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Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of February 1, 2009

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1
PLUM SPOOKY
Janet Evanovich
Cover of PLUM SPOOKY

PLUM SPOOKY

by Janet Evanovich · St. Martin’s Press

3 wks at #1 · 2 on list

"Stephanie Plum is destined to join ranks with Kinsey Millhone and Carlotta Carlyle . . . tough, vulnerable, resourceful, and impulsive." —Nora Roberts Plum Spooky is the first of the Stephanie Plum Between-the-Numbers novels from #1 bestselling author Janet Evanovich. Turn on all the lights and check under your bed. Things are about to get spooky in Trenton, New Jersey. According to legend, the Jersey Devil prowls the Pine Barrens and soars above the treetops in the dark of night. As eerie as this might seem, there are things in the Barrens that are even more frightening and dangerous. And there are monkeys. Lots of monkeys. Wulf Grimoire is a world wanderer and an opportunist who can kill without remorse and disappear like smoke. He's chosen Martin Munch, boy genius, as his new business partner, and he's chosen the Barrens as his new playground. Munch received his doctorate degree in quantum physics when he was twenty-two. He's now twenty-four, and while his brain is large, his body hasn't made it out of the boys' department at Macy's. Anyone who says good things come in small packages hasn't met Munch. Wulf Grimoire is looking for world domination. Martin Munch would be happy if he could just get a woman naked and tied to a tree. Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has Munch on her most-wanted list for failure to appear in court. Plum is the all-American girl stuck in an uncomfortable job, succeeding on luck and tenacity. Usually she gets her man. This time she gets a monkey. She also gets a big guy named Diesel. Diesel pops in and out of Plum's life like birthday cake—delicious to look at and taste, not especially healthy as a steady diet, gone by the end of the week if not sooner. He's an über bounty hunter with special skills when it comes to tracking men and pleasing women. He's after Grimoire, and now he's also after Munch. And if truth were told, he wouldn't mind setting Stephanie Plum in his crosshairs. Diesel and Plum hunt down Munch and Grimoire, following them into the Barrens, surviving cranberry bogs, the Jersey Devil, a hair-raising experience, sand in their underwear, and, of course . . . monkeys. Praise for Janet Evanovich and the Stephanie Plum novels "Evanovich serves up consistently crave-able goodies." — People magazine "No less than her plotting, Evanovich's characterizations are models of screwball artistry. The intricate plot machinery of her comic capers is fueled by inventive twists." — The New York Times "If you prefer your protagonists with big hair and based in Jersey, then Stephanie Plum is your crime solver of choice. Evanovich has a huge following . . . Stephanie and her sidekick, Lula, are the Lucy and Ethel of bounty hunting." — USA Today

2
THE HOST
Stephenie Meyer
Cover of THE HOST

THE HOST

by Stephenie Meyer · Little, Brown

36 wks on list

The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed. But Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves--Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.--From publisher description.

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BLACK OPS
W. E.B. Griffin
Cover of BLACK OPS

BLACK OPS

by W. E.B. Griffin · Putnam

3 wks on list

W.E.B. Griffin always hits the target-right at the top of the bestseller lists... W.E.B. Griffin's explosive Presidential Agent novels have gained worldwide acclaim for "leaving satisfied thriller readers hankering for more." Now, in Griffin's latest #1 New York Times bestseller, the Russian bear is stirring after many years of hibernation-and it is hungry.

4
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MOUNTING FEARS
Stuart Woods
Cover of MOUNTING FEARS

MOUNTING FEARS

by Stuart Woods · Putnam

1 wks on list

HTML: President Will lee's vice-president just died during surgery, and Lee's new pick may be hiding something from his past. Meanwhile, rogue CIA agent Teddy Fay is plotting revenge on CIA Director Kate Rule Lee, the First Lady. On top of all this, some nuclear weapons are ?loose? in Pakistan, and the prevention of WWIII depends on Lee's efforts to resolve the situation. .

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THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE
David Wroblewski
Cover of THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE

THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE

by David Wroblewski · Ecco

32 wks on list

A contemporary retelling of Hamlet of stark and striking brilliance set on a farm in remote northern Wisconsin. On a farm in remote northern Wisconsin the mute and brilliant Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents Gar and Trudy. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomised by Almodine, Edgar's lifelong companion. But when his beloved father mysteriously dies, Edgar blames himself, if only because his muteness left him unable to summon help. Grief-stricken and bewildered by his mother's desperate affair with her dead husband's brother, Edgar's world unravels one spring night when, in the falling rain, he sees his father's ghost. After a botched attempt to prove that his uncle orchestrated Gar's death, Edgar flees into the Chequamegon wilderness leading three yearling dogs. Yet his need to face his father's murderer, and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs, turn Edgar ever homeward. When he returns, nothing is as he expects, and Edgar must choose between revenge or preserving his family legacy...

