Sunday, May 2, 2010

Ditto Doubles: Two Too Sad Little Girls

I used to call this feature "Lookalikes" and then I'd add a relevant subtitle. But, I've come up with a new title debuting today: Ditto Doubles. It finally occured to me (duh!), that since Alea of Pop Culture Junkie fame calls this feature "Lookalikes" on her blog, that it might seem to some that I had, um, shall we say "duplicated" her idea. I don't know where the idea for these sort of posts originated, but I certainly recognize Alea as a master of this art and, I, well, I am only a humble grasshopper.

I'd also like to give a tip of the hat to some other bloggers who must have photographic memories because they expose these kinds of replications with far more frequency and ease than I. So, if you like this sort of thing, check out "Similar Covers" at She Reads and Reads; "Cover Deja-Vu" at A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore; "Copycat Covers" at Fresh Ink Books. If you know of other blogs that run these sorts of features, please let me know, and I'll add them to this list as well as my rounds.

For today's consideration, I offer you:


I went a little crazy trying to figure this one out. When I saw HIDDEN WIVES in Shelf Awareness on April 27th, I knew I'd seen that sad little girl somewhere before. I hunted around with no results, but it just kept eating away at me. I got so desperate to solve this puzzle, that I started hunting though old Mailbox Monday posts all over Blogworld! Talk about looking for a needle in a haystack! I tried to forget about it, but  I just couldn't. And then one day while I was adding another title to my online wishlist, I remembered the Anna Salter novel, TRUTH CATCHER, which has been on my wishlist for, um, let's just say, far too long!

So, puzzle solved and two more books to work into my reading schedule!

Here's the lowdown on these two titles.

HIDDEN WIVES
by Claire Avery
Description (from the publisher):
Fifteen-year-old Sara and her beautiful sister, Rachel, are too young to legally drive a car—but are approaching spinsterhood in Utah’s secret polygamist Blood of the Lamb community. Having long since reached the “age of preparedness,” they will soon be married off to much older men chosen by the hidden sect’s revered Prophet.

As Sara, chosen to become her uncle’s fifth wife, grows more distraught over her impending incestuous marriage, she begins to scrutinize the faith she has followed blindly her entire life. But for Rachel, who will be married to one of the many powerful community leaders vying for her hand, disobeying the Prophet means eternal damnation. Her friendship with the newest member of the community, the young and handsome Luke, starts as an attempt to save his agnostic soul, but ends with the pair falling helplessly in love. When Rachel is forbidden to see him, her absolute faith in the Prophet is severely tested.

When Rachel’s future husband is finally announced, violence erupts, and the girls must find the strength to escape the only life they have ever know…before it’s too late.

Claire Avery has woven a stunning tale that could be ripped from today’s headlines. Shocking and empowering, Hidden Wives is a page-turning debut that will stay with the reader.

TRUTH CATCHER by Anna Salter
Description (from Barnes & Noble):
Forensic psychologist Breeze Copens has a gift. She not only hears the truth, she also sees it, through the rare psychological condition synethesia. So she knows when Daryl Collins—a born-again but remorseless con jailed in Seattle for armed robbery—is lying. What she doesn't know is the identity of a little girl in a blue dress with yellow daisies who appears suddenly in her line of vision during her interview with Daryl. And Daryl isn't telling.

A heart stopping thriller, its twists unexpected, its suspense mounting as the steely Breeze attempts to make hard evidence of her intuition, Truth Catcher sets the lovely, red-haired forensic expert on an increasingly treacherous course. Matching wits with devious and deviant criminal minds, Breeze tracks her quarry fearlessly, only to discover, chillingly, in Edgar nominee Anna Salter's compelling fifth novel, that she's the prey.

7 comments:

Nikki - Notes of Life said...

I don't think I've ever noticed two books using the very same picture for their cover illustration... However, I'll keep my eye out for it now :)

bermudaonion said...

Wow, maybe it's a good thing I'm not that observant. I'm amazed at how often they re-use stock photos.

librarypat said...

These two books sound like must reads. Though very different, they have great story lines.
Sigh, two more for my must read list. The one I'll never make a dent in at this rate.

Julie P said...

That is funny! I have never caught that myself. I must not be very observant. You would think I would notice it because usually it is the book cover that pulls me in....

Zibilee said...

Both of these books sound really good, but I wish they had used different covers!!

Mystica said...

Your description of both books sound very good. I would love to be able to get my hands on either!

Lisa said...

It never ceases to amaze me that publishers are too lazy to try to develop unique covers.