TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of August 1, 1999

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HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
J. K. Rowling
Cover of HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

by J. K. Rowling · Levine/Scholastic

7 wks on list

The summer after his first year at Hogwarts is worse than ever for Harry Potter. The Dursleys of Privet Drive are more horrible to him than ever before. And just when he thinks the endless summer vacation is over, a creature named Dobby the house-elf shows up issuing a grave warning to Harry not to go back to school or disaster will happen! Of course, Harry has to go back- and he does so in grand style, in a flying-car magicked by his friends Ron and Percy Weasley. But getting back to Hogwarts isn't the cure Harry expects it to be. Almost immediately a student is found turned to stone, and then another. And somehow Harry stands accused. Could Harry Potter be the long-feared heir of Slytherin?Harry and friends Hermione and Fred are stretched to their limits in a desperate fight against Draco Malfoy and his gang, the hideously stuck-up new professor Gilderoy Lockheart, the malevolent owner of the diary of Tom Riddle, giant spiders, and perhaps even...Hagrid!This is the book that proves J.K. Rowling is a talent that's here to stay!

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MOTHER OF PEARL
Melinda Haynes
Cover of MOTHER OF PEARL

MOTHER OF PEARL

by Melinda Haynes · Hyperion

5 wks on list

In Petal, a segregated community in 1950s Mississippi, Valuable Korner becomes pregnant, and sets off a series of events that exposes the charm and irony of life in the deep South.

7
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THE TESTAMENT
John Grisham
Cover of THE TESTAMENT

THE TESTAMENT

by John Grisham · Doubleday

24 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In a plush Virginia office, a rich, angry old man is furiously rewriting his will. With his death just hours away, Troy Phelan wants to send a message to his children, his ex-wives, and his minions—a message that will touch off a vicious legal battle and transform dozens of lives. Nate O'Riley is a high-octane Washington litigator who's lived too hard, too fast, for too long. His second marriage in a shambles, and he is emerging from his fourth stay in rehab armed with little more than his fragile sobriety, good intentions, and resilient sense of humor. Returning to the real world is always difficult, but this time it's going to be murder. Rachel Lane is a young woman who chose to give her life to God, who walked away from the modern world with all its strivings and trappings and encumbrances, and went to live and work with a primitive tribe of Indians in the deepest jungles of Brazil. In a story that mixes legal suspense with a remarkable adventure, their lives are forever altered by the startling secret of The Testament. Don’t miss John Grisham’s new book, THE EXCHANGE: AFTER THE FIRM!

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CARNAL INNOCENCE
Nora Roberts
Cover of CARNAL INNOCENCE

CARNAL INNOCENCE

by Nora Roberts · Bantam

2 wks on list

A retreat to the bayou for some rest and relaxation becomes anything but for celebrated concert violinist Caroline Waverly as she finds herself falling in love . . . with a man who may be a serial killer in this novel from 'the greatest novelist on Planet Earth' (Washington Post) Burned out by a whirlwind musical career, Caroline Waverly arrives in the small Mississippi town of Innocence desperate for some peace and quiet. Relaxing in her grandmother's beautiful home by the bayou, Caroline has no intention of indulging in a summer fling . . . until she meets Tucker Longstreet. Tucker has a reputation for keeping his romances short and shallow, but this feels different for both of them. Perhaps they might both have a chance for real, lasting love. But then Caroline's quiet summer is shattered by tragedy. A killer is stalking the town, targeting young women. Worse still, evidence seems to point to Tucker himself. And the remote town of Innocence isn't quite as safe and sleepy as it seems . . .

9
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THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON
Stephen King
Cover of THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON

THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON

by Stephen King · Scribner

15 wks on list

When Trisha McFarland gets lost in the woods of Maine she imagines her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon, is with her and will help her survive against the beast trying to kill her.

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LAKE NEWS
Barbara Delinsky
Cover of LAKE NEWS

LAKE NEWS

by Barbara Delinsky · Simon & Schuster

4 wks on list

Lily Blake, forced home to small-town Lake Henry, New Hampshire, after being unfairly smeared by a journalist, begins a partnership with John Kipling, a local newspaper publisher, as both try to heal their wounds and find community. 350,000 first printing.

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