been reported missing more than a year ago. This whole time, she had been held captive in these caves by an unknown assailant, being subjected to unspeakable acts of abuse. The mystery deepens when Casey returns to the cave system to look for clues about the perpetrator, but instead finds the remains of two other women. Rockton’s worst fears are confirmed: there’s another killer on the loose.
Let’s take a look at the covers now:
From left to right:
Minotaur Books (2017) – KLA Fricke Inc (2017) – Random House Canada (2017)
Sphere (2017) – Wheeler Publishing (2017) – Vintage Books Canada (2018)
Winner:
Brrrr! I’m getting chilly just looking at all these covers. All of them do a great job depicting the cold, dark, merciless nature of a Yukon winter, and all are quite appropriate for a mystery suspense thriller. Still, one cover in particular really stuck out for me, because of the way it captures the fragility and precariousness of life in the isolated wilderness. It is the Vintage Books Canada edition, which I think is beautiful, but I also like that it gives me the unsettling sensation of stillness and frozen death.
But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?
The BiblioSanctum 
I think that one’s my fave too. Something about the frost or ice on the leaves. They all do a pretty good job of giving off a cold vibe though, don’t they? I like the fourth one because it looks like she’s in a blizzard, but I also like the first three a lot. I guess the fifth one is the only one I’m not really crazy about.
LikeLike
Yeah, the fifth one seems out of place. I don’t get the “cold” vibe from it exactly, she looks more like she’s by some lake in the autumn.
LikeLike
Minotaur. Better they are all pretty dull to me
LikeLike
I like how you can spy the figure between the branches there.
LikeLike
I like the Minotaur books cover best but none are really horrible.
LikeLike
Yeah, they’re all pretty pleasing to the eye!
LikeLike
This is one series by Armstrong I haven’t started yet which is sad because I love all her others. I would have to agree with you pick. Initially I was swaying toward the Random House Canada one but the more I look at it, I don’t like the way the word “darkness” is hyphenated.
LikeLike
This series was actually my first taste of Armstrong, and I got hooked bad!
LikeLike
I love the one you chose, but I also love the Minotaur and RH Canada editions. I definitely feel the chill with these covers!
LikeLike
For sure, the RH Canada one would have been my second choice.
LikeLike
That’s the one that stood out for me – the frosting on the leaves is kind of ethereal and yet there’s a sinister feel in the overall darkness.
Lyhn 😀
LikeLike
Exactly! Ethereal is a great description for it, I wish I thought of that 😀
LikeLike
I agree, all the covers for this one do a great job evoking how cold it is up there! My favourites are the Randomhouse CA and Vintage Books…the cool tones on both just speak to me.
LikeLike
Yeah, the Random House Canada edition was a close second!
LikeLike
I agree with your choice but I also like the KLA Fricke Inc (2017) one!
LikeLike
The KLA Fricke was actually the cover that inspired me to use this book for this week’s topic!
LikeLike
Because I’m on mobile I’m not sure of the layout but I really love the one with the mostly black cover and the figure walking down a snow covered road. It’s very striking to me. But they’re all good covers for this one!
LikeLike
Yep, that one really stood out! It gives a sense of the character trapped in a blizzard.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would have a hard time deciding between your choice and the picture right above that one: if the title had been set in a smaller type, that frozen tree might have looked even more dramatic…
LikeLike
That one with the frozen tree is very striking – especially with the outline of the mountain lion that can easily be missed!
LikeLike
I love this series so much. And I’ve always been fond of the Minotaur cover
LikeLike
I agree, it’s a great series! I can’t wait for the next Casey Duncan mystery 😀
LikeLike
Love your pick!
LikeLike
It’s definitely a pretty one!
LikeLike
I agree with your pick! It does convey the “frozen” and delicate aspect so well, and it just looks…chill. 😉
LikeLike
Haha, totally chill! I just love the use of imagery and color.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would have chosen the same one!! I love the aesthetic of frozen leaves *o*
LikeLike