# Is "Bad Love" by Jonathan Kellerman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Bad Love by Jonathan Kellerman (Bantam, 1994) is identified by: First printing of the Bantam hardcover (ISBN 0-553-08919-6) has FIRST EDITION stated on the copyright page together with the complete descending number line ending in 1 (in the form 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1); on later printings the low numbers are progressively stripped. US Bantam hardcover is the true first, the eighth Alex Delaware novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing of the Bantam hardcover (ISBN 0-553-08919-6) has FIRST EDITION stated on the copyright page together with the complete descending number line ending in 1 (in the form 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1); on later printings the low numbers are progressively stripped
- The book is quarter-bound in black cloth over red paper-covered boards with gilt lettering to the spine, in the original pictorial dust jacket
- The jacket should retain its printed price at the top of the front flap and is not price-clipped in first state
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jonathan Kellerman |
| Publisher | Bantam |
| Year | 1994 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing of the Bantam hardcover (ISBN 0-553-08919-6) has FIRST EDITION stated on… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing of the Bantam hardcover (ISBN 0-553-08919-6) has FIRST EDITION stated on the copyright page together with the complete descending number line ending in 1 (in the form 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1); on later printings the low numbers are progressively stripped. The book is quarter-bound in black cloth over red paper-covered boards with gilt lettering to the spine, in the original pictorial dust jacket. The jacket should retain its printed price at the top of the front flap and is not price-clipped in first state.

## Is this the true first?
US Bantam hardcover is the true first, the eighth Alex Delaware novel. The UK edition (Little, Brown/Warner, different ISBN) followed and is not the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No significant book-club printing point misleads identification; the complete number line ending in 1 alongside the stated FIRST EDITION is the reliable first-printing tell, and a stripped line indicates a later printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Bad Love* by Jonathan Kellerman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/bad-love
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.