# Is "Sunset Express" by Robert Crais a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sunset Express by Robert Crais (Hyperion, 1996) is identified by: First printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page above the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. US Hyperion hardcover is the true first; the sixth Elvis Cole novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page above the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
- Bound in orange boards with gold quarter cloth and orange lettering on the spine, with orange endpapers; the roughly 274-page text block issued in a pictorial dust jacket by Dan O'Leary
- On an unclipped copy the printed price appears at the front flap corner
- Publisher imprint reads Hyperion
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Crais |
| Publisher | Hyperion |
| Year | 1996 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page above the full number line 10… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page above the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Bound in orange boards with gold quarter cloth and orange lettering on the spine, with orange endpapers; the roughly 274-page text block issued in a pictorial dust jacket by Dan O'Leary. On an unclipped copy the printed price appears at the front flap corner.

## Is this the true first?
US Hyperion hardcover is the true first; the sixth Elvis Cole novel.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No significant book club edition noted for the first printing; the orange boards with gold quarter cloth, the orange endpapers, and the stated line with full 10-to-1 sequence identify the Hyperion first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sunset Express* by Robert Crais a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sunset-express
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.