Crimes against photography

The most interesting thing about Jonathan and Faye Kellerman's latest book, CAPITAL CRIMES, is not that the two in-their-own-right bestselling authors are again collaborating for the second time. No, the most interesting thing is their singularly awful back-jacket author photo, which you can see here.

It's not because they're not photogenic – because they are – but that it looks like a bad Photoshop job, as if they weren't photographed at the same time. Certainly it can't be too hard to get a married couple together for a photo shoot, should it? Now, it very well may be the case that they were shot together, but from the flat look of where their arms are supposed to be touching (you have to see the actual book) and the entirely fake-looking drop-shadow effect her arm casts on his shirt, it doesn't look that way. Perhaps someone just went too nuts with the airbrush tool and rendered a real photo rather artificial. It's a mystery.

What this has to do with anything: CAPITAL CRIMES is just one of the many books we covered at BOOKGASM this week. You'll find excerpts below, or you can click the links to read the whole things, free of Photoshop trickery.

• CAPITAL CRIMES by Jonathan and Faye Kellerman – "Following DOUBLE HOMICIDE – Jonathan and Faye Kellerman's 2004 murder-mystery two-in-one set in the cities of Boston and Santa Fe – the married bestselling authors collaborate once more with CAPITAL CRIMES, whose pair of novellas this time take place in Berkeley and Nashville. ... The individual cities aren't just here for show; each story utilizes landmarks and other surroundings that illustrate the setting's deliberateness. May they continue to join forces for several map points to come."

• BLINDSIGHT by Peter Watts –  "Some readers need this caveat before picking up a Peter Watts book: Watts takes his science really, really seriously. He’s also not concerned with conventional notions of pacing and plot. BLINDSIGHT, his newest, is no exception. ... This sounds really awesome, and it is. But less patient readers won’t think it’s awesome that 80 percent of BLINDSIGHT is setup — exploration and exposition on the lives of the characters and the science behind every single aspect of the world Watts has hypothesized. To this, I say: Finish it! The rewards are worth the investment."

• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE UNKNOWN SOLIDER: VOLUME 1 –  "With his face in bandages and eyes hiding behind sunglasses, our "man no one knows yet is known by everyone" resembles pretty much every cinematic incarnation of The Invisible Man. But whenever the American war machine has a top-secret assignment for him, he unwraps the Ace, slaps on a mask and goes to work, often paratrooping behind enemy lines in the dead of night. If you're German or Japanese, he hates your ass. Like THE HAUNTED TANK, a little SOLDIER can go a long way. But try any of the upfront stories, written and drawn by the masterful Joe Kubert, because they are the most well-done of the entire collection. Illustrated with flair and told with economy, they fly by."

• WHO'S SORRY NOW? by Jill Churchill – "I’m a little surprised by the lavish praise and awards heaped on mystery author Jill Churchill, writer of both the Jane Jeffry and Grace and Favor series. Her new Grace and Favor book, WHO’S SORRY NOW?, is certainly entertaining enough, but to have The L.A. Times claim that nothing in Agatha Christie comes close to the depth of these books really brings into question the Times’ literary credibility. I mean come on, we’re talking Agatha Christie here, the grand dame of cozy-style mysteries. Churchill isn’t in this league."

As for the rest of our week, come check out our interview with The Playboy Advisor, our look at a new DVD collection of short films based on Edgar Allan Poe and three old CIA spy stories. Plus reviews of a WARHAMMER vampire novel, Jack Ketchum's LADIES' NIGHT, Richard Matheson's TWILIGHT ZONE SCRIPTS and several new comics. Your weekend will be better off for it.