# Is "Wicked Prey" by John Sandford a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Wicked Prey by John Sandford (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2009) is identified by: The true first is the G.P. The US G.P.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the G.P. Putnam's Sons hardcover, published May 2009, approximately 402 pages, bound in green boards with the author's initials JS embossed on the front cover and a green card-stock spine lettered in silver
- First printing is identified by a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1)
- Putnam printed no First Edition statement and relied on the number line, so the full line with the 1 present marks the first printing
- The first-issue dust jacket bears the design credit to Lisa Amoroso with the jacket photograph credited to Michel Mersereau and the author photograph to John Earle (book design by Nicole Laroche), and the jacket should retain its original printed price on the front flap as part of first-issue identification
- Publisher imprint reads G.P. Putnam's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Sandford |
| Publisher | G.P. Putnam's Sons |
| Year | 2009 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the G.P. Putnam's Sons hardcover, published May 2009, approximately 402 pages, bound in green boards with the author's… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The true first is the G.P. Putnam's Sons hardcover, published May 2009, approximately 402 pages, bound in green boards with the author's initials JS embossed on the front cover and a green card-stock spine lettered in silver. First printing is identified by a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1); Putnam printed no First Edition statement and relied on the number line, so the full line with the 1 present marks the first printing. The first-issue dust jacket bears the design credit to Lisa Amoroso with the jacket photograph credited to Michel Mersereau and the author photograph to John Earle (book design by Nicole Laroche), and the jacket should retain its original printed price on the front flap as part of first-issue identification.

## Is this the true first?
The US G.P. Putnam's Sons edition is the true first. Sandford is an American author published first by Putnam, so there is no UK or Canadian precedence to consider. This is the nineteenth Lucas Davenport (Prey) novel.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No significant book-club edition point of concern; the Putnam trade first is identified by the complete number line ending in 1 and the JS-embossed green boards.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Wicked Prey* by John Sandford a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/wicked-prey
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.