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SCARPETTA
Patricia Cornwell
Cover of SCARPETTA

SCARPETTA

by Patricia Cornwell · Putnam

7 wks on list

Cuarto título de Patricia Cornwell sobre la doctora forense Kay Scarpetta, contrinúa una de las series de novela criminal más exitosas de todos los tiempos. Ronnie Joe Waddell va a ser ejecutado por un crimen horrible y la doctora Scarpetta , particularmente inquieta frente a este hecho, espera para realizar la autopsia. Pocas horas después de la ejecución, la policía encuentra en la calle el cadáver de una adolescente con heridas similares a las que mostraba la supuesta víctima de Waddell. Scarpetta, que ya dudaba acerca de la culpabilidad del convicto, ve justificadas sus sospechas. La forense deberá enfrentarse a la investigación de un tercer crimen y, al mismo tiempo, a una persona que intenta sabotear su trabajo desde los oscuros pasillos del poder. Cruel y extraño ha obtenido los prestigiosos premios Edgar y Gold Dagger y su protagonista, la doctora forense Scarpetta, es uno de los grandes hallazgos de la novela policíaca estadounidense.

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THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Cover of THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY

THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows · Dial Press

18 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A NETFLIX FILM • A remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name. “Treat yourself to this book, please—I can’t recommend it highly enough.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love “I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb. . . . As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all. Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever. Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises and of finding connection in the most surprising ways. Praise for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society “A jewel . . . Poignant and keenly observed, Guernsey is a small masterpiece about love, war, and the immeasurable sustenance to be found in good books and good friends.”—People “A book-lover’s delight, an implicit and sometimes explicit paean to all things literary.”—Chicago Sun-Times “A sparkling epistolary novel radiating wit, lightly worn erudition and written with great assurance and aplomb.”—The Sunday Times (London) “Cooked perfectly à point: subtle and elegant in flavour, yet emotionally satisfying to the finish.”—The Times (London)

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FIRE AND ICE
Julie Garwood
Cover of FIRE AND ICE

FIRE AND ICE

by Julie Garwood · Ballantine

3 wks on list

Sophie Rose is a crime reporter at a major Chicago newspaper and the daughter of Bobby Rose, a charming gentleman and big-time thief. When asked to write an exposé about her notorious father, Sophie quits and goes to work at a small newspaper, covering local personalities such as William Harrington, the 5K runner whose trademark is red socks. Those socks—with Sophie's business card tucked inside—are practically all that's found after Harrington is killed near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, seemingly in a brutal polar bear attack. Sophie heads north to investigate, but danger follows in her wake. After one attempt on her life, she's assigned brash but sexy Jack MacAlister as a bodyguard. But Sophie and Jack will soon be fighting more than their growing passion for each other. Powerful forces will stop at nothing to prevent the exposure of the sinister conspiracy Sophie and Jack are about to uncover.

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FROM DEAD TO WORSE
Charlaine Harris
Cover of FROM DEAD TO WORSE

FROM DEAD TO WORSE

by Charlaine Harris · ACE

4 wks on list

Psychic cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse finds herself in the middle of big trouble of the supernatural kind in this novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series—the inspiration for the HBO® original series True Blood. After the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina, and the manmade horror of the explosion at the vampire summit, Sookie Stackhouse is safe but dazed, yearning for things to get back to normal. But her boyfriend Quinn is among the missing. And things are changing, whether the Weres and vamps in her corner of Louisiana like it or not. In the ensuing battles, Sookie faces danger, death...and once more, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood ceases flowing, her world will be forever altered...

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ECLIPSE
Richard North Patterson
Cover of ECLIPSE

ECLIPSE

by Richard North Patterson · Holt

2 wks on list

In a novel of international intrigue, an American lawyer, Damon Pierce, attempts to save Bobby Okari, the West African leader of a protest movement, from execution by the country's corrupt and autocratic leader. Complicating matters further is Okari's wife, Marissa Brand, with whom Pierce had a relationship years before that he's never quite forgotten; in fact, she persuaded him to take the case in the first place, and it is who she plays a crucial role in the eventual outcome...Culminating in a dramatic show trial and a desperate race against time, Eclipse combines a thrilling narrative with a vivid look at the human cost of the global lust for oil.

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BEAT THE REAPER
Josh Bazell
Cover of BEAT THE REAPER

BEAT THE REAPER

by Josh Bazell · Little, Brown

1 wks on list

The Doctor will see you now.... Meet Peter Brown, a young Manhattan ER Doctor who has a past he'd prefer to stay hidden. When a figure from the old days emerges it looks increasingly unlikely that his secret will stay intact. Nicholas LoBrutto, aka Eddy Squillante, is given three months to live, and it's clear to Peter that the clock is ticking for both of them. He must do whatever it takes to keep him - and his patient - alive. It's time to beat the reaper....

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A MERCY
Toni Morrison
Cover of A MERCY

A MERCY

by Toni Morrison · Knopf

"In exchange for a bad debt, an Anglo-Dutch trader takes on Florens, a young slave girl, who feels abandoned by her slave mother and who searches for love--first from an older servant woman at her master's new home, and then from a handsome free blacksmith."--

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