# Is "One Shot" by Lee Child a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of One Shot by Lee Child (Delacorte Press, 2005) is identified by: On the US Delacorte Press edition, the copyright page states 'First Edition' and carries a complete number line descending to 1; the '1' must be present for the first printing. The true first edition is the UK Bantam Press hardcover, published April 2005, which preceded the US Delacorte Press edition (published June 2005).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- On the US Delacorte Press edition, the copyright page states 'First Edition' and carries a complete number line descending to 1; the '1' must be present for the first printing
- The first edition is bound in red paper-covered boards backed with black cloth, with copper-colored foil lettering on the spine; the pictorial dust jacket has a copper-foil background on the front panel and spine with black spine lettering, and the first-issue jacket should retain its printed front-flap price (presence only, no amount)
- Publisher imprint reads Delacorte Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lee Child |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press |
| Year | 2005 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | On the US Delacorte Press edition, the copyright page states 'First Edition' and carries… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
On the US Delacorte Press edition, the copyright page states 'First Edition' and carries a complete number line descending to 1; the '1' must be present for the first printing. The first edition is bound in red paper-covered boards backed with black cloth, with copper-colored foil lettering on the spine; the pictorial dust jacket has a copper-foil background on the front panel and spine with black spine lettering, and the first-issue jacket should retain its printed front-flap price (presence only, no amount).

## Is this the true first?
The true first edition is the UK Bantam Press hardcover, published April 2005, which preceded the US Delacorte Press edition (published June 2005). The Delacorte printing is the genuine US first edition but not the first appearance in print. Ninth Reacher novel; later adapted as the film 'Jack Reacher'.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later movie tie-in printings tied to the film 'Jack Reacher' exist and are not first editions; the stated 'First Edition' with number line to 1, plus the original copper-foil jacket, identifies the US first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *One Shot* by Lee Child a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/one-shot
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.