TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of September 11, 2005

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
Jump to
1
NEW
POINT BLANK
Catherine Coulter
Cover of POINT BLANK

POINT BLANK

by Catherine Coulter · Putnam

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

Agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich are up against an unstable villain with a very long memory in this FBI Thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter. The explosive action kicks off as treasure-hunting FBI agent Ruth Warnecki is on the trail of stolen Confederate gold hidden in Winkel’s cave in western Virginia. She never expects to find herself chin-deep in a grisly murder that leaves her nearly dead and rocks the town of Maestro. Then, at a stake-out in Maryland, FBI agents Dillon Savich and Dane Carver are nearly killed in a horrific explosion while attempting to rescue kidnap victim, Pinky Womack. They are led to Arlington National Cemetery where they not only find Pinky, but Savich also takes a fateful call on his cell from an old man out to kill both him and Sherlock. The thing is they have no clue why. Pitted against an insane killer and his psychotic teenage girlfriend, Savich and Sherlock find themselves fighting a hate-driven villain with a grudge worth killing for...

2
THE DA VINCI CODE
Dan Brown
Cover of THE DA VINCI CODE

THE DA VINCI CODE

by Dan Brown · Doubleday

128 wks 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)!

3
THE HISTORIAN
Elizabeth Kostova
Cover of THE HISTORIAN

THE HISTORIAN

by Elizabeth Kostova · Little, Brown

11 wks on list

The record-breaking phenomenon from Elizabeth Kostova is a celebrated masterpiece that "refashioned the vampire myth into a compelling contemporary novel, a late-night page-turner" (San Francisco Chronicle). Breathtakingly suspenseful and beautifully written, The Historian is the story of a young woman plunged into a labyrinth where the secrets of her family’s past connect to an inconceivable evil: the dark fifteenth-century reign of Vlad the Impaler and a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive through the ages. The search for the truth becomes an adventure of monumental proportions, taking us from monasteries and dusty libraries to the capitals of Eastern Europe—in a feat of storytelling so rich, so hypnotic, so exciting that it has enthralled readers around the world. “Part thriller, part history, part romance...Kostova has a keen sense of storytelling and she has a marvelous tale to tell.” —Baltimore Sun

4
3
CHILL FACTOR
Sandra Brown
Cover of CHILL FACTOR

CHILL FACTOR

by Sandra Brown · Simon & Schuster

2 wks on list

The #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Crush" returns with a suspenseful thriller in which a woman's life is in jeopardy . . . . and time is running out.

5
1
LIFEGUARD
James Patterson and Andrew Gross
Cover of LIFEGUARD

LIFEGUARD

by James Patterson and Andrew Gross · Little, Brown

7 wks on list

In order to have money that will help him get the woman of his dreams, Ned Kelly agrees to help his cousin commit robbery; however, something goes wrong and he has to go on the run.

6
NEW
TYRANNOSAUR CANYON
Douglas Preston
Cover of TYRANNOSAUR CANYON

TYRANNOSAUR CANYON

by Douglas Preston · Forge

1 wks on list

A stunning archaeological thriller from Douglas Preston, the New York Times bestselling co-author of Brimstone and Relic. A moon rock missing for thirty years... Five buckets of blood-soaked sand found in a New Mexico canyon... A scientist with ambition enough to kill... A monk who will redeem the world... A dark agency with a deadly mission... The greatest scientific discovery of all time... What fire bolt from the galactic dark shattered the Earth eons ago, and now hides in that remote cleft in the southwest U.S. known as Tyrannosaur Canyon? A fascinating novel from acclaimed bestselling author, hailed by Publishers Weekly as "better than Crichton." At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

7
NEW
VANISH
Tess Gerritsen
Cover of VANISH

VANISH

by Tess Gerritsen · Ballantine

1 wks on list

FBI agent Gabriel Dean rushes into action to protect his pregnant wife, homicide detective Jane Rizzoli, when she is taken hostage along with others at the hospital by Nicholas Tennant, a black-ops agent in possession of high-level government secrets.

