Oh, this is nice. Block foil bullets, rosary beads and handguns. A creepy dia de muertos skull configuration. Silhouettes, hearts and spades, illustrative flourishes and let’s not forget that tattoo-style Blackletter typeface for the book’s title.
Once again Serpent’s Tail has done Sam Hawken proud with jacket art that seems perfect for a book set on the border between Texas and Mexico. Doesn’t it remind you of a Mexican wrestler’s mask? His last novel, Tequila Sunset, was similarly attired, but we think Missing is even better presented.
Released 4 September here in the UK, it’s the story of Jack Searle, a widower with two daughters living in the town of Laredo. When those daughters head across the border to go to a concert and don’t return, Jack is pulled into a frantic hunt to find them.
Dark, tense writing that’s fraught with menace and violence is what Sam Hawken seems to do best, as he proved with his acclaimed debut, The Dead Women of Juárez. We’ll certainly be letting you know what Missing is like when we review it, but for the time being let’s just take in this wonderful cover artwork which was done by Estuary English – aka Penny and Tony Lyons.
This one you won’t want on your Kindle because you’ll be missing out on its glorious jacket. Pre-order Missing here
The beauty continues on the spine, with more guns rendered in silver block foil.
And here’s a peek inside.