TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of May 16, 2004

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THE DA VINCI CODE
Dan Brown
Cover of THE DA VINCI CODE

THE DA VINCI CODE

by Dan Brown · Doubleday

59 wks at #1 · 59 on list

THE #1 WORLDWIDE BESTSELLING PHENOMENON, WITH MORE THAN 85 MILLION COPIES SOLD “Blockbuster perfection . . . a gleefully erudite suspense novel.” —The New York Times “A pulse-quickening, brain-teasing adventure.” —People While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and gifted French cryptologist Sophie Neveu sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter. Even more startling, the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion, a secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, and he guarded a breathtaking historical secret. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle—while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move—the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever. Robert Langdon returns in The Lost Symbol, Inferno, Origin, and The Secret of Secrets (coming soon)!

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THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN
Mitch Albom
Cover of THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN

THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN

by Mitch Albom · Hyperion

32 wks on list

Plot Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him, as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It's a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "Why was I here" Personal Details Collection Status In Collection Index 10 Read It Yes Links Amazon US Product Details LoC Classification PS3601.L335F59 2003 Dewey 813/.6

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GLORIOUS APPEARING
Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Cover of GLORIOUS APPEARING

GLORIOUS APPEARING

by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins · Tyndale

5 wks on list

After seven years, the remaining members of the Tribulation Force are gathered at Petra, trying to find a way to stop Nicolae Carpathia, the Antichrist, and his forces, while awaiting the return of Christ.

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NIGHTTIME IS MY TIME
Mary Higgins Clark
Cover of NIGHTTIME IS MY TIME

NIGHTTIME IS MY TIME

by Mary Higgins Clark · Simon & Schuster

4 wks on list

The undisputed "Queen of Suspense" delivers a chilling new thriller, set during the 20th high school reunion of a "tragedy-ridden" class, as a murderer sets out on a mission of vengeance against the women who once humiliated him.

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ANGELS & DEMONS
Dan Brown
Cover of ANGELS & DEMONS

ANGELS & DEMONS

by Dan Brown · Atria

18 wks on list

World renowned harvard symbologist Robert Langdon must uncover clues that point to the resurgance of an ancient secret society.

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THERAPY
Jonathan Kellerman
Cover of THERAPY

THERAPY

by Jonathan Kellerman · Ballantine

2 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Behind the yellow crime-scene tape, a brutal tableau awaits. On a lonely lovers’ lane in the hills of Los Angeles, a young couple lies murdered in a car. Each victim bears a single gunshot wound to the head. Though the female remains unidentified, her male companion has a name—Gavin Quick—and a troubled past that had landed him on a therapist’s couch. “Labyrinthine twists, excellent pacing, and hard-boiled, swaggering dialogue.”—The Washington Post It’s there, on familiar turf, that psychologist-sleuth Alex Delaware hopes to find vital clues. And that means going head-to-head with Dr. Mary Lou Koppel, a celebrity psychologist who fiercely guards the privacy of her clients . . . alive or dead. As Delaware follows a chain of greed, corruption, and betrayal snaking hideously through the profession he thought he knew, he’ll cross into territory even he never dreamed of treading. BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Jonathan Kellerman's Guilt.

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JUST ONE LOOK
Harlan Coben
Cover of JUST ONE LOOK

JUST ONE LOOK

by Harlan Coben · Dutton

1 wks on list

When Grace Lawson picks up a newly developed set of family photographs, there is a picture that doesn't belong--"a photo from at least 20 years ago with a man in it who looks strikingly like her husband, Jack. And though Jack denies it, he disappears that night, taking the photo with him. Now, to save her family from a fierce, silent killer who will stop at nothing to get the photo, Grace must confront the dark corners of her own tragic past.

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THE FULL CUPBOARD OF LIFE
Alexander McCall Smith
Cover of THE FULL CUPBOARD OF LIFE

THE FULL CUPBOARD OF LIFE

by Alexander McCall Smith · Pantheon

2 wks on list

ISABEL DALHOUSIE - Book 1 Nothing captures the charm of Edinburgh like the bestselling Isabel Dalhousie series of novels featuring the insatiably curious philosopher and woman detective. Whether investigating a case or a problem of philosophy, the indefatigable Isabel Dalhousie, one of fiction’s most richly developed amateur detectives, is always ready to pursue the answers to all of life’s questions, large and small. In this first installment, Isabel is attending a concert in the Usher Hall when she witnesses a man fall from the upper balcony. Isabel can’t help wondering whether it was the result of mischance or mischief. Against the best advice of her no-nonsense housekeeper Grace, her bassoon playing friend Jamie, and even her romantically challenged niece Cat, she is morally bound to solve this case. Complete with wonderful Edinburgh atmosphere and characters straight out of a Robert Burns poem, The Sunday Philosophy Club is a delightful treat from one of our most beloved authors.

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BERGDORF BLONDES
Plum Sykes
Cover of BERGDORF BLONDES

BERGDORF BLONDES

by Plum Sykes · Miramax/ Hyperion

4 wks on list

This sparkling, "New York Times" bestseller captures the nuances of the rich and spoiled in a heartwarming social satire, featuring a lovable "champagne bubble girl" who's just looking for love.

