# Is "Bad Luck and Trouble" by Lee Child a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child (Delacorte Press, 2007) is identified by: On the US Delacorte Press edition, look for 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page together with a complete number line descending to 1, and the first-state jacket with its printed price intact. The true first appearance is the UK Bantam Press hardcover (411 pages), published in 2007, which preceded the US Delacorte Press edition of the same year.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- On the US Delacorte Press edition, look for 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page together with a complete number line descending to 1, and the first-state jacket with its printed price intact
- Publisher imprint reads Delacorte Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lee Child |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press |
| Year | 2007 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | On the US Delacorte Press edition, look for 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
On the US Delacorte Press edition, look for 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page together with a complete number line descending to 1, and the first-state jacket with its printed price intact.

## Is this the true first?
The true first appearance is the UK Bantam Press hardcover (411 pages), published in 2007, which preceded the US Delacorte Press edition of the same year. The Delacorte printing is the genuine US first edition but not the first appearance in print. Eleventh Jack Reacher novel.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No significant book-club edition issue affects the stated-first US Delacorte printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Bad Luck and Trouble* by Lee Child a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/bad-luck-and-trouble
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.