The
Decoy is a paperback original published by Gold Medal in
1951. It is as by “Edward Ronns,” a pseudonym of Edward S. Aarons who is best known
for his “Assignment” novels. The cover art is beautifully soft—the dark shades
of the background contrast nicely with the soft, bright colors of the fallen,
or falling angel. The artist: Baryé Phillips.
The opening paragraph:
“Ben
Sherman awoke with a sense of unfamiliarity to place and time. The night was
cool. He could hear the peepers in the fresh-water swamp nearby, their
chirrupings a brave but trembling herald to spring. He missed the sound of the
ocean’s surf. In the deeper stillness that spread under the cries of the
peepers, he could hear someone breathing in the darkness, someone other than
himself. He became conscious of Angie’s soft warm thigh pressed against his.”
Mr Aarons wrote somewhere around 30 novels as by “Edward
Ronns”. The majority of his novels, including his “Assignment” novels, were
published by Gold Medal.
This
is the ninth in a series of posts featuring the cover art and miscellany of
books I find at thrift stores and used bookshops. It is reserved for books I
purchase as much for the cover art as the story or author.
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