# Is "Destination Unknown (US: So Many Steps to Death)" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Destination Unknown (US: So Many Steps to Death) by Agatha Christie (William Collins, Sons, 1954) is identified by: UK: Collins Crime Club, 1 November 1954, priced the printed price on the jacket, as Destination Unknown. UK Collins Crime Club is the true first; the US Dodd, Mead edition appeared in 1955 under the variant title So Many Steps to Death.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK: Collins Crime Club, 1 November 1954, priced the printed price on the jacket, as Destination Unknown
- US: Dodd, Mead, 1955, as So Many Steps to Death
- A spy thriller, not a Poirot or Marple case
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins, Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | William Collins, Sons |
| Year | 1954 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK: Collins Crime Club, 1 November 1954, priced the printed price on the jacket, as… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
UK: Collins Crime Club, 1 November 1954, priced the printed price on the jacket, as Destination Unknown. US: Dodd, Mead, 1955, as So Many Steps to Death. A spy thriller, not a Poirot or Marple case.

## Is this the true first?
UK Collins Crime Club is the true first; the US Dodd, Mead edition appeared in 1955 under the variant title So Many Steps to Death.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and book-club editions follow the 1954 Collins first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Destination Unknown (US: So Many Steps to Death)* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/destination-unknown-us-so-many-steps-to-death
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.