TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of July 4, 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 · 66 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 RULE OF FOUR
Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
Cover of THE RULE OF FOUR

THE RULE OF FOUR

by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason · Dial Press

6 wks on list

Tom Sullivan, about to graduate from Princeton, is haunted by the violent death of his father, an academic who devoted his life to studying one of the rarest, most complex and most valuable books in the world. Coded in seven languages, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, an intricate mathematical mystery and a tale of love and arcane brutality, has baffled scholars since 1499. Tom's friend Paul is similarly obsessed and when a long-lost diary surfaces, they finally seem to make a breakthrough. But only hours later, a fellow researcher is murdered and the two friends suddenly find themselves in great danger. Working desperately to expose the book's secret, they slowly uncover a Renaissance tale of passion and blood, a hidden crypt and a secret worth dying to protect.

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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

39 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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ANGELS & DEMONS
Dan Brown
Cover of ANGELS & DEMONS

ANGELS & DEMONS

by Dan Brown · Atria

25 wks on list

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

6
NEW
BLOWOUT
Catherine Coulter
Cover of BLOWOUT

BLOWOUT

by Catherine Coulter · Putnam

1 wks on list

A long weekend in the Poconos is cut short when Sherlock and Savich are helicoptered back to Washington to lead the investigation into the brutal murder of a Supreme Court justice. Savich allows Callie Markham, an investigative reporter for The Washington Post, to partner with local Metro Police liaison Ben Raven since she's got the inside track--she's the stepdaughter of the murdered justice. Despite Detective Raven's unwillingness to have a civilian along, Callie Markham ends up riding shotgun to help look for her stepfather's murderer.

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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

12 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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THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB
Karen Joy Fowler
Cover of THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB

THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB

by Karen Joy Fowler · Marian Wood/Putnam

7 wks on list

Nothing ever moves in a straight line in Fowler's fiction, and in her latest, the complex dance of modern love has never been so devious or so much fun. In this newest work, six Californians join to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they meet, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens.

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THE TAKING
Dean Koontz
Cover of THE TAKING

THE TAKING

by Dean Koontz · Bantam

4 wks on list
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OLIVIA JOULES AND THE OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION
Helen Fielding
Cover of OLIVIA JOULES AND THE OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION

OLIVIA JOULES AND THE OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION

by Helen Fielding · Viking Press

2 wks on list

Journalist-turned-spy Olivia Joules finds herself drawn to Pierre Ferramo, a man of impeccable taste and extraordinary wealth, until she begins to worry that he is an international terrorist hiding behind a sophisticated smokescreen.

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MEMORIAL DAY
Vince Flynn
Cover of MEMORIAL DAY

MEMORIAL DAY

by Vince Flynn · Atria

7 wks on list

A New York Times Bestseller Fearless counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp is called upon to fight against the world's most deadly terrorists in this harrowing political thriller. It's seven days before Memorial Day, and the nation's capital is buzzing with last-minute preparations for the unveiling of the magnificent new World War II memorial. Despite the hopeful energy of the city, Mitch Rapp senses trouble. A spike in CIA intelligence has pointed to a major terrorist attack on the United States. Now it's up to Rapp to pull out all the stops. Leaving immediately for Afghanistan, Rapp leads a special forces unit on a daring commando raid into a remote Pakistani village. Their target: an al Qaeda stronghold, where they intercept the plans for a catastrophic attack on Washington D.C. But Rapp can't shake the feeling that the whole operation seemed just a bit too easy . . . Vince Flynn lives in the Twin Cities Vince Flynn is the author of the bestselling novels Term Limits and Transfer of Power

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BERGDORF BLONDES
Plum Sykes
Cover of BERGDORF BLONDES

BERGDORF BLONDES

by Plum Sykes · Miramax/ Hyperion

11 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.

15
NEW
A GOOD YEAR
Peter Mayle
Cover of A GOOD YEAR

A GOOD YEAR

by Peter Mayle · Knopf

A delightful, best-selling tale about the business and pleasure of wine, adapted into a Ridley Scott movie starring Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard. Max Skinner has recently lost his job at a London financial firm and just as recently learned that he has inherited his late uncle’s vineyard in Provence. On arrival he finds the climate delicious, the food even better, and two of the locals ravishing. Unfortunately, the wine produced on his new property is swill. Why then are so many people interested in it? Enter a beguiling Californian who knows more about wine than Max does—and may have a better claim to the estate. Fizzy with intrigue, bursting with local color and savor, A Good Year is Peter Mayle, beloved author of A Year in Provence, at his most entertaining.

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