# Is "Past Tense" by Lee Child a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Past Tense by Lee Child (Delacorte Press, 2018) is identified by: Octavo, bound in deep charcoal boards with gilt stamping to the spine; 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page above a complete number line ending in 1, with the line running 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. US Delacorte Press first, the twenty-third Jack Reacher novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Octavo, bound in deep charcoal boards with gilt stamping to the spine; 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page above a complete number line ending in 1, with the line running 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
- Issued in a color pictorial dust jacket that should carry the publisher's printed price at the top of the front flap
- Publisher-issued autographed copies (a distinct ISBN) add a round 'Signed Copy' seal to the jacket front; the underlying sheets and number line are identical to the trade first
- Publisher imprint reads Delacorte Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lee Child |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press |
| Year | 2018 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Octavo, bound in deep charcoal boards with gilt stamping to the spine; 'First Edition'… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Octavo, bound in deep charcoal boards with gilt stamping to the spine; 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page above a complete number line ending in 1, with the line running 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Issued in a color pictorial dust jacket that should carry the publisher's printed price at the top of the front flap. Publisher-issued autographed copies (a distinct ISBN) add a round 'Signed Copy' seal to the jacket front; the underlying sheets and number line are identical to the trade first.

## Is this the true first?
US Delacorte Press first, the twenty-third Jack Reacher novel. The US Delacorte and UK Bantam Press hardbacks were both released on 5 November 2018, so the two editions are effectively simultaneous firsts; each is the true first for its own market.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No true book-club issue is a concern here; later Delacorte printings drop the number 1 from the number line while retaining the 'First Edition' slug, so the low number is the operative point.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Past Tense* by Lee Child a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/past-tense
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.