TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of June 21, 2009

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1
NEW
SKIN TRADE
Laurell K. Hamilton
Cover of SKIN TRADE

SKIN TRADE

by Laurell K. Hamilton · Berkley

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

Once you tell someone certain things, like, say, you got mailed a human head in a box, they tend to think you're crazy. Anita Blake's reputation has taken some hits. Not on the work front, where she has the highest kill count of all the legal vampire executioners in the country, but on the personal front. No one seems to trust a woman who sleeps with the monsters. Still, when a vampire serial killer sends her a head from Las Vegas, Anita has to warn Sin City's local authorities what they're dealing with. Only it's worse than she thought. Several officers and one executioner have been slain - paranormal style... Anita heads to Las Vegas, where she's joined by three other federal marshals, including the ruthless Edward hiding behind his mild-mannered persona. It's a good thing Edward always has her back, because, when she gets close to the bodies, Anita senses "tiger" too strongly to ignore it. The were-tigers are very powerful in Las Vegas, which means the odds of her rubbing someone important the wrong way just got a lot higher...

2
NEW
MEDUSA
Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos

MEDUSA

by Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos · Putnam

1 wks on list

HTML: A plague that threatens to eradicate millions... A ruthless cabal on a quest for domination... Mysterious undersea events lead Kurt Austin and the NUMA team to discover a hideous series of medical experiments, an extraordinarily ambitious Chinese criminal organization, and a secret new virus that threatens to set off a world-wide pandemic. .

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THE SCARECROW
Michael Connelly
Cover of THE SCARECROW

THE SCARECROW

by Michael Connelly · Little, Brown

2 wks on list

Pursuing a big story in anticipation of his imminent layoff, Los Angeles reporter Jack McEvoy investigates the murder confession of a teen drug dealer and realizes that the youth may be innocent, a discovery that pits him against a killer operating below police radar with an uncanny knowledge of his enemies.

4
SHANGHAI GIRLS
Lisa See
Cover of SHANGHAI GIRLS
5
NEW
MATTERS OF THE HEART
Danielle Steel
Cover of MATTERS OF THE HEART

MATTERS OF THE HEART

by Danielle Steel · Delacorte Press

1 wks on list

A powerful story of one woman's journey from darkness into light... Top photographer Hope Dunne has known joy and heartbreak, and finds serenity through the lens of her camera. Content in her SoHo loft, she isn’t looking for a man or excitement. But these things find her when she flies to London to photograph one of the world’s most celebrated writers. Finn O’Neill exudes warmth and a boyish charm. Enormously successful, he is a perfect counterpoint to Hope’s quiet, steady grace–and he’s taken instantly by her. He courts her as no one ever has before, whisking her away to his palatial, isolated Irish estate. Hope finds it all, and him, irresistible. But soon cracks begin to appear in his stories: Gaps in his history, a few innocent lies, and bouts of jealousy unnerve her. Suddenly Hope is both in love and deeply in doubt, and ultimately frightened of the man she loves. Is it possible that this adoring man is hiding something even worse?

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4
GONE TOMORROW
Lee Child
Cover of GONE TOMORROW

GONE TOMORROW

by Lee Child · Delacorte Press

3 wks on list

'Enhances his status as a mythic avenger. . .You'll be left with a thumping heart and a racing pulse but, be warned, Chapter 63 will give you nightmares' Evening Standard Suicide bombers are easy to spot. They give out all kinds of tell-tale signs. There are twelve things to look for. No one who has worked in law enforcement will ever forget them. New York City. The subway, two o'clock in the morning. Jack Reacher studies his fellow passengers. Four are OK. The fifth isn't. The train brakes for Grand Central Station. Will Reacher intervene, and save lives? Or is he wrong? Will his intervention cost lives - including his own? _________ Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Gone Tomorrow is 13th in the series. And don’t miss Reacher's newest adventure, No.30, Exit Strategy! ***OUT NOW***

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1
DEAD AND GONE
Charlaine Harris
Cover of DEAD AND GONE

DEAD AND GONE

by Charlaine Harris · Ace

5 wks on list

Now it's the turn of the weres and shifters to follow the lead of the undead and reveal their existence to the ordinary world. Sookie Stackhouse already knows about them, of course - her brother turns into a panther at the full moon, she's friend to the local Were pack and Sam, her boss at Merlotte's bar, is a shifter. At first the great Were revelation seems to go well - then the horribly mutilated body of a were-panther is found outside Merlotte's. Though Sookie never cared that much for the victim, no one deserves such a horrible death, so she agrees to use her telepathic talent to track down the murderer. But what Sookie doesn't realise is that there is a far greater danger than this killer threatening Bon Temps: a race of unhuman beings, older, more powerful and far more secretive than the vampires or the werewolves is preparing for war ...

