Hard Case Crime undoubtedly offers some of the finest cover work in the industry, harking back to an era we never should have left. Aesthetically, at least.

Charlesgate Confidential follows the fortunes of the real life Charlesgate building across three eras: its life as a hotel in 1946, its dormitory incarnation in 1986, and its repurposing into upper class apartments in 2014. Tying each era together is the fate of art stolen from a museum in 1946, its investigation, and later its attempted rediscovery.

Scott Von Doviak, a reformed pop culture writer, knows exactly how to make this sort of story work. With a blatant disregard for his characters' wellbeing, the only people guaranteed safe are those whom we know exist across both 1986 and 2014 - and they're only safe in 1986, of course.

Charlesgate Confidential is what you might call a romp. There's no reason for everyone to be so scantily clad on the cover, but when it comes to Hard Case Crime, it's fine if that image is tangential at best. Combining the best of classic crime novels in which multiple people die in horrible ways, with the a lighter touch for the more modern proceedings, Scott Von Doviak is a name to watch out for - not just a cover.