Lying Book Cover (87th Precinct)

My year in crime fiction reading has been marked by the return of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct in my to be read list. It had been long overdue and I intend to read some more before the end of the year. And, as much as possible, in order of publication. Anyway, one funny little thing I noticed on the cover of The Con Man, is that the cover shows a man holding a gun, which is misleading: this man is definitely not the antagonist of the novel. Because the main villain does not use a gun: he's a swindler who murders his victims by poisoning them with arsenic. He may be one of the Detectives, but S&W revolvers were the service weapons at the time the story was written. So this cover is lying. Well, covers always lie, and it did not stop me for enjoying The Con Man. But I thought it was funny all the same.