
1971 Joseph hardcover, this the later, 1973, Pan paperback
THE FIRST LEW ARCHER

1949 Knopf hardcover – cover illustration by Bill English
first in the long-running and deservedly respected Lew Archer series by Kenneth Millar, aka Ross Macdonald. After using his father’s name as the pen name for this novel, he was forced by John D. MacDonald to alter it for future novels, and Ross Macdonald was born.

March 1950 Pocket paperback, first printing
cover painting by Harvey Kidder

British 1951 Cassell hardcover

1954 Pan reissue – cover by Sax
better image than previously posted

1959 Pocket reissue, third printing – cover art by Jerry Allison (owner’s copy)

1966 Fontana movie tie-in edition



1977 Bantam reissue – cover art by Mitchell Hooks


1984 Bantam reissue – cover art by James Marsh

1998 Vintage/Black Lizard reissue

1990 Warner edition – cover art by Gary Kelley (owner’s copy)
[updated 9/6/25, 8/27/26]

London: Hamish Hamilton, 1964. First UK Edition, preceding all others. The first collection of these stories.
“Killer in the Rain” (Black Mask Magazine, Jan. 1935)
“The Man Who Liked Dogs” (Black Mask Magazine, Mar. 1936)
“The Curtain” (Black Mask Magazine, Sept. 1936)
“Try the Girl” (Black Mask Magazine, Jan. 1937)
“Mandarin’s Jade” (Dime Detective Magazine, Nov. 1937)
“Bay City Blues” (Dime Detective Magazine, June 1938)
“The Lady in the Lake” (Dime Detective Magazine, Jan. 1939)
“No Crime in the Mountains”(Detective Story Magazine, Sept. 1941)
introduction by Philip Durham

1st Pocket edition, December 1965

June 1973 Bantam reissue
cover art by Tom Adams


July 1977 Ballantine mass market, 3rd print
cover art by Whistlin’ Dixie

1979 Pan/Macmillan reissue – cover photo by Robert Golden
[post reworked 7/4/25, 3/1/26]