# Is "Blow Fly" by Patricia Cornwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2003) is identified by: First printing has the full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10). US G.P.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing has the full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10)
- ISBN 0-399-15089-7
- Published October 2003, about 465 pages
- Bound in black boards with a red cloth spine, silver lettering, and red endpapers; dust jacket designed by Walter Harper, with the printed price present on the front flap of a first-issue jacket
- Publisher imprint reads G.P. Putnam's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Patricia Cornwell |
| Publisher | G.P. Putnam's Sons |
| Year | 2003 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing has the full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page (1 2 3 4 5 6 7… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First printing has the full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10). ISBN 0-399-15089-7 (9780399150890). Published October 2003, about 465 pages. Bound in black boards with a red cloth spine, silver lettering, and red endpapers; dust jacket designed by Walter Harper, with the printed price present on the front flap of a first-issue jacket.

## Is this the true first?
US G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 2003, is the true first; twelfth Kay Scarpetta novel. (The UK Little, Brown edition appeared separately.)

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
None significant.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Blow Fly* by Patricia Cornwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/blow-fly
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.