TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of October 2, 1994

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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1
DEBT OF HONOR
Tom Clancy
Cover of DEBT OF HONOR

DEBT OF HONOR

by Tom Clancy · Putnam

6 wks at #1 · 5 on list

Enemies have become friends and friends have become enemies, and even the form of conflict has changed.

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1
THE BODY FARM
Patricia Cornwell
Cover of THE BODY FARM

THE BODY FARM

by Patricia Cornwell · Scribners

3 wks on list

New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell brings back Kay Scarpetta, consulting forensic pathologist for the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit, in her grittiest and most compelling novel. In rural North Carolina, the brutal murder of eleven-year-old Emily Steiner has shaken a small town. But more disturbing are the details of the crimes, chillingly reminiscent of the handiwork of a serial killer who has eluded the unit for years. Into this volatile atmosphere comes Scarpetta's ingenious, rebellious niece Lucy, an FBI intern with a promising future in Quantico's computer engineering facility--until she is accused of a shocking security violation. While coming to terms with Lucy, Kay must conduct a grisly forensic investigation at a clandestine research facility in Tennessee known as the Body Farm. There she will find more answers to Emily Steiner's murder--and evidence that paints a picture of a crime more horrifying than she imagined . . .

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THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY
Robert James Waller
Cover of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY

by Robert James Waller · Warner

112 wks on list

Fall in love with one of the bestselling novels of all time -- the legendary love story that became a beloved film starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. If you've ever experienced the one true love of your life, a love that for some reason could never be, you will understand why readers all over the world are so moved by this small, unknown first novel that they became a publishing phenomenon and #1 bestseller. The story of Robert Kincaid, the photographer and free spirit searching for the covered bridges of Madison County, and Francesca Johnson, the farm wife waiting for the fulfillment of a girlhood dream, The Bridges of Madison County gives voice to the longings of men and women everywhere -- and shows us what it is to love and be loved so intensely that life is never the same again.

9
THE CHAMBER
John Grisham
Cover of THE CHAMBER

THE CHAMBER

by John Grisham · Doubleday

17 wks on list

Five CDs, 6 hrs.Performance by Michael BeckIn the corridors of Chicago's top law firm: Twenty-six-year-old Adam Hall stands on the brink of a brilliant legal career. Now he is risking it all for a death-row killer and an impossible case. Maximum Security Unit, Mississippi State Prison: Sam Cayhall is a former Klansman and unrepentant racist now facing the death penalty for a fatal bombing in 1967. He has run out of chances -- except for one: the young, liberal Chicago lawyer who just happens to be his grandson. While the executioners prepare the gas chamber, while the protesters gather and the TV cameras wait, Adam has only days, hours, minutes to save his client. For between the two men is a chasm of shame, family lies, and secrets -- including the one secret that could save Sam Cayhall's life...or cost Adam his.

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HALF ASLEEP IN FROG PAJAMAS
Tom Robbins
Cover of HALF ASLEEP IN FROG PAJAMAS

HALF ASLEEP IN FROG PAJAMAS

by Tom Robbins · Bantam

3 wks on list

After the stock market crashes on the Thursday before Easter, an ambitious but ineffectual young stockbroker faces a mind-blowing, destiny-altering weekend of scheming to escape blame and coping with a mysterious stranger.

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3
BROTHERS AND SISTERS
Bebe Moore Campbell
Cover of BROTHERS AND SISTERS

BROTHERS AND SISTERS

by Bebe Moore Campbell · Putnam

2 wks on list

A black woman banker is torn between her ambition to succeed professionally and her loyalty to other blacks. The protagonist is Esther Jackson, operations manager for a downtown Los Angeles bank. The events take place in the aftermath of the Rodney King riots. By the author of Your Blues Ain't Like Mine.

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MUTANT MESSAGE DOWN UNDER
Marlo Morgan
Cover of MUTANT MESSAGE DOWN UNDER

MUTANT MESSAGE DOWN UNDER

by Marlo Morgan · HarperCollins

4 wks on list

In this "New York Times" bestseller, Morgan leads readers on the fictional spiritual odyssey of an American woman in the Australian outback.

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NEW
ONE TRUE THING
Anna Quindlen
Cover of ONE TRUE THING

ONE TRUE THING

by Anna Quindlen · Random House

Ellen Gulden is a successful, young New York journalist. But when her mother, Kate, is diagnosed with cancer, she leaves her life in the city to return home and care for her. In the short time they have left, the relationship between mother and daughter - tender, awkward and revealing - deepens, and Ellen is forced to confront painful truths about her adored father. But in the weeks that follow Kate's death, events take a shocking and unexpected turn. Family emotions are laid bare as a new drama is played out, and overnight Ellen goes from devoted daughter to prime suspect, accused of the mercy killing of her 'one true thing'. One True Thing is the devastating story of a mother and daughter, of love and loss, and of shattering choices.

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