# Is "Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (US: The Boomerang Clue)" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (US: The Boomerang Clue) by Agatha Christie (William Collins, 1934) is identified by: UK Collins Crime Club, September 1934, priced the printed price; features the amateur sleuths Bobby Jones and Frankie Derwent. The UK Collins printing is the true first; the US Dodd, Mead edition, under the variant title, followed in 1935.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Collins Crime Club, September 1934, priced the printed price; features the amateur sleuths Bobby Jones and Frankie Derwent
- Published in the US by Dodd, Mead in 1935 as The Boomerang Clue
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | William Collins |
| Year | 1934 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Collins Crime Club, September 1934, priced the printed price; features the amateur… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Collins Crime Club, September 1934, priced the printed price; features the amateur sleuths Bobby Jones and Frankie Derwent. Published in the US by Dodd, Mead in 1935 as The Boomerang Clue.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Collins printing is the true first; the US Dodd, Mead edition, under the variant title, followed in 1935.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A condensed magazine version ran in the US in Redbook in 1933; the full-text UK book of 1934 remains the true first edition. Later Collins impressions and reprints follow.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (US: The Boomerang Clue)* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/why-didnt-they-ask-evans-us-the-boomerang-clue
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.