New project, for feedback -- cover concept

Hoping for feedback on this cover concept.
Still needs some refinement -- but what does the photo say about the story? What inferences spring to mind?

Still needs some refinement -- but what does the photo say about the story? What inferences spring to mind?

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Comments
The plate setting does tend to suggest something amiss.
R.F.G. Cameron a.k.a. Sphinx
My work can be found at:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua_sphingehttps://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DDZJOT2
https://antiquasphinge.wixsite.com/booksMy Books:
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The most difficult part is actually making the skull and crossbones with the icing gel.
It does sound like the idea comes across: Fancy meal with a deadly desert. Okay, I'm going to go with the basic design, and refine the photography later this week.
My Books:
https://voidwheretaxed.wixsite.com/rockandfirepress/about
R.F.G. Cameron a.k.a. Sphinx
My work can be found at:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua_sphingehttps://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DDZJOT2
https://antiquasphinge.wixsite.com/booksI can try going to a food-coloring / corn-syrup blend, with maybe a bit of cornstarch to thicken it. The gel is from a tube for cake-decorations. I was going for the same as the drizzle across the tops of the truffles, but couldn't find a close match.
My Books:
https://voidwheretaxed.wixsite.com/rockandfirepress/about
R.F.G. Cameron a.k.a. Sphinx
My work can be found at:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua_sphingehttps://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DDZJOT2
https://antiquasphinge.wixsite.com/booksDick Smith's classic formula has been successfully used by several film-making friends of mine, to say nothing of major makeup effects artists. Adding cocoa or chocolate syrup helps make the fake blood darker and less transparent.
So I went a different route.
I need to redo this -- crop the bottom photo for proportions, and move everything lower on the page (it's all crammed against the top) but I think I'm moving in a better direction.
My Books:
https://voidwheretaxed.wixsite.com/rockandfirepress/about
My Books:
https://voidwheretaxed.wixsite.com/rockandfirepress/about
Tighter focus, less dead space to the left. Not much room for the title -- it has to come down next to one of the truffles.
I could send the "A" over to the far right, for matching justification. I could also drop the "A" entirely and just call it "Trufflesome Murder." That doesn't read right in my head, but maybe that's just me.
Thoughts, comments, war stories?
My Books:
https://voidwheretaxed.wixsite.com/rockandfirepress/about
I'm not 100% sure about the new skull and crossbones: it doesn't really make much sense being there. You have an otherwise totally realistic image...so what is the skull and crossbones?
Here is a thought: Why not replace the skull and crossbones with a third truffle? Find a plain one and add a skull and crossbones to it in icing. It could be a white truffle with a red skull and crossbones or a chocolate one with white icing. Perhaps even better yet, this is the one the bite is taken from.
R.F.G. Cameron a.k.a. Sphinx
My work can be found at:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua_sphingehttps://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DDZJOT2
https://antiquasphinge.wixsite.com/booksWell, the new skull and crossbones comes from my struggles to draw in icing... But I might be able to use the paper for a template. I have a larger cut-out skull and crossbones, so simply adjusting the proportions would be easy enough.
I did think of having the skull and crossbones on the unbitten truffle, but the icing issues were what redirected me towards this solution.
I'll work on it this week -- My truffle supplier might have icing stuff, also.
Hopefully I can avoid the skull that looked vaguely canine.
My Books:
https://voidwheretaxed.wixsite.com/rockandfirepress/about
R.F.G. Cameron a.k.a. Sphinx
My work can be found at:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua_sphingehttps://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DDZJOT2
https://antiquasphinge.wixsite.com/booksI've seen sugar skulls, why not a chocolate one?
R.F.G. Cameron a.k.a. Sphinx
My work can be found at:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua_sphingehttps://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DDZJOT2
https://antiquasphinge.wixsite.com/booksOkay, a chocolate skull might be sufficiently ominous...
Paul, I'm not sure that a knife would carry the same note. The skull/crossbones not only sends "mortal danger" but also "poison."
Thanks for the thought, though...
My Books:
https://voidwheretaxed.wixsite.com/rockandfirepress/about
A chocolate skull with some icing drizzled on it like a truffle, was what I had been thinking when I took the pic while wrestling with a short demon warrior princess to keep the camera lined up.
A bite from that might get the message across about 'mortal danger' or at least predict bad indigestion.
R.F.G. Cameron a.k.a. Sphinx
My work can be found at:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua_sphingehttps://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DDZJOT2
https://antiquasphinge.wixsite.com/booksR.F.G. Cameron a.k.a. Sphinx
My work can be found at:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua_sphingehttps://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DDZJOT2
https://antiquasphinge.wixsite.com/booksAlien Truffle.
Okay, icing as a drawing medium is just out. LOL.
My Books:
https://voidwheretaxed.wixsite.com/rockandfirepress/about
Larger Death's Head.
My Books:
https://voidwheretaxed.wixsite.com/rockandfirepress/about
My Books:
https://voidwheretaxed.wixsite.com/rockandfirepress/about
A chocolate death's head. Let me see what I can find...
Memo to self: Write next book about a slab of cement for ease of photography...
LOL
My Books:
https://voidwheretaxed.wixsite.com/rockandfirepress/about
R.F.G. Cameron a.k.a. Sphinx
My work can be found at:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/antiqua_sphingehttps://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DDZJOT2
https://antiquasphinge.wixsite.com/books