16 Dennis Lehane first editions are documented on this shelf, from A Drink Before the War (1994) to Small Mercies (2023) across 6 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Dennis Lehane title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Dennis Lehane copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- A Drink Before the War — 1994 · Harcourt Brace & CompanyUS Harcourt Brace first, 1994, with 'First edition' stated on the copyright page followed by an ascending letter line reading A B C D E (the present 'A' marking the first printing). Quarter black cloth over green paper boards with metallic green spine lettering; ISBN 0-15-100093-X. Lehane's debut and the first Kenzie and Gennaro novel; won the 1995 Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel. The US Harcourt Brace 1994 edition is the true first; UK editions are later first-thus printings. On the ascending letter line, a first printing must show the 'A'; later printings begin at a higher letter (B, C, and so on). Book-club editions lack the jacket price and the gutter code.
- Darkness, Take My Hand — 1996 · William MorrowCopyright page states 'First Edition' accompanied by a complete number line descending to 1. Published by William Morrow, 1996 (ISBN 0688143806). Dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap; the price should be present. Second Kenzie/Gennaro novel. US William Morrow edition is the true first (1996); the UK edition followed in 1997, so it does not precede the American first. Book-club editions exist and are typically identified by a blindstamp to the rear board, absence of the number line, and an unpriced jacket.
- Sacred — 1997 · William MorrowFirst edition, first printing, William Morrow and Company, 1997, octavo, ISBN 0-688-14381-4. The copyright page states 'First Edition' with a full number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. Quarter-bound in paper and cloth over boards with a stamped spine, in a glossy pictorial dust jacket priced on the front flap. Third of the Kenzie and Gennaro novels. The US William Morrow edition is the true first. The book-club edition is identified by the rear-board blindstamp, the absent number line, and the unpriced jacket.
- Gone, Baby, Gone — 1998 · William MorrowCopyright page states "First Edition" with a complete number line including 1; dust jacket priced on the front flap. Fourth Kenzie/Gennaro novel, published July 1998. US William Morrow edition is the true first. Book-club edition identified by the rear-board blindstamp, absence of the number line, and unpriced jacket.
- Prayers for Rain — 1999 · William MorrowUS William Morrow first printing: the copyright page states "First Edition" and carries a full number line beginning with 1. The dust jacket is priced on the front flap (the printed price should be present) and is unclipped on a true trade first. Fifth Kenzie/Gennaro novel, published May 1999 by William Morrow & Company. Signed copies are typically inscribed on the title page. US William Morrow edition is the true first. Book-club edition identified by the rear-board blindstamp, the absent number line, and an unpriced jacket lacking the front-flap price.
- Mystic River — 2001 · William MorrowWilliam Morrow (New York), 2001, first printing: the copyright page carries the Morrow first-edition statement together with the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Bound in quarter black paper over grey boards with orange spine lettering and orange endpapers and pastedowns; the Chip Kidd-designed dust jacket bears its printed first-issue price on the front flap. Lehane's breakout standalone (ISBN 0-688-16316-5). The US Morrow 2001 hardcover is the true first, preceding the UK Bantam edition. The stated first edition with full number line to 1 is the collectible; signed copies are sought. Later printings show a number line not reaching 1. The stated first edition, full number line to 1, and priced Kidd jacket together confirm the trade first.
- Mystic River (UK) — 2001 · Bantam PressUK Bantam Press (Transworld) edition, 2001, ISBN 0593047508. It states 'First published in Great Britain' with a number line and is a first-thus in the UK, collected by British buyers but secondary in precedence to the US Morrow first. First-thus. The true first is the US William Morrow 2001 edition (ISBN 0688163165); the American first holds priority for this American author. Listed to flag the precedence trap. Book-club (BCA) UK printings carry a BCA code and lack a printed price.
- Shutter Island — 2003 · William MorrowWilliam Morrow, 2003; copyright page states 'First Edition' with a full number line ending in 1. Quarter-cloth binding over boards with a deckle-edged text block, roughly 325 pages; the first-issue dust jacket carries its printed price on the front flap (unclipped). Standalone novel, published April 2003. The US William Morrow edition is the true first. Book-club printings and unpriced-jacket variants exist; club copies lack the number line and the printed jacket price, and later movie tie-in printings are separate and not the first.
