# Is "Murder Is Easy (US: Easy to Kill)" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Murder Is Easy (US: Easy to Kill) by Agatha Christie (William Collins, 1939) is identified by: UK Collins Crime Club, June 1939, is the first edition. The UK Collins Crime Club edition is the true first; the US Dodd, Mead edition is a separate American first under the changed title Easy to Kill.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Collins Crime Club, June 1939, is the first edition
- US Dodd, Mead published the American first in September 1939 under the variant title Easy to Kill
- The investigator is Luke Fitzwilliam
- Superintendent Battle appears only in a brief closing cameo, so the book is loosely grouped with the Battle novels but is not a Poirot title
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | William Collins |
| Year | 1939 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Collins Crime Club, June 1939, is the first edition |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
UK Collins Crime Club, June 1939, is the first edition. US Dodd, Mead published the American first in September 1939 under the variant title Easy to Kill. The investigator is Luke Fitzwilliam; Superintendent Battle appears only in a brief closing cameo, so the book is loosely grouped with the Battle novels but is not a Poirot title.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Collins Crime Club edition is the true first; the US Dodd, Mead edition is a separate American first under the changed title Easy to Kill.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Murder Is Easy (US: Easy to Kill)* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/murder-is-easy-us-easy-to-kill
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.