TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of December 25, 2005

FictionNonfiction
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MARY, MARY
James Patterson
Cover of MARY, MARY

MARY, MARY

by James Patterson · Little, Brown

4 wks on list

When he investigates the murder of an actress outside of her Beverly Hills home, FBI agent Alex Cross learns that the attack was the latest in a series of celebrity killings linked to the elusive Mary Smith.

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1
AT FIRST SIGHT
Nicholas Sparks
Cover of AT FIRST SIGHT

AT FIRST SIGHT

by Nicholas Sparks · Warner

8 wks on list

There are few things Jeremy Marsh was sure he'd never do: he'd never leave New York City: never give his heart away again after barely surviving one failed marriage: and most of all, never become a parent. Now, Jeremy is living in the tiny town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, married to Lexie Darnell, the love of his life, and anticipating the birth of their daughter. But just as his life seems to be settling into a blissful pattern, an unsettling and mysterious message re-opens old wounds and sets off a chain of events that will forever change the course of this young couple's marriage...

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PREDATOR
Patricia Cornwell
Cover of PREDATOR

PREDATOR

by Patricia Cornwell · Putnam

7 wks on list

Dr. Kay Scarpetta, now freelancing with the National Forensic Academy in Florida, takes charge of a case that at first appears as unnerving as any she has ever faced.

7
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THE DA VINCI CODE
Dan Brown
Cover of THE DA VINCI CODE

THE DA VINCI CODE

by Dan Brown · Doubleday

142 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)!

9
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THE LIGHTHOUSE
P. D. James
Cover of THE LIGHTHOUSE

THE LIGHTHOUSE

by P. D. James · Knopf

3 wks on list
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CHRIST THE LORD: OUT OF EGYPT
Anne Rice
Cover of CHRIST THE LORD: OUT OF EGYPT

CHRIST THE LORD: OUT OF EGYPT

by Anne Rice · Knopf

6 wks on list

Incorporates the latest New Testament scholarship to offer a fictional chronicle of the early years of Jesus Christ.

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3
THE CAMEL CLUB
David Baldacci
Cover of THE CAMEL CLUB

THE CAMEL CLUB

by David Baldacci · Warner

7 wks on list

In The Camel Club, bestselling author David Baldacci paints a frighteningly vivid portrait of a world that could be our own very soon, and the few people who have a chance to stop the chaos...

12
SON OF A WITCH
Gregory Maguire
Cover of SON OF A WITCH

SON OF A WITCH

by Gregory Maguire · ReganBooks/HarperCollins

11 wks on list

Ten years after the publication of Wicked, beloved novelist Gregory Maguire returns at last to the land of Oz. There he introduces us to Liir, an adolescent boy last seen hiding in the shadows of the castle after Dorothy did in the Witch. Bruised, comatose, and left for dead in a gully, Liir is shattered in spirit as well as in form. But he is tended to at the Cloister of Saint Glinda by the silent novice called Candle, who wills him back to life with her musical gifts. What dark force left Liir in this condition?

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THE CHRISTMAS HOPE
Donna VanLiere
Cover of THE CHRISTMAS HOPE

THE CHRISTMAS HOPE

by Donna VanLiere · St. Martin's/Integrity

1 wks on list

Perennial New York Times bestsellers and Audie Award finalists The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Blessing have become inspirational holiday classics, and Donna VanLiere's The Christmas Hope, adapted to a movie of the same name, is poised to become a seasonal favorite in its own right. Patricia and Mark Addison have long given up the hope of having a meaningful Christmas. But this year, Patricia's job as a social worker will lead her to a very special five-year-old. Against her better judgment, Patricia bends the rules and takes the little girl to her own home. Through the presence of Emily in their house, and her penetrating questions about heaven, the Addisons learn that there is no sorrow so great that faith cannot help you find your way through. And Christmas will once more be a time of joy in their home. The Christmas Hope is a story of love in the face of loss, joy when all seems hopeless, and how light can shine into the darkest places.

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A FEAST FOR CROWS
George R. R. Martin
Cover of A FEAST FOR CROWS

A FEAST FOR CROWS

by George R. R. Martin · Bantam

5 wks on list

With the war of the five kings ground to an uneasy halt, the different sides and factions begin to formulate new plots and dangerous new alliances.

16
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THE CONSTANT PRINCESS
Philippa Gregory
Cover of THE CONSTANT PRINCESS

THE CONSTANT PRINCESS

by Philippa Gregory · Touchstone/Simon & Schuster

From #1 New York Times bestselling author and “queen of royal fiction” (USA TODAY) Philippa Gregory comes the remarkable story of Katherine of Aragon, Princess of Spain, daughter of two great monarchs, and eventual Queen of England when she marries the infamous King Henry VIII. Daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Katherine has been fated her whole life to marry Prince Arthur of England. When they meet and are married, the match becomes as passionate as it is politically expedient. The young lovers revel in each other’s company and plan the England they will make together. But tragically, aged only fifteen, Arthur falls ill and extracts from his sixteen-year-old bride a deathbed promise to marry his brother, Henry; become Queen; and fulfill their dreams and her destiny. Widowed and alone in the avaricious world of the Tudor court, Katherine has to sidestep her father-in-law’s desire for her and convince him, and an incredulous Europe, that her marriage to Arthur was never consummated, that there is no obstacle to marriage with Henry. For seven years, she endures the treachery of spies, the humiliation of poverty, and intense loneliness and despair while she waits for the inevitable moment when she will step into the role she has prepared for all her life. Then, like her warrior mother, Katherine must take to the battlefield and save England when its old enemies the Scots come over the border and there is no one to stand against them but the new Queen.

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