# Is "In the Midst of Death" by Lawrence Block a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of In the Midst of Death by Lawrence Block (Dell, 1976) is identified by: Paperback original, published by Dell in 1976; the true first exists only in wraps, with no preceding hardcover from the publisher. True first is the US Dell mass-market paperback original of 1976; this is the third Matthew Scudder novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Paperback original, published by Dell in 1976; the true first exists only in wraps, with no preceding hardcover from the publisher
- Later hardcover editions (for example the G&G Books collector hardcover) are much later and not the first appearance
- Publisher imprint reads Dell
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lawrence Block |
| Publisher | Dell |
| Year | 1976 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Paperback original, published by Dell in 1976; the true first exists only in wraps, with… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Paperback original, published by Dell in 1976; the true first exists only in wraps, with no preceding hardcover from the publisher. Later hardcover editions (for example the G&G Books collector hardcover) are much later and not the first appearance.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the US Dell mass-market paperback original of 1976; this is the third Matthew Scudder novel. The early Scudder titles appeared as Dell paperback originals in 1976-1977 before the series moved to original hardcovers.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The paperback original is the true first; there is no earlier book-club or hardcover state to distinguish.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *In the Midst of Death* by Lawrence Block a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/in-the-midst-of-death
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.