2 James Crumley first editions are documented on this shelf, from The Wrong Case (1975) to The Last Good Kiss (1978) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that James Crumley 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 James Crumley copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.

The Wrong Case — 1975 · Random HouseRandom House's test for this era is the words "First Edition" on the copyright page: the statement is present on the first printing and removed on the second and later printings, which is the primary and governing point. Dealer copies of the first printing also report a full Random House number line beginning with 2 (the house form "2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3"), but the guides disagree on when Random House adopted the…. US Random House, New York, 1975 is the true first — the census claim is confirmed. It is Crumley's second book and his first crime novel — his first book was the Vietnam novel One to Count Cadence (1969) — and it introduces Milo Milodragovitch. The census note's comparative-scarcity claim relative to The Last Good Kiss is a market judgement rather than a bibliographical point and is not carried here. No book-club issue of the Random House first is documented. The documented later-issue tell is the copyright page itself: a second or later printing is distinguished by the deletion of the "First Edition" statement.
The Last Good Kiss — 1978 · Random House'First Edition' stated on the copyright page with the Random House number line whose lowest number is '2' (Random House practice: 'First Edition' stated together with '2' as the lowest figure in the line denotes the first printing). Quarter cloth over boards; first-issue jacket bears the printed price on the front flap. 259 pp. US Random House is the true first; the novel introduces C. W. Sughrue and is widely regarded as one of the finest American private-eye novels. UK editions follow. Book-club edition lacks the stated 'First Edition' and the number line, bears a blind-stamp on the rear board, has no flap price, and is on lighter paper.

More Mystery, Crime & Thriller shelves: James Ellroy, James Lee Burke, James M. Cain, James Patterson, John D. MacDonald, John Dickson Carr.

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