Introducing “Killer Covers”

Because it’s not exactly an original idea, I resisted the urge to regularly feature vintage paperback covers in The Rap Sheet--honestly, I did. But the temptation was just too strong, and my collection of old paperback cover scans was becoming too voluminous for me not to share my favorite finds with you, the faithful reading public.

So, beginning today, you will notice a new element in the right-hand column on this page--“Killer Cover of the Week.” The first jacket in the spotlight: The Three Roads (1948), by Ross Macdonald, which was the last standalone thriller he wrote (originally under his real name, Kenneth Millar) before introducing his now-renowned series private eye, Lew Archer, in The Moving Target (1949).

To archive The Rap Sheet’s developing roster of weekly cover illustrations, I’ve created a separate blog where you’ll find previous picks as well as links to Web sites that specialize in book jacket art and report on the general crime-fiction world.