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3
THE 8TH CONFESSION
James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Cover of THE 8TH CONFESSION

THE 8TH CONFESSION

by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro · Little, Brown

6 wks on list

As San Francisco's most glamorous millionaires mingle at the party of the year, someone is watching--waiting for a chance to take vengeance on Isa and Ethan Bailey, the city's most celebrated couple. Finally, the killer pinpoints the ideal moment, and it's the perfect murder. Not a trace of evidence is left behind in their glamorous home. As Detective Lindsay Boxer investigates the high-profile murder, someone else is found brutally executed--a preacher with a message of hope for the homeless. His death nearly falls through the cracks, but when reporter Cindy Thomas hears about it, she knows the story could be huge. Probing deeper into the victim's history, she discovers he may not have been quite as saintly as everyone thought. As the hunt for two criminals tests the limits of the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay sees sparks fly between Cindy and her partner, Detective Rich Conklin. The Women's Murder Club now faces its toughest challenge: will love destroy all that four friends have built? The exhilarating new chapter in the Women's Murder Club series, The 8th Confession serves up a double dose of speed-charged twists and shocking revelations as only James Patterson can. And remember, this is the only Murder Club episode of the year.

9
NEW
THE STRAIN
Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Cover of THE STRAIN

THE STRAIN

by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan · William Morrow and Company

1 wks on list

“Part The Andromeda Strain, part Night of the Living Dead.” —Salon.com The visionary creator of the Academy Award-winning Pan's Labyrinth and a Hammett Award-winning author bring their imaginations to this bold, epic novel about a horrifying battle between man and vampire that threatens all humanity. The first installment in a thrilling trilogy. A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Eph Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold. In a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, a former professor and survivor of the Holocaust named Abraham Setrakian knows something is happening. And he knows the time has come, that a war is brewing . . . So begins a battle of mammoth proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected New York begins to spill out into the streets. Eph, who is joined by Setrakian and a motley crew of fighters, must now find a way to stop the contagion and save his city—a city that includes his wife and son—before it is too late. An epic battle for survival begins between man and vampire in The Strain—the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy from one of Hollywood’s most inventive storytellers and a critically acclaimed thriller writer. Guillermo del Toro, the genius director of the Academy Award-winning Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy, and Hammett Award-winning author Chuck Hogan have joined forces to boldly reinvent the vampire novel. Brilliant, blood-chilling, and unputdownable, The Strain is a nightmare of the first order.

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WICKED PREY
John Sandford
Cover of WICKED PREY

WICKED PREY

by John Sandford · Putnam

4 wks on list

For twenty years, John Sandford's novels have been beloved for their "ingenious plots, vivid characters, crisp dialogue and endless surprises" (The Washington Post), and nowhere are those more in evidence than in the sudden twists and shocks of Wicked Prey.Out of Lucas Davenport's past comes a psycho nursing a violent grudge. But why go after Davenport for revenge when Davenport's young daughter is so close-and so vulnerable?

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2
THE HOST
Stephenie Meyer
Cover of THE HOST

THE HOST

by Stephenie Meyer · Little, Brown

56 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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4
FIRST FAMILY
David Baldacci
Cover of FIRST FAMILY

FIRST FAMILY

by David Baldacci · Grand Central

7 wks on list

David Baldacci's First Family is the fourth gripping New York Times bestseller in the King and Maxwell series. The President’s niece is missing. Former secret service agents Sean King and Michelle Maxwell return to the White House. Camp David, USA. A children’s birthday party at the presidential retreat turns into a nightmare when a child is snatched after the celebrations. First Lady. The FBI doesn’t want private investigators King and Maxwell anywhere near the case. Regardless, they are enlisted by the First Lady to bring the child home safely. A shared history. The First Lady trusts King, for years ago he saved her then-senator husband from political disaster. But is there a greater secret in their past? With Maxwell battling her own demons, and forces aligned on all sides against her and King, the two are pushed to the absolute limit. In the race to save an innocent victim, the line between friend and foe will become impossible to define . . . or defend. David Baldacci's smash-hit series continues with The Sixth Man and King and Maxwell.

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CEMETERY DANCE
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Cover of CEMETERY DANCE

CEMETERY DANCE

by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child · Grand Central

4 wks on list

A New York Times reporter is murdered, and his wife is injured, supposedly by a man who was dead and buried ten days previous. FBI Special Agent Pendergast must discover the truth.

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