TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of September 20, 1987

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1
PRESUMED INNOCENT
Scott Turow
Cover of PRESUMED INNOCENT

PRESUMED INNOCENT

by Scott Turow · Farrar, Straus & Giroux

8 wks at #1 · 13 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.

2
PATRIOT GAMES
Tom Clancy
Cover of PATRIOT GAMES

PATRIOT GAMES

by Tom Clancy · Putnam

8 wks on list
4
2
LEGACY
James A. Michener
Cover of LEGACY

LEGACY

by James A. Michener · Random House

3 wks on list

As Major Norman Starr is about to appear before a congressional committee to publicly account for his covert actions, he recalls the heritage of his ancestors and the role they played in the true glory of America. Bestselling author James Michener has painted a timeless family portrait and an eloquent lesson in American history. "Michener is a master storyteller." MILWAUKEE JOURNAL "From the Paperback edition.

5
2
MISERY
Stephen King
Cover of MISERY

MISERY

by Stephen King · Viking Press

16 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...

6
2
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

12 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.

7
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FREEDOM
William Safire
Cover of FREEDOM

FREEDOM

by William Safire · Doubleday

2 wks on list

On cover: A novel of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. A historical novel exploring the first two years of the Civil War.

8
THE HAUNTED MESA
Louis L'Amour
Cover of THE HAUNTED MESA

THE HAUNTED MESA

by Louis L'Amour · Bantam

19 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.

11
3
THE SONGLINES
Bruce Chatwin
Cover of THE SONGLINES

THE SONGLINES

by Bruce Chatwin · Sifton/Viking

4 wks on list

Twin brothers in Wales exerience the fullness of life.

12
NEW
BELOVED
Toni Morrison

BELOVED

by Toni Morrison · Knopf

1 wks on list

Toni Morrison prétend être entrée en littérature par effraction. Pourtant, en 1993, elle devient la huitième femme et le premier écrivain noir américain couronné par le prix Nobel. C'est en 1988 qu'elle reçoit une première consécration - le prestigieux prix Pulitzer - pour son cinquième roman, Beloved. " Beloved est une inscription gravée sur une tombe : le nom d'un fantôme. Celui d'une petite fille égorgée par sa mère, une esclave noire évadée d'une plantation en 1870. Un crime commis au nom de l'amour et de la détresse pour que l'enfant ne retombe pas aux mains du maître. A travers la malédiction d'un bébé qui revient hanter sa mère, le roman de Toni Morrison conte la folie de l'esclavage bien plus puissamment que les Racines les plus noires. " Christophe Tison, Glamour, 1990

13
NEW
HOT FLASHES
Barbara Raskin
Cover of HOT FLASHES

HOT FLASHES

by Barbara Raskin · St. Martin's

1 wks on list

New York Times Bestseller: This "landmark women's novel" about female friendship and women's lib is "something akin to Mary McCarthy's The Group" ( People). Diana Sargeant is a menopausal anthropology professor whose hot flashes often produce insights into life, love, and what it means to be a woman. Diana belongs to a generation of A-list females: well-educated jet-setters who overcame their fear of flying in the fifties, became leftist protestors in the sixties, and were glamorous seductresses on birth control in the seventies. But in the eighties, they're middle-aged matrons who are afraid of their own mortality and must come to terms with the fact that even though they obtained everything they desired, they're still unfulfilled. When Diana's close friend Sukie Amram suffers a fatal brain hemorrhage, the professor rushes to Washington, DC, to mourn and commemorate the woman she so loved. There, she reunites with her lifelong pals: flashy magazine writer Joanne Ireland and divorced English teacher Elaine Cantor. The three soon discover Sukie's journal, which details her battle with despair after her husband abandoned her for a younger lover. As they read through the details of Sukie's postdivorce anguish, the friends revisit difficult moments in their own pasts and discover themselves anew. Called "a feminist version of The Big Chill" by the Washington Post, Hot Flashes is an irreverent, witty, and emotionally engaging novel about four intelligent, trailblazing women that provides a compelling, honest look at female fears and desire during the late twentieth century.

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2
THE FIVE BELLS AND BLADEBONE
Martha Grimes
Cover of THE FIVE BELLS AND BLADEBONE

THE FIVE BELLS AND BLADEBONE

by Martha Grimes · Little, Brown

3 wks on list

When a dismembered corpse is found in the compartments of an antique writing bureau, Marshall Trueblood, recipient of the precious piece of furniture, is the first to protest: “I bought the desk, not the body, send it back.” Who would want to kill Simon Lean, the greedy nephew of the wealthy Lady Summerston? Leave it to Superintendent Richard Jury of Scotland Yard to suggest a connection to the murder of brassy Limehouse lady named Sadie Driver, found dead near Wapping Old Stairs…if that stone-cold body on the slipway is really Sadie. Not even her brother, Tommy, on a visit from Gravesend, can swear to it.

15
NEW
TEAM YANKEE
Harold Coyle
Cover of TEAM YANKEE

TEAM YANKEE

by Harold Coyle · Presidio

1 wks on list

Team Yankee--84 men and a multimillion-dollar mix of high-tech weaponry. They must defend their vital strategic post against an awesome Russian invasion force as it smashes across the West German border--en route to World War III! The most electrifying debut novel since Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October!

16
NEW
POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE
Carrie Fisher
Cover of POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE

POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE

by Carrie Fisher · Simon & Schuster

** THE NEW YORK TIMES-BESTSELLING CULT CLASSIC NOVEL ** ** In a new edition introduced by Stephen Fry ** ‘I don’t think you can even call this a drug. This is just a response to the conditions we live in.’ Suzanne Vale, formerly acclaimed actress, is in rehab, feeling like ‘something on the bottom of someone’s shoe, and not even someone interesting’. Immersed in the sometimes harrowing, often hilarious goings-on of the drug hospital and wondering how she’ll cope – and find work – back on the outside, she meets new patient Alex. Ambitious, good-looking in a Heathcliffish way and in the grip of a monumental addiction, he makes Suzanne realize that, however eccentric her life might seem, there’s always someone who’s even closer to the edge of reason. Carrie Fisher’s bestselling debut novel is an uproarious commentary on Hollywood – the home of success, sex and insecurity – and has become a beloved cult classic. ‘This novel, with its energy, bounce and generous delivery of a loud laugh on almost every page, stands as a declaration of war on two fronts: on normal and on unhappy’ STEPHEN FRY ‘A single woman’s answer to Nora Ephron’s Heartburn . . . the smart successor to Joan Didion’s Play It as It Lays’ Los Angeles Times ‘A cult classic . . . A wonderfully funny, brash and biting novel’ Washington Post 'A wickedly shrewd black-humor riff on the horrors of rehab and the hollows of Hollywood life' People 'Searingly funny' Vogue

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