# Is "Hot Ice" by Nora Roberts a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hot Ice by Nora Roberts (Bantam Books, 1987) is identified by: Bantam mass-market paperback original, August 1987 (ISBN 0553264613). The 1987 Bantam paperback original is the true first; there was no hardcover or trade first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Bantam mass-market paperback original, August 1987 (ISBN 0553264613)
- The first printing is identified by the original cover price and the lowest printing number present in the number line, with no later-printing notice
- This marks Roberts's move from category romance into single-title romantic suspense
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Nora Roberts |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Year | 1987 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Bantam mass-market paperback original, August 1987 (ISBN 0553264613) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Bantam mass-market paperback original, August 1987 (ISBN 0553264613). The first printing is identified by the original cover price and the lowest printing number present in the number line, with no later-printing notice. This marks Roberts's move from category romance into single-title romantic suspense.

## Is this the true first?
The 1987 Bantam paperback original is the true first; there was no hardcover or trade first. A later Bantam hardcover reissue (ISBN 0553802747) is first thus only. Separately, Roberts also wrote as J.D. Robb (the In Death series); those firsts are collected on their own and the pseudonym was kept secret early on.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club hardcover of this title in 1987. For the paperback original, verify the original cover price and the number line rather than any jacket points.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hot Ice* by Nora Roberts a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hot-ice
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.