TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of December 1, 1996

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
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2
1
THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN
Jacquelyn Mitchard
Cover of THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN

THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN

by Jacquelyn Mitchard · Viking Press

10 wks on list

"Masterful...A big story about human connection and emotional survival" - Los Angeles Times The first book ever chosen by Oprah's Book Club Few first novels receive the kind of attention and acclaim showered on this powerful story—a nationwide bestseller, a critical success, and the first title chosen for Oprah's Book Club. Both highly suspenseful and deeply moving, The Deep End of the Ocean imagines every mother's worst nightmare—the disappearance of a child—as it explores a family's struggle to endure, even against extraordinary odds. Filled with compassion, humor, and brilliant observations about the texture of real life, here is a story of rare power, one that will touch readers' hearts and make them celebrate the emotions that make us all one.

3
1
"M" IS FOR MALICE
Sue Grafton
Cover of "M" IS FOR MALICE

"M" IS FOR MALICE

by Sue Grafton · Wood/Holt

3 wks on list

Thirteenth crime novel to feature feisty, thirty-something private investigator, Kinsey Millbone - a tale of family millions, memories and a missing son...

7
EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Tom Clancy
Cover of EXECUTIVE ORDERS
11
2
THE TAILOR OF PANAMA
John le Carré
Cover of THE TAILOR OF PANAMA

THE TAILOR OF PANAMA

by John le Carré · Knopf

5 wks on list

It was a perfectly ordinary Friday afternoon in tropical Panama until Andrew Osnard barged into Harry Pendel’s shop asking to be measured for a suit. So begins John le Carré’s dazzling new novel set in contemporary Panama, reluctant host and future owner of the second largest gateway to world trade. Harry Pendel, Jewish-Irish foster child, is the charismatic proprietor and guiding genius of Pendel and Braithwaite Limitada, Tailors to Royalty, formerly of Savile Row, through whose doors passes everyone who is anyone in Central America. Andrew Osnard, mysterious and fleshly, is an Old Etonian and spy. His secret mission is two-pronged: to keep a watchful eye on the political manoeuvrings leading up to the American handover of the Panama Canal at midday on 31st December 1999; and to secure for himself the immense private fortune that has until now churlishly eluded him. And Osnard knows more about Pendel than Pendel knows himself . . . Already acclaimed as one of the most skilled, entertaining and important novelists writing today, John le Carré has written a book of such poignant drama, perfect characterisation, humour and sadness that it will be regarded as a masterpiece.

12
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SAY YOU LOVE ME
Johanna Lindsey
Cover of SAY YOU LOVE ME
14
1
THE CHRISTMAS BOX
Richard Paul Evans
Cover of THE CHRISTMAS BOX

THE CHRISTMAS BOX

by Richard Paul Evans · Simon & Schuster

16 wks on list

Since it was first published, more than seven million people have been touched by the magic of The Christmas Box, a holiday classic that is as beloved in our time as A Christmas Carol was in Dickens's. When Richard Paul Evans wrote The Christmas Box, he intended it as a private expression of love for his two young daughters, Jenna and Allyson. Though he often told them that he loved them, he didn't feel that they could ever really understand the depth of his feelings until they had experienced the joy of rearing their own children, and by that time their relationship would have changed forever. In writing The Christmas Box, he hoped that at some time in the future they would read the book and know of their father's love. As Evans began to write, he was amazed at the inspiration that flowed into his mind and heart. He completed the moving story of a widow and the young family who comes to live with her in less than six weeks, and bound twenty copies to give as Christmas presents to family and friends. In the following weeks, those twenty copies were shared and passed along from family to family, from friend to friend, and what began as a tale for two little girls became a message of miracles, hope, and healing for people throughout the world.

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