# Is "The Sentry" by Robert Crais a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Sentry by Robert Crais (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2011) is identified by: The trade first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page beneath a complete number line retaining the numeral 1, in Putnam boards with a pictorial dust jacket bearing the publisher's printed price on the front flap. A Joe Pike novel in the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series; the 2011 G.P.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The trade first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page beneath a complete number line retaining the numeral 1, in Putnam boards with a pictorial dust jacket bearing the publisher's printed price on the front flap
- The separate Mysterious Bookshop deluxe issue is a signed limited edition of 100 numbered copies, bound in blue quarter cloth with gilt spine titling and marbled paper over boards, signed by the author to the limitation leaf and protected by a plain-paper overlay and acetate jacket
- Publisher imprint reads G.P. Putnam's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Crais |
| Publisher | G.P. Putnam's Sons |
| Year | 2011 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The trade first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page beneath a complete… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The trade first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page beneath a complete number line retaining the numeral 1, in Putnam boards with a pictorial dust jacket bearing the publisher's printed price on the front flap. The separate Mysterious Bookshop deluxe issue is a signed limited edition of 100 numbered copies, bound in blue quarter cloth with gilt spine titling and marbled paper over boards, signed by the author to the limitation leaf and protected by a plain-paper overlay and acetate jacket.

## Is this the true first?
A Joe Pike novel in the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series; the 2011 G.P. Putnam's Sons hardcover is the trade first. The Mysterious Bookshop signed limited edition of 100 copies, issued by arrangement with G.P. Putnam's Sons in 2011, stands as the true first for collectors of the deluxe form and precedes the ordinary trade printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition affects the true first; the trade first is identified by the "First Edition" statement and intact number line, as distinct from the numbered signed limited issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Sentry* by Robert Crais a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-sentry
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.