10
2
THE INTERRUPTION OF EVERYTHING
Terry McMillan
Cover of THE INTERRUPTION OF EVERYTHING

THE INTERRUPTION OF EVERYTHING

by Terry McMillan · Viking Press

6 wks on list

At forty-four, Marilyn Grimes is facing up to the menopause (something is DEFINITELY up with her hormones), bored to tears by her responsible but unsexy husband Leon, and feeling the strain of having raised three children who may be great kids but who leave her feeling anxious all the time. Her mother-in-law, Arthurine, has moved in, as has Arthurine's beloved elderly dog, Snuffy. Meantime the needs of her own extended family (particularly her crack-head foster sister) are escalating like mad. No wonder Marilyn is feeling tired and hormonal. But everything is interrupted when Marilyn finds out she's not menopausal . . . but pregnant.

11
5
THE MERMAID CHAIR
Sue Monk Kidd
Cover of THE MERMAID CHAIR

THE MERMAID CHAIR

by Sue Monk Kidd · Viking Press

21 wks on list

43-årige Jessie Sullivan, som lever et begivenhedsløst liv i Atlanta med mand og en datter, bliver kaldt hjem til sin barndoms ø Egret, da moderen Nelle Skærer sine fingre af; hun konfronteres med minderne om faderens død i en bådulykke, som hun altid har følt sig delvis ansvarlig for, og moderen har hun aldrig stået særlig nær.

12
5
THE UNDOMESTIC GODDESS
Sophie Kinsella
Cover of THE UNDOMESTIC GODDESS

THE UNDOMESTIC GODDESS

by Sophie Kinsella · Dial Press

6 wks on list

Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She's made a mistake so huge, it'll wreck any chance of a partnership. Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she's mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they've hired a lawyer--and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can't sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope--and finds love--is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake.

13
1
MATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Cover of MATCH ME IF YOU CAN

MATCH ME IF YOU CAN

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips · Morrow

3 wks on list

Annabelle is tired of being the lone failure in a family of overachievers. She's endured dead-end jobs and a broken engagement. Even her hair's a mess! But that's going to change now she's taken over her late grandmother's matchmaking business. All Annabelle has to do is to land Chicago's hottest batchelor as her client... Heath Champion is wealthy, driven, gorgeous, so why does her need a matchmaker, especially a walking disaster like Annabelle Granger? True, she's entertaining, and she does have a certain quirky appeal. But Heath is searching for the ultimate symbol of success- the perfect wife. When the matchmaker promises she'll do anything to keep her star client happy... does she mean anything? If Annabelle isn't careful, she just might find herself going heart-to-heart with the toughest negotiator in town- a man who's beginning to ask himself: exactly how perfect does perfect have to be?

14
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

99 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

15
NEW
REFLECTIONS OF A PEACEMAKER
Mattie J. T. Stepanek
Cover of REFLECTIONS OF A PEACEMAKER

REFLECTIONS OF A PEACEMAKER

by Mattie J. T. Stepanek · Andrews McMeel

Mattie J. T. Stepanek lived and died a child, but he had the spirit of a giant. Affected by a rare and fatal neuromuscular disease, Mattie lived almost fourteen years but in that time became a poet, best-selling author, peace activist, and a prominent voice for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Before his death in June 2004, his five volumes of Heartsongs poetry sold more than a million copies. Reflections of a Peacemaker: A Portrait Through Heartsongs is the final collection of Heartsongs that Mattie was working on when he died. It includes the last poem Mattie penned along with a special collection of unpublished poetry, photographs, and artwork spanning the decade from when he began writing Heartsongs at age three. Culled from the thousands of poems, essays, and journal entries Mattie left behind, the entries in Reflections of a Peacemaker create a portrait of Mattie in his own words. In these poems he explores disability, despair, and death but also the gifts he finds in nature, prayer, peace, and his belief in something "bigger and better than the here and now." The poems are grouped by theme such as playful, stormy, sacred, and final Heartsongs, with each section introduced by a personal tribute from the likes of Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Larry King, and former President Jimmy Carter. In the words of Mattie's mother, Jeni Stepanek, who has published Reflections of a Peacemaker at her son's request, "In reading these poems we enter Mattie's world and gain insight through a child who somehow balanced pain and fear with optimism and faith."

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