- Coronado — 2006 · William MorrowUS hardcover states 'First Edition' with a full descending number line on the copyright page. Collects Lehane's short fiction together with 'Until Gwen' recast as the two-act play 'Coronado.' First hardcover appearance of these collected pieces. The William Morrow US hardcover is the true first edition of the collection. A UK Bantam edition also appeared in 2006 (issued in softcover), but there is no reliable evidence it preceded the US Morrow hardcover or that the US text was expanded from it. Treat the US Morrow hardcover as the first edition; do not assume UK precedence.
- The Given Day — 2008 · William MorrowWilliam Morrow (New York) hardcover, September 2008; the copyright page states 'First Edition' with a full descending number line ending in 1. Thick hardcover of roughly 704 pages with deckle (rough-cut) fore-edges, issued in a printed, unclipped first-state dust jacket. The US William Morrow hardcover is the true first edition; it is the first novel in the Coughlin family trilogy. None significant; identify the trade first by the 'First Edition' statement, the complete number line ending in 1, and the deckle edges.
- Moonlight Mile — 2010 · William MorrowWilliam Morrow (HarperCollins), New York, 2010, first US edition, with 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page above a full descending number line ending in 1. Bound in navy paper-covered boards with a black cloth spine lettered in bronze, with navy endpapers; the dust jacket was designed by Mary Schuck and, in first-issue state, retains the printed price on the front flap. US William Morrow hardcover is the true first; sixth Kenzie/Gennaro novel. The UK edition (Little, Brown) followed. None significant.
- Live by Night — 2012 · William MorrowMorrow first printing has 'First Edition' stated together with a number line ending in 1, and the first-issue jacket shows the printed retail price. Won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2013. Signed first printings and signed indie-store states exist. The US William Morrow edition of 2012 is generally taken as the true first; the UK first was Little, Brown, also issued in 2012 and roughly contemporaneous rather than clearly later. No meaningful book-club edition; later printings advance the number line.
- The Drop — 2014 · William Morrow PaperbacksIssued as a paperback original by William Morrow Paperbacks (September 2014); copyright page states 'First Edition' with a number line. Film tie-in cover. A simultaneous/near-simultaneous hardcover also exists, so specify the paperback-original format when identifying. Novel expanded from Lehane's short story 'Animal Rescue' (first published in 'Boston Noir,' Akashic Books, 2009); the William Morrow Paperbacks edition is the first book appearance of the novel. Film tie-in; a hardcover edition (separate ISBN) was also published — distinguish paperback original from hardcover when cataloguing.
- World Gone By — 2015 · William MorrowThe copyright page states 'First Edition' with a full descending number line ending in 1. The first-issue dust jacket carries the printed publisher's price on the front flap (US price over Canadian price) and should be unclipped on a true first-state jacket, with the author's name rendered in the title treatment on the front panel. Bound in publisher's cloth-and-board with spine stamping. The US William Morrow hardcover (New York, 2015) is the true first edition; third of the Joe Coughlin novels following 'The Given Day' and 'Live by Night.' No earlier printing precedes it. None significant. The stated 'First Edition' together with the complete number line ending in 1 identifies the first printing.
- Since We Fell — 2017 · Ecco/HarperCollinsEcco / HarperCollins, New York, 2017, first US edition (ISBN 978-0-06-212938-3). The copyright page states 'First Edition' above a full descending number line ending in 1. Issued in cloth-covered boards; the first-issue dust jacket should retain the printed price on the front flap. US Ecco (HarperCollins) hardcover, published 9 May 2017, is the true first; standalone novel. None significant.
- Small Mercies — 2023 · HarperUS Harper (HarperCollins) hardcover, New York, published 25 April 2023 (trade ISBN 9780062129482), roughly 299-303 pp. First printing states First Edition on the copyright page with a complete number line whose lowest digit is 1; a line ending in a higher digit (for example ending in 5) denotes a later printing. Binding is black paper over boards. The dust jacket should retain its printed price. A Barnes & Noble…. US Harper (HarperCollins imprint) hardcover is the true first; a standalone novel set in 1974 Boston, published April 2023. Collect the trade Harper first printing (number line to 1), distinct from the Barnes & Noble exclusive. Later printings are identified by a number line not reaching 1 (e.g. ending in 5 for a fifth printing). The Barnes & Noble exclusive with bonus material is a separate issue, not a book-club reprint.
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