New Hard Case Crime Artwork

I just got my dirty paws on the latest artwork to appear on a future Hard Case Crime novel. It is deliciously lurid and boldly vibrant. The artist is Greg Manchess--he has painted several of the better covers for HCC including: Fade to Blonde, Home is the Sailor, and the forthcoming Michael Crichton novel (published under the pseudonym John Lange) Grave Descend. This beauty reminds me of his cover for Fade to Blonde--my favorite of the HCC covers to date--and it will appear on Gil Brewer's The Vengeful Virgin due out--sigh--March 2007.

Don't forget that Lemons Never Lie by Richard Stark (Donald Westlake), the latest HCC title, is due out in the next week or so. This is a title I can't wait to get. It features Grofield, a member of hardass-criminal Parker's gang, and now brought back into print in one of his starring roles. Westlake is great, as either himself or as Stark.