# Is "Lullaby Town" by Robert Crais a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Lullaby Town by Robert Crais (Bantam, 1992) is identified by: First US hardcover edition, Bantam Books, dated 1992, the third Elvis Cole novel, an octavo of roughly 295 pages. The US Bantam hardcover is the true first; the third Elvis Cole novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First US hardcover edition, Bantam Books, dated 1992, the third Elvis Cole novel, an octavo of roughly 295 pages
- First printing carries the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page
- Binding is red cloth on the spine with gilt spine lettering over yellow boards, and the book is issued in a priced pictorial dust jacket, the printed price present on the front flap; a price-clipped flap does not alter the first-printing identification, which rests on the number line
- It is regarded as the author's scarcest trade title and was a Shamus Award and Anthony Award finalist
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Crais |
| Publisher | Bantam |
| Year | 1992 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First US hardcover edition, Bantam Books, dated 1992, the third Elvis Cole novel, an… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First US hardcover edition, Bantam Books, dated 1992, the third Elvis Cole novel, an octavo of roughly 295 pages. First printing carries the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page. Binding is red cloth on the spine with gilt spine lettering over yellow boards, and the book is issued in a priced pictorial dust jacket, the printed price present on the front flap; a price-clipped flap does not alter the first-printing identification, which rests on the number line. It is regarded as the author's scarcest trade title and was a Shamus Award and Anthony Award finalist.

## Is this the true first?
The US Bantam hardcover is the true first; the third Elvis Cole novel. Note it was NOT Crais's first hardcover, since Stalking the Angel (1989) preceded it in hardcover.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A book-club edition exists and is distinguished from the trade first by the absence of a printed price on the jacket, a smaller and lighter binding, and typically a blindstamp or small dot to the rear board, versus the trade first's full 10-to-1 number line and priced jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Lullaby Town* by Robert Crais a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/lullaby-town
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.