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A LOVING SCOUNDREL
Johanna Lindsey
Cover of A LOVING SCOUNDREL

A LOVING SCOUNDREL

by Johanna Lindsey · Atria

1 wks on list

This “delightfully engaging” (RT Book Reviews) entry in New York Times bestselling author Johanna Lindsey’s Malory-Anderson Family series follows the son of a gentleman pirate as he falls in love with the streetwise young woman he hires as his maid. When Danny, a young woman from the streets of London with no memory of her real family, helps handsome rakehell Jeremy Malory steal back the jewels his friend lost in a card game, she is kicked out of her gang. She demands Jeremy give her a legitimate job so she can become respectable. Intrigued by her beauty and spunk, Jeremy hires Danny as his upstairs maid, although he really wants her to be his mistress. Under the tutelage of Jeremy and his cousin Regina, Danny blossoms into a lady. Although she is drawn to Jeremy by a passion she has never experienced before, she refuses to be anything more than a servant to him. But when she undergoes a Cinderella-like transformation and poses as Jeremy’s new love interest in an attempt to help him avert a scandal, his aristocratic peers can’t help but notice how familiar Danny looks. Now tongues are wagging, raising the question of her true identity, which threatens not only Danny’s chances of capturing Jeremy’s heart but also her very life. Filled with Johanna Lindsey’s “signature blend of witty writing [and] charmingly unique characters” (Booklist), A Loving Scoundrel is a sparkling romance classic that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

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RECKLESS ABANDON
Stuart Woods
Cover of RECKLESS ABANDON

RECKLESS ABANDON

by Stuart Woods · Putnam

3 wks on list

Stone Barrington tracks a mobster within the witness protection program—with a little help from Florida police chief Holly Barker—in this “full-throttle”* thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series. Stone Barrington is, once again, right at home in New York City. But this time he’s joined by the tenacious Holly Barker—the lady police chief of Orchid Island, Florida. She’s come to Manhattan hot on the trail of a fugitive from her jurisdiction. And Stone is, well, glad to see her, right up until the moment when her presence creates a great danger to both of them—and to their surprise, she becomes the pursued instead of the pursuer...

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THE LAST JUROR
John Grisham
Cover of THE LAST JUROR

THE LAST JUROR

by John Grisham · Doubleday

13 wks on list

In 1970, one of Mississippi's more colorful weekly newspapers went bankrupt. To the surprise and dismay of many, ownership was assumed by a 23 year-old college dropout, named Willie Traynor. The future of the paper looked grim until a young mother was brutally raped and murdered by a member of the notorious Padgitt family. Willie Traynor reported all the gruesome details and the paper began to prosper. The murderer, Danny Padgitt was tried before a packed courthouse in Clanton, Mississippi. The trial came to a startling and dramatic end when he was found guilty. He was sentenced to life in prison, but in Mississippi, in 1970, "life" didn't necessarily mean "life" and nine years later Danny Padgitt managed to get himself paroled. He returned to Ford County and the retribution began

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CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?
Sophie Kinsella
Cover of CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?

CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?

by Sophie Kinsella · Dial Press

The hilarious romantic comedy from NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR Sophie Kinsella . . . soon to be a major motion picture! Emma is like every girl in the world. She has a few little secrets. Secrets from her mother: 1. I lost my virginity in the spare bedroom to Danny Nussbaum while Mum and Dad were downstairs watching TV. ... From her boyfriend: 2. I’m a size twelve. Not a size eight, like Connor thinks. 3. I’ve always thought Connor looks a bit like Ken. As in Barbie and Ken. ... From her colleagues: 4. When Artemis really annoys me (which is pretty much every day), I feed her plant orange juice. 5. It was me who jammed the copier that time. In fact, all the times. ...Secrets she wouldn’t share with anyone in the world: 6. My G string is hurting me. 7. I faked my Maths GCSE grade on my CV. 8. I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is... ...until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. After all, she’ll never see him again. But on Monday morning, Emma’s office is abuzz about the arrival of Jack Harper, the company’s elusive CEO. Suddenly Emma is face-to-face with the stranger from the plane, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her. Things couldn’t possibly get worse... Until they do. ***** EVERYBODY LOVES SOPHIE KINSELLA: ***** 'Funny, fast and farcical. I loved it' JOJO MOYES 'I couldn’t put it down.' LOUISE PENTLAND (SprinkleofGlitter) 'I almost cried with laughter' DAILY MAIL 'Life doesn't get much better than a new Sophie Kinsella novel' RED 'Hilarious . . . you'll laugh and gasp on every page' JENNY COLGAN

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GOOD GRIEF
Lolly Winston
Cover of GOOD GRIEF

GOOD GRIEF

by Lolly Winston · Warner

3 wks on list

Now in paperback comes the brilliantly funny and heartwarming debut about a young woman who stumbles, then fights to build a new life after the death of her husband.

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THE BIRTH OF VENUS
Sarah Dunant
Cover of THE BIRTH OF VENUS

THE BIRTH OF VENUS

by Sarah Dunant · Random House

Alessandra Cecchi is not quite fifteen when her father, a prosperous cloth merchant, brings a young painter back from northern Europe to decorate the chapel walls in the family’s Florentine palazzo. A child of the Renaissance, with a precocious mind and a talent for drawing, Alessandra is intoxicated by the painter’s abilities. But their burgeoning relationship is interrupted when Alessandra’s parents arrange her marriage to a wealthy, much older man. Meanwhile, Florence is changing, increasingly subject to the growing suppression imposed by the fundamentalist monk Savonarola, who is seizing religious and political control. Alessandra and her native city are caught between the Medici state, with its love of luxury, learning, and dazzling art, and the hellfire preaching and increasing violence of Savonarola’s reactionary followers. Played out against this turbulent backdrop, Alessandra’s married life is a misery, except for the surprising freedom it allows her to pursue her powerful attraction to the young painter and his art. The Birth of Venus is a tour de force, the first historical novel from one of Britain’s most innovative writers of literary suspense. It brings alive the history of Florence at its most dramatic period, telling a compulsively absorbing story of love, art, religion, and power through the passionate voice of Alessandra, a heroine with the same vibrancy of spirit as her beloved city.

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