This cover for Tom Haunt’s Deadly Love is uncredited, and at a glance it looks like something splashed on canvas without much regard for the final result. But we’ll be returning to this unknown artist for an extended look in a bit, and we may change your mind about him/her. It wouldn’t be the first time a presumed hack got a reconsideration in the realm of paperback covers. Remember sleaze illustrator Gene Bilbrew, once ignored, now celebrated? If not, look here.
Some cover art isn’t easy to stylistically appreciate at first glance, but it’s useful to remember that it serves dual purposes. The artists and most art aficionados would say it must show proficiency. But a publisher would say it must catch the eye on a newsstand or bookstore shelf. Making those ingredients mix isn’t easy, and the final result will sometimes have more of one flavor than the other. The above art is eye-catching but probably not proficient. Or is it? Stay tuned.
Moving on to the actual fiction, author Tom Haunt is a pseudonym, we’re guessing, though for whom we don’t know. Whoever he/she really was wrote numerous books. This one is the story of a young Coney Island hustler named Joe Brody who tries to turn a woman of thirty-one into his sugar mama. His plan is to use her money to ditch grimy New York for the white sands and endless sunshine of Florida.
Everything goes swimmingly for a while. Joe plies his benefactress for cash, gets her to buy him a car, and the two run off to the sunny south. But of course Joe is a heel and eventually his straying ways lead to serious troubles, and—as the cover blurb reveals—death! Actually several people die, including Joe, who we weren’t sad to see go. There’s nothing special in this story, but at least it was a quick read. Will we check out more from Tom Haunt? Doubtful.
