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Fifty Shades of Thursday Murder


I’ve been talking about writing this post for months, ever since I started saving cover art and realized I’d ended up with more than 30 different covers.

So you know how there are a lot of romances that look very similar to one another? There’s the two people facing each other with something in the middle illustration, the two people standing with their backs to each other illustration, the – you get the point.

My point is, successful styles for cover art can begin echo one another across publishers, and branding for one author can become branding for a genre. This happened with Twilight, and with 50 Shades of Grey, too.

Remember these?

Remember all this cover art?

Books published in the same genre began to shift the marketing and cover art to align with the biggest title.

So, let’s talk about mystery! You know, since this is a mystery website and all.

I’m presuming you’re familiar with The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, yes?

The Thursday Murder Club - a cream background with red and black lettering, a red border, and a dog in the middle

(I’m also presuming you have seen the trailer for the upcoming Netflix adaptation, but that’s not why we’re here.)

There’s also the sequels:

The man who died twice - black and red drawn lettering with a blue border and a drawing of a fox The bullet that missed - black and red drawn letters with a green border

The last devil to die - purple border, same lettering and a fox. The styles are very consistent the impossible fortune, with an orange border this time, but same elements

The Imposs!ble Fortune is out in September.

You’re seeing the pattern, here, right? Excellent branding, no question. The stark contrast, minimal illustration, slanted letters, and type treatment are consistent and identifiable at a glance.

But, have you noticed HOW MANY BOOK COVERS ARE IN OSMAN STYLE NOW?!

Like, seriously. SO MANY.

I’d look at NetGalley every so often and find 12 more. So I decided to post them all, because what was the point of collecting Osman Covers if I didn’t show them to someone?

Get ready.

the cornish campsite murder - a black and white illustration with blue accents  the poison pen letters by fiona walker green border, red letters with black and blue accents, and an illustration of a village Murder on the Page Daryl Wood Gerber - slanted red and black drawn text plus an illustration of a dining table with the chairbacks shaped like skulls Murder in the Scottish Highalnds by Dee Macdonald - black and red text on a cream background with a green border  

A swarm of butterflies by sarah yarwood-lovett. blue border, drawn letters in blue and a black illustration of a butterfly red border, cream background, red and black letters against a illustration of a cracked wine glass, with a cat. Seriously the style is constantly repeated.

A red scalloped border with a small table with knick knacks on top, red and black text The Cursed Writer by Holly Hepburn. Green border, green text with black motifs of a dog and a quill pen

the vanilla killer - peter boland. A border of shells on a cream background, with drawn letters in red and blue with an illustration of an ice cream truck One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman - a light blue border, cream background, red drawn letters at a slant, and an illustration of a woman looking into the rear view side mirror of a red car

A green fringe border with a cream background, red slanted drawn letters with black and an illustration of a plant dying on the ground. Murder in Bloom by Rosie Sandler The Antique store detective and the May Day Murder - cream background, blue black and red lettering, and a chair illustrated in the middle

Death on Ice by RO Thorp - cream background, black and red lettering, and an illustration of a ship with black cracks in the ice and a red jagged something in the background The WIdow's guide to murder by Amanda Ashby - cream background, red and black drawn letters, a cat and a poison bottle

Murder at the Loch - dee MacDonald, a blue border, cream background, and red and black lettering The widow's Guide to Backstabbing by Amanda Ashby - cream background blue and black drawn text at a slant, with an illustration of a cherry cake with a knife stuck into it

Murder at the Palace by NR Daws - red and black lettering on a cream background with a knife diagonal across the page A yellow background with a black line frame, with title in white and a black cat and a paint brush in black

Maxwell's Reality by MJ Trow, a red border with a cream background, a red school house and a cat at the bottom. The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant Liza Tully a cream background with red and black text and two magnifying glasses rendered in red with black silhouettes

A Novel Murder EC Nevin - a large black book has a knife through it at a diagonal. The word Murder is diagonal script with the author name at the bottom and a red border The Rhyme of the Magpie by Marty Wingate - a cream background with a black border iwth tiny ivy leaves, with the title in red and black with a magpie illustration in the middle

A report of a murder FL Everett - red border, cream background, red text at a slant with a illustration of a magazine with red glasses on top Murder My Neighbor by Veronica Heley - cream background, a garden gate at the bottom, and text in red and black

Murder at the Altar by Veronica Heley - cream background, black and red text, illustration of a cathedral at the bottom The Missing Maid by Holly Hpeburn - a cream background, red border, red and black slanted text and black accents

A murder of Crows by Sarah Yarwood Levett red border, cream background, red and black letters with a black crow drawn at the bottom The missing checkout girl mystery by Rachel ward - cream background, red border, illustratrion of a village, red and black slanted lettering

A False Charity - Veronica Heley - cream background, red border, red and black slanted letters, scottie dog The cornish wedding murder fiona leitch - cream background, black border, slanted black and orange lettering

The Charity Shop Detective Agency - peter Boland Cream background, blue border, black teapot, blue and red slanted lettering Murder in a Country Village - FLEverett Red border, cream background, red slanted letters and a black shovel digging into some dirt

So, do you see the pattern? No? Well, that’s the end of my file until I collect more!

It seems to me that if someone is writing cozy mysteries, possibly set in the UK, the cover motif is SET.

How soon until this is a Canva template? Think it’ll be called “Cozy Osman?” Cream background, border, black motif, red text, possibly slanted. Done!

And – oh, ho ho, the Osman books are getting new covers!

The new cover is a solid red background with a black stripe down the side proclaiming NYT Bestseller. The layout is largely the same except now it's black and white on red with no border The Man who Died Twice - blue background, black sidebar proclaiming NYT status, with black and red lettering in the same style

Goodness me, I can’t imagine why there would be new covers. What a mystery about a mystery!

Have you noticed any Osman Covers? What’s your reaction to all this?

 





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