Master of the mystery genre--Midwest Book Review
​
Bremmer's strength certainly lies in her plotting--Writer's Digest
Book Covers
​​
As the saying goes, the eyes are the windows to the soul. I believe this philosophy should also apply to a book's cover design. The cover should draw my attention when I pick up a book, inviting me to study it and contemplate how each design element might provide insights into the story waiting inside.
I've heard some authors express frustration when their publisher’s art department creates a cover with little to do with the story. For instance, a character might be depicted with different traits than those described in the book—like having blond hair when they should have black, or being tall and thin when they are actually plump. This discrepancy can cheat potential readers out of an authentic experience. Scroll down below my book covers to the article that chose one of my book covers as an example of a great mystery book cover.
​
Click on the book covers below to read how I designed each cover.
I’m not alone in this opinion. I recently came across an article by David Harris from adazing.com, which discusses this topic with more grace and detail than I can provide. See Below:​
Mystery Book Covers by David Harris
​
As we peruse bookstore shelves or scroll through online platforms, our eyes often become drawn to many mystery books’ intriguing and engaging covers. When carefully designed, they often feature familiar and eye-catching elements that lure us in with clues and mysterious imagery; from shadowy figures to atmospheric landscapes, all contributing to mystery book covers’ overall allure and genre conventions. Every aspect of mystery book covers—typography, text placement, color scheme, and illustration used—offers us a sneak peek into its realm, providing us a glimpse inside this beloved genre!
Creating mystery book covers involves striking a delicate balance between arousing curiosity and capturing the essence of the story. The following cover designs do this masterfully:
​
1. Crystal Widow by Patricia A. Bremmer
​
Spiders are creatures that usually evoke a specific emotion from those who come across them, whether fear, disgust, curiosity, or awe. This cover uses that emotional attachment to create a design that will elicit an immediate response from anyone who sees it. And after that initial response, readers will see that this particular spider is not like any other spider but made out of crystal, just as the title suggests. As a mystery novel, this book has drawn in the intense curiosity of the readers without even flipping a page yet. The title and author’s name blend in without becoming invisible, appearing made from the same crystal as the spider on the web. And that image, a crystal spider on what seems to be a genuine web, only intensifies the curiosity and eventually opens the book to discover what is happening.
​
Click here to read the entire Adazing article​​​
