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Not quite double take, but more like a creep-alike

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Written by: Kelly on November 24, 2009.

This was one of my first posts here at STACKED, but it’s one of my favorites — so I’m reposting it with a couple of additions.

These all run on a similar theme, so they’re not exactly double takes. Rather, I like to think of them as creep-alikes — while some people may find the idea intriguing or interesting (and both are fair descriptions), I find these covers a bit creepy. Perhaps that’s the intention? Maybe it’s just the idea of not liking feet (the notion of them being feet of dead people doesn’t bother me).

Most recently, there’s Alane Ferguson’s Angel of Death: A Forensic Mystery. This one was published by Puffin in February of 2008. Shortly before that one there was this:


Jaime Joyce’s Toe Tagged: True Stories from the Morgue. I haven’t read or seen this one myself, but from my knowledge of the publisher and reading the description, it sounds like a middle grade book. This was published by Scholastic in March of 2007.

But perhaps we owe this trend to the original trendsetter, Mary Roach.


Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers was published by W. W. Norton in May of 2004.

Do you know of any other books with similar covers? While they give me the willies, I still think there’s something unique and memorable about them.

Edit (8/4/09) — There’s also a new book coming out with the infamous toe tag!

Liz Wolfe’s Let Sleeping Dogs Die came out August 1, 2009 and was published by Medallion Press.

Edited 11/23/09 to add this bad boy:

M. R. Hall’s forthcoming title The Disappeared (Simon & Schuster, 12/09) is another addition to my collection of toe-tagged fun.

*Updated 1/19/10: I found another one!


This one’s Molly Fyde and The Land of Light by Hugh Howey. It was published December 2009 by Broad Reach Publishing.

Edited 6/2010:

Another one, this time a large print edition of a book put out not too long ago

With a Passion Put to Use by Keith McCarthy was published in large print May 2010 by Severn House Publishing.

You know, at first this trend creeped me out, but now I’m utterly fascinated. Do you know of anymore? I’m starting a collection.

Comments

  2. Why are there so many books about dead people? And why don't I own these yet? For some reason Stiff grossed me out the most. Maybe it's because of what Gwendolyn B. said – two was enough.