TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of April 1, 2001

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
Jump to
1
NEW
1ST TO DIE
James Patterson
Cover of 1ST TO DIE

1ST TO DIE

by James Patterson · Little, Brown

A sizzling new thriller series by master suspense novelist Patterson features four career women--the Women's Murder Club--who track down a killer who's murdering newlyweds in San Francisco. NBC is scheduled to air a major two-part miniseries based on "1st To Die" during sweeps week in May 2001.

2
A PAINTED HOUSE
John Grisham
Cover of A PAINTED HOUSE

A PAINTED HOUSE

by John Grisham · Doubleday

6 wks on list

Racial tension, a forbidden love affair, and murder are seen through the eyes of a seven-year-old boy in a 1950s southern cotton-farming community.

3
1
THE BONESETTER'S DAUGHTER
Amy Tan
Cover of THE BONESETTER'S DAUGHTER

THE BONESETTER'S DAUGHTER

by Amy Tan · Putnam

4 wks on list

A mother and daughter find what they share in their bones in this compelling novel from the bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Backyard Bird Chronicles. Ruth Young and her widowed mother have always had a difficult relationship. But when she discovers writings that vividly describe her mother’s tumultuous life growing up in China, Ruth discovers a side of LuLing that she never knew existed. Transported to a backwoods village known as Immortal Heart, Ruth learns of secrets passed along by a mute nursemaid, Precious Auntie; of a cave where dragon bones are mined; of the crumbling ravine known as the End of the World; and of the curse that LuLing believes she released through betrayal. Within the calligraphied pages awaits the truth about a mother's heart, secrets she cannot tell her daughter, yet hopes she will never forget... Conjuring the pain of broken dreams and the power of myths, The Bonesetter’s Daughter is an excavation of the human spirit: the past, its deepest wounds, its most profound hopes.

5
A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT
Terry McMillan
Cover of A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT

A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT

by Terry McMillan · Viking Press

9 wks on list

“Without question, this is McMillan’s best. A glorious novel....A moving tapestry of familial love and redemption.”—The Washington Post With her hallmark exuberance and a cast of characters so sassy, resilient, and full of life that they breathe, dream, and shout right off the page, Terry McMillan has given us a tour-de-force novel of family, healing, and redemption. A Day Late and a Dollar Short takes us deep into the hearts, minds, and souls of America—and gives us six more friends we never want to leave.

6
4
MYSTIC RIVER
Dennis Lehane
Cover of MYSTIC RIVER

MYSTIC RIVER

by Dennis Lehane · Morrow

7 wks on list

The murder of one of their daughters re-unites three childhood friends: Sean Devine, the homicide detective; Jimmy Marcus, an ex-con and father of the murdered girl; and Dave Boyle, a troubled man who came home with blood on his clothes on the night of the murder.

8
THE FIRST COUNSEL
Brad Meltzer
Cover of THE FIRST COUNSEL

THE FIRST COUNSEL

by Brad Meltzer · Warner

10 wks on list

White House lawyer Michael Garrick has a relatively anonymous position at a very public address. That is, until he starts dating Nora Harston (secret service code name: Shadow), the sexy and dangerously irresistible daughter of the President. But the confident young attorney thinks he can handle the pressure. Until, out on a date, Nora and Michael see something they shouldn't. To protect her, he admits to something he shouldn't. And when a body is discovered and Michael is the suspected killer, he finds himself on the run. Now, in a world where power is an aphrodisiac and close friends carry guns and are under strict orders to risk their lives, Michael must find a way to prove his innocence.

9
3
EDGE OF DANGER
Jack Higgins
Cover of EDGE OF DANGER
10
3
THE MARK
Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Cover of THE MARK

THE MARK

by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins · Tyndale

18 wks on list

An evil world leader proclaims himself the Antichrist, drawing up plans to mark all human beings, but the members of the Tribulation Force are determined to stop him.

12
NEW
MY DREAM OF YOU
Nuala O'Faolain
Cover of MY DREAM OF YOU

MY DREAM OF YOU

by Nuala O'Faolain · Riverhead

2 wks on list

A New York Times notable book and bestseller, this debut novel from Irish Times columnist Nuala O'Faolain takes on life and love with Dickensian flair and the striking intimacy that characterized her bestselling and acclaimed memoir, Are You Somebody? Set in Ireland and spanning a century and a half, My Dream of You unfolds the compelling stories of two women and their quests for passion, connection, and fulfillment. A globetrotting Irish travel writer, Kathleen de Burca is used to living—and loving—on the run. On the brink of fifty, she decides to leave her job and rethink her life. Intrigued by a divorce case dating back to the days of the Potato Famine, she tries hand at writing about it. The case, called "The Talbot Affair," detailed the clandestine liaison between the wife of a British landlord and an Irish servant in Ireland in the 1850s. After a bitter thirty-year absence, Kathleen returns to Ireland, the land of her troubled childhood and turbulent heritage, in search of answers to her questions about desire and lasting love.

13
3
PRODIGAL SUMMER
Barbara Kingsolver
Cover of PRODIGAL SUMMER

PRODIGAL SUMMER

by Barbara Kingsolver · HarperCollins

22 wks on list

Wildlife biologist Deanna is caught off guard by an intrusive young hunter, while bookish city wife Lusa finds herself facing a difficult identity choice, and elderly neighbors find attraction at the height of a long-standing feud.

14
1
PLAIN JANE
Fern Michaels
15
NEW
A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT
Michael Connelly
Cover of A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT

A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT

by Michael Connelly · Little, Brown

LAPD Detective Harry Bosch crosses paths with FBI profiler Terry McCaleb while investigating the murder of a Hollywood actress. Harry Bosch is up to his neck in a case that has transfixed all of celebrity-mad Los Angeles: a movie director is charged with murdering an actress during sex, and then staging her death to make it look like a suicide. Bosch is both the arresting officer and the star witness in a trial that has brought the Hollywood media pack out in full-throated frenzy. Meanwhile, Terry McCaleb is enjoying an idyllic retirement on Catalina Island when a visit from an old colleague brings his former world rushing back. It's a murder, the unreadable kind of murder he specialized in solving back in his FBI days. The investigation has stalled, and the sheriff's office is asking McCaleb to take a quick look at the murder book to see if he turns up something they've missed. McCaleb's first reading of the crime scene leads him to look for a methodical killer with a taste for rituals and revenge. As his quick look accelerates into a full-sprint investigation, the two crimes -- his murdered loner and Bosch's movie director -- begin to overlap strangely. With one unsettling revelation after another, they merge, becoming one impossible, terrifying case, involving almost inconceivable calculation. McCaleb believes he has unmasked the most frightening killer ever to cross his sights. But his investigation tangles with Bosch's lines, and the two men find themselves at odds in the most dangerous investigation of their lives.

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