Portrait in Crime

It's been quite some many years since I wrote a short post on covers of mystery novels I liked. While I seldom let cover art dictate what books I buy, I can sure tell you that I'm definitely more inclined to buy a book (especially physically) if it also has some great art on the cover. Of course, everyone's preferences will differ, but overall, I can say that I'm a sucker for original drawn illustrations, so art that is made especially for that release. I can say that personally, I am not that big a fan of covers with photographs, nor 'generic' art (by which I don't mean the art style, but whether a piece of art can be clearly seen as having been drawn for that specific book). Many publishers and authors in Japan still have their book covers illustrated with specifically ordered art, so I usually still come across some really nice covers that leave an impression. And so, to pick a few covers that have left an impression on me:

Yuureitou ("The Phantom Tower") by Edogawa Rampo.
Art by: Miyazaki Hayao.

This 2015 edition of Rampo's 1937 novel featured gorgeous artwork by Miyazaki Hayao, the legendary Academy Award-winning animator and manga artist of Studio Ghibli fame. Miyazaki himself was a fan of this novel, and he had organized his own exhibition on the book in the Ghibli Museum in 2015, featuring a scale model of the titular tower designed by him, storyboards for if he would ever animate the book and original essay comics. The 2015 edition of the book included this material, and this specially drawn cover in Miyazaki's distinct 'scribbling' style.

Alibi Kuzushi Uketamawarimasu ("Alibi Cracking, At Your Service") by Ooyama Seiichirou.
Art by: Yuuko.

Considering this excellent series is about a clockmaker who specializes in cracking perfect alibis, I have to admit the concept behind this cover isn't particularly original, but I do like the warm, almost children's illustration book-esque art style, with the warped clocks and the warm colors. It really fits the atmosphere of the stories, being quite relaxed and laid-back.

Toujou Genya series by Mitsuda Shinzou.
Art by: Murata Osamu.

The Toujou Genya novels are brilliantly complex mystery novels that mix horror, folklore, legend with astonishing tightly-written plots and these covers do a great job at conveying the creepy part of the series. There's something distinctly unsettling about these covers, with these pale women who seem so otherworldly. Are they even alive? Are they ghosts? These covers are not jump scare frightening, but they do manage to feel really unnerving even though the composition is fairly 'normal'. To me, the style has an Edgar Allan Poe-esque touch to it and it really fits the atmosphere of these novels.

Kyoto Nazotoki Shikihou ("The Kyoto Mystery Solving Seasonal Report") series by Van Madoy.
Art by: TOBI

Besides the fact that the art itself is gorgeous here both in style and composition, with warm colors that fit oh-so-well with the bitter-sweet atmosphere of the college romance also depicted in these stories, I also love that you can clearly see that these covers were designed especially for this book, as the artwork incorporates elements from the various short stories in each book. The first volume features the taxi from the first story there for example, while the second one has the titular "Galaxy Railway" in the upper left corner. I love these kind of covers for short story collections, when they draw little elements from each individual story in the cover art (Higashigawa's Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de covers do the same).

Isekai no Meitantei series by Katazato Kamome.
Art by: Munashichi.

Isekai no Meitantei is about a big fan of mystery fiction who is reincarnated into a fantasy world and becomes a detective there, and the art really invokes the fantasy feeling of the series. The Dungeons and Dragons kind of fantasy, with dangerous forests, hidden dungeons and never-ending mazes. It's the type of cover you seldom see with detective novels, which make these books stand out and I think the artwork itself is also quite alluring, invoking that old fantasy vibe.

The Murder of Alice series by Kobayashi Yasumi.
Art by: Youko Tanji.

The Murder of Alice series reimagines famous children's literature featuring girl protagonists as creepy and maddening mystery novels. At the moment, we have Alice in Wonderland, Klara from Heidi and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (the latter isn't in pocket form yet), but I love the artwork for this series. The subject matter may not be very original (obviously, the covers feature the titular characters), but these covers make these famous characters both recognizable, and yet somewhat disquieting, as if there's something wrong (of course there's something wrong). Like the Toujou Genya covers mentioned above, there's just something unsettling about them, which is strenghened by the fact that they do feature characters you know, only you instinctively know there's something not right about them.

Urazome Tenma series by Aosaki Yuugo.
Art by: Tanaka Hirotaka.

Color! I love the bold colorwork in the covers Tanaka made for the Urazome Tenma series. Obviously, these covers are pretty predictable in terms of subject, as they all feature one of the protagonists in the titular location (gymnasium, aquarium and library), but it's the use of colors which really stands out here. Yellow is a theme obviously, which is really eye-catching, but I love how they books all have a different primary color theme (yellow, blue and red) and how the various parts of the illustration flow into each other (like the gymnasium in the umbrellas).

Anyway, these were just the first covers that came to mind. Any covers that you particularly like that deserve a mention?