New novel with Louise Brooks cover - The Killing of Emma Gross

Speaking of Weimar Berlin. . . .  there is a new novel coming out in softcover in the UK which features Louise Brooks on the cover. The book, The Killing of Emma Gross, by Damien Seaman, will be published in the UK as a paperback by Five Leaves Publications and as an ebook by Blasted Heath in June 2013. The book will also be available as an ebook in the United States. 

I have an interest in all things Weimar Berlin, and am interested in reading this new novel, which is based on the true story of notorious serial killer Peter Kürten and the unsolved murder of Düsseldorf prostitute Emma Gross. And anyways, I have to try and acquire a copy for my ever growing collection of Louise Brooks book covers.

The Killing of Emma Gross is a historical thriller, a police procedural set in Weimar Republic-era Germany. Here is the publisher supplied description: 

"Dusseldorf prostitute Emma Gross has been murdered and the police have charged Peter Kurten, the 'Vampire of Dusseldorf', the first man ever to be called a serial killer. Murderer, yes, but did he commit this particular crime? The arresting officer, Thomas Klein, thinks not, even though Kurten has confessed. These are the dying days of Weimar Germany, the police force is increasingly divided between right and left. It is a dangerous time. Klein thinks that the real killer is somewhat closer to home. Yet the only people who can help him include a Communist journalist, Gross's friends, and others in the underworld who hate the police. This is a novel of obsession set in the wild days of Weimar, doomed to end with the Nazi takeover."

In an interview, UK author Julie Morrigan asked about motivation, and Seaman answered this way: "I lived in Berlin for several years and fell in love with the place. Having done a history degree that ended up dampening a lot of my enthusiasm for the subject, living in Berlin awoke my passion for the past and made me want to write about what happened there. I was also reading a lot of noir and hardboiled crime at the time, and I wanted to marry the sensibilities of American hardboiled literature with the expressionist movies and art of early 20th century Germany. When I decided to look for a real life murder case to base my story on, the most compelling one was that of Peter Kürten – the so-called Vampire of Düsseldorf – so I ended up pouring all of my inspiration about Berlin into a novel about Düsseldorf instead."

The Killing of Emma Gross is Damien Seaman's debut novel. Check it out.

Louise Brooks peers over Hemingway's shoulder

Louise Brooks, or at least a very good likeness of the actress, appears on the cover of a new book, peering over the shoulder of novelist Ernest Hemingway. The book, One True Sentence by Craig McDonald, was released just last week.

Set in Paris in 1924, One True Sentence is a historical and literary pastiche. The publisher describes it thus: "A Moveable Feast meets The Dante Club in this ­­­­exquisite mystery that takes readers from the cafés of Montparnasse, through the historic graveyards of Paris, to the smoky backrooms of bookstores and salons."

The story centers on one "Hector Lassiter, crime novelist and best friend of Ernest Hemingway, [who] is crossing the Pont Neuf when he hears a body fall into the Seine, the first in a string of brutal murders that befall literary magazine editors on both banks of the City of Lights. Eager to solve the mystery, Gertrude Stein gathers the most prominent crime and mystery writers in the city, including Hector and the dark and intriguing mystery novelist Brinke Devlin. Soon, Hector and Brinke are tangled not only under the sheets but in a web of murders, each more grisly than the next, and Hemingway, Hector, and Brinke have to scramble to find the killer before they become the next victims."

I think the cover is attractive, and the book sounds like a fun read. The author, Craig McDonald, is a journalist, editor, and fiction writer. In 2008, his debut novel, Head Games, was nominated for an Edgar and was also a finalist for the Anthony, Gumshoe, and Crimespree awards for best first novel. His previous book is Print the Legend. I've emailed McDonald asking for comment.

And by the way, doesn't the woman to the right of the Eiffel Tower look like actess Lya De Putti ? I think so.

UPDATE 2/23/2011: I heard back from author Craig McDonald. He wrote, "The woman depicted on the cover of the book is an artist's conception of a character in the book who is a mystery writer named Brinke Devlin. Louise is not a character in the book (although I am an admitted fan of Ms. Brooks')."