# Is "The Monkey's Raincoat" by Robert Crais a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais (Bantam Books, 1987) is identified by: US Bantam mass-market paperback original, 1987, a true paperback original with no preceding hardcover. The US Bantam 1987 paperback is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Bantam mass-market paperback original, 1987, a true paperback original with no preceding hardcover
- It is Crais's debut and the first Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novel
- The first printing is identified by a complete number line ending in 1 and the original Bantam cover art
- It won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original and the Macavity Award for Best First Novel
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Crais |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Year | 1987 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Bantam mass-market paperback original, 1987, a true paperback original with no preceding hardcover |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US Bantam mass-market paperback original, 1987, a true paperback original with no preceding hardcover. It is Crais's debut and the first Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novel. The first printing is identified by a complete number line ending in 1 and the original Bantam cover art. It won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original and the Macavity Award for Best First Novel.

## Is this the true first?
The US Bantam 1987 paperback is the true first. Any later hardcover issue is a first-thus in hardback, not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reissue printings carry altered cover art or a number line that does not end in 1; the true first is the 1987 Bantam mass-market.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Monkey's Raincoat* by Robert Crais a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-monkeys-raincoat
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.