# Is "Killer on the Road (a.k.a. Silent Terror)" by James Ellroy a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Killer on the Road (a.k.a. Silent Terror) by James Ellroy (Avon Books, 1986) is identified by: Paperback original issued under the title Silent Terror, with a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page indicating the first printing. The true first is the US Avon mass-market paperback original of 1986 titled Silent Terror.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Paperback original issued under the title Silent Terror, with a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page indicating the first printing
- Publisher imprint reads Avon Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James Ellroy |
| Publisher | Avon Books |
| Year | 1986 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Paperback original issued under the title Silent Terror, with a complete number line… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Paperback original issued under the title Silent Terror, with a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page indicating the first printing.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the US Avon mass-market paperback original of 1986 titled Silent Terror. It was later reissued under Ellroy's preferred title Killer on the Road (paperback 1990, trade paperback 1999); those retitled printings are not the true first. A signed limited hardcover (Blood & Guts Press, 1987) is a later first-thus for the hardcover format only.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. Retitled Killer on the Road printings and the later Blood & Guts hardcover are not the true first of the text.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Killer on the Road (a.k.a. Silent Terror)* by James Ellroy a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/killer-on-the-road-aka-silent-terror
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.