# Is "The Drop" by Dennis Lehane a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Drop by Dennis Lehane (William Morrow Paperbacks, 2014) is identified by: Issued as a paperback original by William Morrow Paperbacks (September 2014); copyright page states 'First Edition' with a number line. Novel expanded from Lehane's short story 'Animal Rescue' (first published in 'Boston Noir,' Akashic Books, 2009); the William Morrow Paperbacks edition is the first book appearance of the novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Issued as a paperback original by William Morrow Paperbacks (September 2014); copyright page states 'First Edition' with a number line
- Film tie-in cover
- A simultaneous/near-simultaneous hardcover also exists, so specify the paperback-original format when identifying
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow Paperbacks
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dennis Lehane |
| Publisher | William Morrow Paperbacks |
| Year | 2014 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Issued as a paperback original by William Morrow Paperbacks (September 2014); copyright… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Issued as a paperback original by William Morrow Paperbacks (September 2014); copyright page states 'First Edition' with a number line. Film tie-in cover. A simultaneous/near-simultaneous hardcover also exists, so specify the paperback-original format when identifying.

## Is this the true first?
Novel expanded from Lehane's short story 'Animal Rescue' (first published in 'Boston Noir,' Akashic Books, 2009); the William Morrow Paperbacks edition is the first book appearance of the novel.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Film tie-in; a hardcover edition (separate ISBN) was also published — distinguish paperback original from hardcover when cataloguing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Drop* by Dennis Lehane a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-drop-dennis-lehane
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.