# Is "Never Go Back" by Lee Child a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Never Go Back by Lee Child (Bantam Press, 2013) is identified by: UK Bantam Press hardcover is the true first: confirm the Bantam Press imprint and 2013 dating. The UK Bantam Press (Transworld) hardcover was published on 29 August 2013, ahead of the US Delacorte Press edition on 3 September 2013.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Bantam Press hardcover is the true first: confirm the Bantam Press imprint and 2013 dating
- The US Delacorte printing states 'First Edition' with a number line ending in 1, which marks the US first printing only
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lee Child |
| Publisher | Bantam Press |
| Year | 2013 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Bantam Press hardcover is the true first: confirm the Bantam Press imprint and 2013… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Bantam Press hardcover is the true first: confirm the Bantam Press imprint and 2013 dating. The US Delacorte printing states 'First Edition' with a number line ending in 1, which marks the US first printing only.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Bantam Press (Transworld) hardcover was published on 29 August 2013, ahead of the US Delacorte Press edition on 3 September 2013. The UK Bantam Press hardcover is the true first edition; the US Delacorte is the first US printing. Eighteenth Reacher novel.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later movie tie-in printings exist and are not the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Never Go Back* by Lee Child a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/never-go-back
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.