What do you think of this front cover, painted by Greg Manchess? The artist is one of the finest when it comes to recreating that old school pulp style, and as he’s explained the odd viewing angle enabled him to strategically position a lightbulb to, just about, preserve some of this woman’s dignity. Even though she might be dead…
Reprinted after more than 50 years by Hard Case Crime, the book itself also has an interesting story. First published in 1952 as The Evil Sleep under the McBain’s pseudonym Evan Hunter, it was republished four years later with the name Richard Marsten on the cover and the title So Nude, So Dead. Now it’s back again credited to Ed McBain and as you might have guessed from the jacket illustration, it’s a classic hardboiled thriller.
The story involves a former piano genius now on the downward spiral of drug addiction. When he wakes one morning next to the body of a beautiful club singer, and with a sizeable stash of heroin missing, Ray Stone has to go on the run, pursued by the cops and the mob.
So Nude, So Dead comes out as a paperback at £6.39 and on Kindle for just £2.99 on 17 July. Click here
