The Martian by Du Maurier (1897) - poster
The pattern
This still is filed under Lettered cover hook.
Define
The cover is the hook, and the hook is lettering: a title treated as an image.
Mechanism
Type as bait. The words are drawn so they stop the hand before the contents are known.
Verdict
A journal, book, or issue must sell itself on a rack or a feed
Why it works
The type carries the sale and the image carries the question. The man looks up and out of the frame, at something the poster refuses to show, so the only way to close the loop is to open the book. Placing the star in the corner behind the title binds the one mysterious element to the word Martian without illustrating it. The open shutters act as a built-in triptych, framing the figure and centring him without any drawn border, and the yellow lettering is the only warm color on a violet and green sheet, so the words win every fight for attention.
Steal this when
You are launching a new work by a known name and the name outsells the premise. Set author and title large, show a single unexplained moment, and let the reader's unanswered question do the closing.