# Is "Death Instinct (Murder Game)" by Phillip Emmons (Bentley Little) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Death Instinct (Murder Game) by Phillip Emmons (Bentley Little) (Signet, 1992) is identified by: Signet (New American Library) mass-market paperback original, 1992, published under the Phillip Emmons pseudonym (ISBN 0-451-17284-1). Paperback original under the Phillip Emmons pseudonym; only one printing was issued.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Signet (New American Library) mass-market paperback original, 1992, published under the Phillip Emmons pseudonym (ISBN 0-451-17284-1)
- As a paperback original it exists in a single printing; the wraps carry the Signet imprint and the 1992 copyright, with the number line running down to 1
- This is the first edition
- Publisher imprint reads Signet
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Phillip Emmons (Bentley Little) |
| Publisher | Signet |
| Year | 1992 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Signet (New American Library) mass-market paperback original, 1992, published under the Phillip Emmons pseudonym (ISBN 0-451-17284-1) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Signet (New American Library) mass-market paperback original, 1992, published under the Phillip Emmons pseudonym (ISBN 0-451-17284-1). As a paperback original it exists in a single printing; the wraps carry the Signet imprint and the 1992 copyright, with the number line running down to 1. This is the first edition.

## Is this the true first?
Paperback original under the Phillip Emmons pseudonym; only one printing was issued. Later reissued under Bentley Little's own name as Death Instinct (Signet). The UK edition under his own name was retitled Evil Deeds (1994).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
N/A (paperback original).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Death Instinct (Murder Game)* by Phillip Emmons (Bentley Little) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/death-instinct-murder-game
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.