# Is ""R" Is for Ricochet" by Sue Grafton a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of "R" Is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2004) is identified by: First printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page together with a complete number line reading 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2, the full sequence present and ending in 1; both the words and the full line must be present. US G.P.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page together with a complete number line reading 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2, the full sequence present and ending in 1; both the words and the full line must be present
- Issued by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 2004 (ISBN 0-399-15228-8) in quarter-cloth binding with a black cloth spine over red boards and metallic spine lettering, xii, 352 pages
- The first-issue pictorial dust jacket carries the large "R" design and should retain its printed price on the front flap (a price-clipped example simply lacks that flap corner and is still a first if the copyright-page points are present)
- Publisher imprint reads G.P. Putnam's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sue Grafton |
| Publisher | G.P. Putnam's Sons |
| Year | 2004 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page together with a complete… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page together with a complete number line reading 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2, the full sequence present and ending in 1; both the words and the full line must be present. Issued by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 2004 (ISBN 0-399-15228-8) in quarter-cloth binding with a black cloth spine over red boards and metallic spine lettering, xii, 352 pages. The first-issue pictorial dust jacket carries the large "R" design and should retain its printed price on the front flap (a price-clipped example simply lacks that flap corner and is still a first if the copyright-page points are present).

## Is this the true first?
US G.P. Putnam's Sons edition is the accepted true first; eighteenth Kinsey Millhone alphabet mystery. A UK Macmillan hardcover also appeared in 2004, but the US Putnam printing is the collected first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions lack the stated "First Edition" and full number line and are printed on lighter bulk with a blind-stamped rear board and no printed jacket price; any copy showing an added-printing statement is a later Putnam printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *"R" Is for Ricochet* by Sue Grafton a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/r-is-for-ricochet
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.