# Is "L.A. Requiem" by Robert Crais a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais (Doubleday, 1999) is identified by: First printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page beneath a complete number line descending to 1. US Doubleday hardcover is the true first; the eighth Elvis Cole novel and the series breakout title.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page beneath a complete number line descending to 1
- Bound in black boards, the text block issued in the pictorial dust jacket; on an unclipped copy the printed price is present at the front flap corner
- Confirm both the stated line and the terminal 1
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Crais |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 1999 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page beneath a complete number… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page beneath a complete number line descending to 1. Bound in black boards, the text block issued in the pictorial dust jacket; on an unclipped copy the printed price is present at the front flap corner. Confirm both the stated line and the terminal 1.

## Is this the true first?
US Doubleday hardcover is the true first; the eighth Elvis Cole novel and the series breakout title. A same-year Scorpion Press (UK) limited edition — 99 numbered copies signed by Crais plus 16 specially bound lettered copies, carrying an appreciation by Tami Hoag — was also issued; it is a separate signed limited issue and does not displace the Doubleday trade edition as the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No significant book club edition noted for the first printing; the stated "First Edition" line with terminal 1, the black boards, and the priced trade jacket separate the Doubleday first from the later trade printings and from the Scorpion Press limited.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *L.A. Requiem* by Robert Crais a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/la-requiem
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.