# Is "Killer in the Rain" by Raymond Chandler a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Killer in the Rain by Raymond Chandler (Hamish Hamilton, 1964) is identified by: Posthumous collection of eight early Chandler pulp stories (from Black Mask, Dime Detective, Detective Story Magazine) gathered in book form for the first time, with a Philip Durham introduction. Precedence between the two 1964 editions is not clearly settled: the UK Hamish Hamilton and US Houghton Mifflin editions both appeared in 1964 and are best treated as effectively contemporaneous rather than one firmly preceding the other.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Posthumous collection of eight early Chandler pulp stories (from Black Mask, Dime Detective, Detective Story Magazine) gathered in book form for the first time, with a Philip Durham introduction
- Two 1964 hardcover editions exist: UK Hamish Hamilton and US Houghton Mifflin (Boston, blue buckram, white lettering, in illustrated dust jacket)
- Publisher imprint reads Hamish Hamilton
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Raymond Chandler |
| Publisher | Hamish Hamilton |
| Year | 1964 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Posthumous collection of eight early Chandler pulp stories (from Black Mask, Dime… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Posthumous collection of eight early Chandler pulp stories (from Black Mask, Dime Detective, Detective Story Magazine) gathered in book form for the first time, with a Philip Durham introduction. Two 1964 hardcover editions exist: UK Hamish Hamilton and US Houghton Mifflin (Boston, blue buckram, white lettering, in illustrated dust jacket).

## Is this the true first?
Precedence between the two 1964 editions is not clearly settled: the UK Hamish Hamilton and US Houghton Mifflin editions both appeared in 1964 and are best treated as effectively contemporaneous rather than one firmly preceding the other. Collect the edition matching the market you want; do not assert UK-over-US priority without a dated source.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprints follow both first editions.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Killer in the Rain* by Raymond Chandler a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/killer-in-the-rain
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.