# Is "Five Little Pigs (US: Murder in Retrospect)" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Five Little Pigs (US: Murder in Retrospect) by Agatha Christie (Dodd, Mead and Company, 1942) is identified by: The true first is the US edition, published by Dodd, Mead in May 1942 under the title Murder in Retrospect, preceding the UK Collins Crime Club edition titled Five Little Pigs (January 1943). The true first is US Dodd, Mead (May 1942) as Murder in Retrospect, preceding the UK Collins edition of January 1943.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the US edition, published by Dodd, Mead in May 1942 under the title Murder in Retrospect, preceding the UK Collins Crime Club edition titled Five Little Pigs (January 1943)
- Hercule Poirot
- Publisher imprint reads Dodd, Mead and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | Dodd, Mead and Company |
| Year | 1942 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the US edition, published by Dodd, Mead in May 1942 under the title… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The true first is the US edition, published by Dodd, Mead in May 1942 under the title Murder in Retrospect, preceding the UK Collins Crime Club edition titled Five Little Pigs (January 1943). Hercule Poirot.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is US Dodd, Mead (May 1942) as Murder in Retrospect, preceding the UK Collins edition of January 1943.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and reprints follow the first editions.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Five Little Pigs (US: Murder in Retrospect)* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/five-little-pigs-us-murder-in-retrospect
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.