Maxine of Petrona very kindly sent me an uncorrected proof copy of Arnaldur Indridason’s new Erlendur novel, Outrage. I was going to leave my comments about the cover blurb until I had read the book and reviewed it, but I could not restrain myself.
Why do the people in the publishing industry act like a rabbit caught in car headlights when they blurb? They throw Stieg Larsson stickers around like confetti, and compare authors as disparate as Enid Blyton and Val McDermid providing both material and amusement for bloggers.
On the cover of Outrage we are told “Crime’s best kept secret ….Until now…”
But we are informed by Harlen Coben that Indridason is “An international literary phenomenon”, and on the back cover “Over 6 million books sold worldwide”.