This Is The Houseby Shelley Smith (White Circle, no publication date - 50s?)

I read somewhere that today is 'Judge A Book By Its Cover Day', in the spirit of which, we present this wonderful cover, whose menacing art deco spooks prove that the more restrained British pulp industry could on occasion come up with visuals just as striking as its American counterpart;



And if you dig that, check out the Collins Crime Club logo on the title page:


Nice! And meanwhile, on the back...


Pity the poor girl whose fella bought her a wedding ring off the back of a crime paperback for £3.10.

Pity also a book with a cast list like this to deal with:



I should also mention that pretty much every time I open a book like this with an old fashioned list of chapters, I feel an uncontrollable urge to start recording a concept album with matching song titles - surely I can't be the only one?