TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of August 16, 1987

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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1
PATRIOT GAMES
Tom Clancy
Cover of PATRIOT GAMES

PATRIOT GAMES

by Tom Clancy · Putnam

5 wks at #1 · 3 on list
2
PRESUMED INNOCENT
Scott Turow
Cover of PRESUMED INNOCENT

PRESUMED INNOCENT

by Scott Turow · Farrar, Straus & Giroux

8 wks on list

Hailed as the most suspenseful and compelling novel in decades, PRESUMED INNOCENT brings to life our worst nightmare: that of an ordinary citizen facing conviction for the most terrible of all crimes. It's the stunning portrayal of one man's all-too-human, all-consuming fatal attraction for a passionate woman who is not his wife, and the story of how his obsession puts everything he loves and values on trial--including his own life. It's a book that lays bare a shocking world of betrayal and murder, as well as the hidden depths of the human heart. And it will hold you and haunt you...long after you have reached its shattering conclusion.

3
MISERY
Stephen King
Cover of MISERY

MISERY

by Stephen King · Viking Press

11 wks on list

The #1 New York Times bestselling tale of terror from master storyteller Stephen King about a famous novelist held hostage in a remote location by his “number one fan”. Bestselling novelist Paul Sheldon thinks he’s finally free of Misery Chastain. In a controversial career move, he’s just killed off the popular protagonist of his beloved romance series in favor of expanding his creative horizons. But such a change doesn’t come without consequences. After a near-fatal car accident in rural Colorado leaves his body broken, Paul finds himself at the mercy of the terrifying rescuer who’s nursing him back to health—his self-proclaimed number one fan, Annie Wilkes. Annie is very upset over what Paul did to Misery and demands that he find a way to bring her back by writing a new novel—his best yet, and one that’s all for her. After all, Paul has all the time in the world to do so as a prisoner in her isolated house...and Annie has some very persuasive and violent methods to get exactly what she wants...

4
WEEP NO MORE, MY LADY
Mary Higgins Clark
Cover of WEEP NO MORE, MY LADY

WEEP NO MORE, MY LADY

by Mary Higgins Clark · Simon & Schuster

7 wks on list

New York Times bestselling author and Queen of Suspense Mary Higgins Clark’s masterpiece is a “crackling tale of menace and love that holds your attention to the last page” (Andrew M. Greeley). Elizabeth Lange has arrived at Cypress Point Spa in Pebble Beach, California, weary of heart and soul. Still grieving for her beloved sister, a famous actress who plunged to her death from her Manhattan penthouse, Elizabeth is determined to unearth the truth about how Leila died. Dashing multimillionaire Ted Winters stands accused of her murder, but Elizabeth has doubts. Along the windswept cliffs of the Monterey coast, in luxurious bungalows, between gourmet meals and beachfront walks, uneasiness stalks Elizabeth while she begins opening doors to the past. As glimpses of the dark truth about Leila’s life and death—and about Elizabeth herself—start to crash against her mind, an ominous wave from an unexpected source threatens to engulf her entirely.

6
1
THE HAUNTED MESA
Louis L'Amour
Cover of THE HAUNTED MESA

THE HAUNTED MESA

by Louis L'Amour · Bantam

14 wks on list

The Navajo called them the Anasazi, the “ancient enemy,” and their abandoned cities haunt the canyons and plateaus of the Southwest. For centuries the sudden disappearance of these people baffled historians. Summoned to a dark desert plateau by a desperate letter from an old friend, renowned investigator Mike Raglan is drawn into a world of mystery, violence, and explosive revelations. Crossing a border beyond the laws of man and nature, he will learn of the astonishing world of the Anasazi and discover the most extraordinary frontier ever encountered.

7
WINDMILLS OF THE GODS
Sidney Sheldon
Cover of WINDMILLS OF THE GODS

WINDMILLS OF THE GODS

by Sidney Sheldon · Morrow

28 wks on list

Mary Ashley, the young newly appointed U.S. ambassador to an Iron Curtain country, becomes the target of an international cabal's assassination plot, she must discover which of the two men in her life is involved in the plot--Novelist.

9
3
SPHERE
Michael Crichton
Cover of SPHERE

SPHERE

by Michael Crichton · Knopf

9 wks on list

"A page-turner...Chichton's writing is cinematic, with powerful visual images and nonstop action. This book should come with hot buttered popcorn."NEWSWEEKA group of American scientists are rushed to a huge vessel that has been discovered resting on the ocean floor in the middle of the South Pacific. What they find defines their imaginations and mocks their attempts at logical explanation. It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently, undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least three hundred years old...."The suspense is real."THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW "From the Paperback edition."

10
EMPIRE
Gore Vidal
Cover of EMPIRE

EMPIRE

by Gore Vidal · Random House

10 wks on list

While America struggles to define its destiny, beautiful and ambitious Caroline Sanford fights to control her own fate. From the back offices of her Washington newspaper, Caroline confronts the two men who threaten to thwart her ambition: William Randolph Hearst and his protege, Blaise Sanford, Caroline's half brother.

12
3
MORE DIE OF HEARTBREAK
Saul Bellow
Cover of MORE DIE OF HEARTBREAK

MORE DIE OF HEARTBREAK

by Saul Bellow · Morrow

10 wks on list

Kenneth Trachtenberg has left his native Paris for the Midwest. He has come to be near his beloved uncle, the world-renowned botanist Benn Crader, self-described 'plant visionary.' While his studies take him around the world, Benn, a restless spirit, has not been able to satisfy his longings after his first marriage and lives from affair to affair and from 'bliss to breakdown.' Imagining that a settled existence will end his anguish, Benn ties the knot again, opening the door to a flood of new torments.

13
2
THE TIMOTHY FILES
Lawrence Sanders
Cover of THE TIMOTHY FILES

THE TIMOTHY FILES

by Lawrence Sanders · Putnam

10 wks on list

The First Deadly Sin set the standard by which thrillers are measured--and The Fourth Deadly Sin surpassed it. In Lawrence Sanders's most compelling novel ever, ex-cop Ed Delaney must crack the high-profile case of a brutally murdered psychiatrist by investigating six suspects--the doctor's own patients... * A Literary Guild? Selection

15
3
TO SAIL BEYOND THE SUNSET
Robert A. Heinlein

TO SAIL BEYOND THE SUNSET

by Robert A. Heinlein · Ace/Putnam

5 wks on list

An Science Fiction novel tying together themes and characters from previous stories - the life and loves of Maureen Johnson.

16
2
HEIRESS
Janet Dailey
Cover of HEIRESS

HEIRESS

by Janet Dailey · Little, Brown

14 wks on list

Rivals in love, business, and life, Abbie Lawson and Rachel Farr are bound together by a fateful secret: born on the same day, their father the same man, and only one of them is legitimate.

Historical bestseller data sourced from the New York Times Book Review, archived by Hawes Publications.