# Is "The Midnight Line" by Lee Child a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Midnight Line by Lee Child (Delacorte Press, 2017) is identified by: Octavo, bound in black boards with red foil lettering to the spine; 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page above a complete number line ending in 1 (9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). US Delacorte Press true first, the twenty-second Jack Reacher novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Octavo, bound in black boards with red foil lettering to the spine; 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page above a complete number line ending in 1 (9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1)
- Issued in a color pictorial dust jacket that should retain the publisher's printed price on the front flap; publisher-signed copies carry a 'Signed Copy' seal on the jacket but are otherwise identical to the trade first
- Publisher imprint reads Delacorte Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lee Child |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press |
| Year | 2017 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Octavo, bound in black boards with red foil lettering to the spine; 'First Edition'… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Octavo, bound in black boards with red foil lettering to the spine; 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page above a complete number line ending in 1 (9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). Issued in a color pictorial dust jacket that should retain the publisher's printed price on the front flap; publisher-signed copies carry a 'Signed Copy' seal on the jacket but are otherwise identical to the trade first.

## Is this the true first?
US Delacorte Press true first, the twenty-second Jack Reacher novel. The US edition (7 November 2017) preceded the UK Bantam Press edition (15 November 2017), so the US hardback is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
None significant. Later printings drop the terminal 1 from the number line while keeping the 'First Edition' statement, so the intact number line is the deciding point.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Midnight Line* by Lee Child a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-midnight-line
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.