Paperback 1162: A Gentle Murderer / Dorothy Salisbury Davis (Bantam 1083)

Paperback 1162: Bantam 1083 (1st ptg, 1953)

Title: A Gentle Murderer

Author: Dorothy Salisbury Davis

Cover artist: [Charles Binger]

Condition: 7/10

Value: $12

Best things about this cover: 

• "Oh, hello. You startled me. Hammer? What hammer? Oh, this hammer. Yes, well, um ... I'm the maintenance guy. Yeah, that's it. As you can see, the legs of her bed collapsed, and I'm just here to fix it. Totally normal. I'm sure she's just sleeping . . . you can go now."
•  Seriously, why is her bed slanted? Is that some new Tik Tok beauty trend—slanted sleeping?
• "Bud Cort is ... Peter Lorre in ... A Gentle Upholsterer Murderer!"

Best things about this back cover: 

• They're really puttin' all their eggs in the Anthony Boucher basket here.
• The design elements here are so random. Pink words here, blue words there, a floating right angle for framing purposes ... but all it's framing is an ugly block of text. PERHAPS ONCE A YEAR a back cover is designed this poorly.
• Well, if you squint, you can see why they decided to go a different way with the cover. What the hell was the artist thinking with that original cover. The floating head of deranged asylum escapee with a razor through his nose? Or is that a vacuum cleaner? A push broom? I refuse to believe that's a hammer. And even if it is a hammer, why is it attached to his face like a mustache??

Page 123~

    "I heard you singing."
    "I have a good voice."
    "Very good. It's like a cello."

    "A good cello."

    "Of course."

"A good cello." No, a shitty cello, what did you think he meant? Jeez, lady, learn to take a compliment. I'm starting to see why someone would want to kill you with a hammer.

~RP

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