TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of August 30, 2009

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1
NEW
SOUTH OF BROAD
Pat Conroy
Cover of SOUTH OF BROAD

SOUTH OF BROAD

by Pat Conroy · Nan A. Talese/Doubleday

2 wks at #1 · 1 on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A big sweeping novel of friendship and marriage” (The Washington Post) by the celebrated author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini Leopold Bloom King has been raised in a family shattered—and shadowed—by tragedy. Lonely and adrift, he searches for something to sustain him and finds it among a tightly knit group of outsiders. Surviving marriages happy and troubled, unrequited loves and unspoken longings, hard-won successes and devastating breakdowns, as well as Charleston, South Carolina’s dark legacy of racism and class divisions, these friends will endure until a final test forces them to face something none of them are prepared for. Spanning two turbulent decades, South of Broad is Pat Conroy at his finest: a masterpiece from a great American writer whose passion for life and language knows no bounds. Praise for South of Broad “Vintage Pat Conroy . . . a big sweeping novel of friendship and marriage.”—The Washington Post “Conroy remains a magician of the page.”—The New York Times Book Review “Richly imagined . . . These characters are gallant in the grand old-fashioned sense, devoted to one another and to home. That siren song of place has never sounded so sweet.”—New Orleans Times-Picayune “A lavish, no-holds-barred performance.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “A lovely, often thrilling story.”—The Dallas Morning News “A pleasure to read . . . a must for Conroy’s fans.”—Associated Press

2
NEW
SMASH CUT
Sandra Brown
Cover of SMASH CUT

SMASH CUT

by Sandra Brown · Simon & Schuster

1 wks on list

The themes of role reversal and the abuse of power figure prominently in a tale in which corruption and betrayals turn friends against one another and force criminals to become heroes.

4
2
THAT OLD CAPE MAGIC
Richard Russo
Cover of THAT OLD CAPE MAGIC
6
NEW
THE ELEVENTH VICTIM
Nancy Grace
Cover of THE ELEVENTH VICTIM

THE ELEVENTH VICTIM

by Nancy Grace · Hyperion

1 wks on list

The controversial prosecutor best known for her top-rated CNN show draws from her own life in a fictional tale in which successful attorney Hailey embarks on a new home and career after the murder of her fiancé and becomes increasing terror-stricken when her clients are attacked by a killer whose methods mimic those of Hailey's last case. (Suspense).

7
1
BEST FRIENDS FOREVER
Jennifer Weiner
Cover of BEST FRIENDS FOREVER

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER

by Jennifer Weiner · Atria

5 wks on list

Jennifer Weiner, author of Good in Bed,In Her Shoes and the forthcoming Who DoYou Love, explores the nuances of female friendship with relish... Addie Downs and Valerie Adler were eight when they first met and decided to be best friends forever. But, in the wake of tragedy and betrayal during their teenage years, everything changed. Val went on to fame and fortune. Addie stayed behind in their small Midwestern town. Destiny, however, had more in store for these two. And when, twenty-five years later, Val shows up at Addie's front door with blood on her coat and terror on her face, it is the start of a wild adventure for two women joined by love and history who find strength together that they could not find alone.

9
NEW
THE MAGICIANS
Lev Grossman
Cover of THE MAGICIANS

THE MAGICIANS

by Lev Grossman · Viking Press

1 wks on list

Quentin Coldwater's life is changed forever by an apparently chance encounter: when he turns up for his entrance interview to Princeton he finds his interviewer dead - but a strange envelope bearing Quentin's name leads him down a very different path to any he'd ever imagined. The envelope, and the mysterious manuscript it contains, leads to a secret world of obsession and privilege, a world of freedom and power and, for a while, it's a world that seems to answer all Quentin's desires. But the idyll cannot last - and when it's finally shattered, Quentin is drawn into something darker and far more dangerous than anything he could ever have expected ...

10
2
THE DEFECTOR
Daniel Silva
Cover of THE DEFECTOR

THE DEFECTOR

by Daniel Silva · Putnam

4 wks on list

In Moscow Rules Gabriel Allon went up against the sadisitc Ivan Kharkov. Now he must outsmart him once and for all in this #1 New York Times bestseller from Daniel Silva. Grigori Bulganov once saved Gabriel Allon's life in Moscow—and Allon always repays his debts. So when the former Russian intelligence officer vanishes, Allon gathers his team of operatives to go after those responsible. But, in a running battle that rages across the globe, Allon soon realizes that his enemy may already hold the key to victory. And that if he continues, it will cost him more than he can bear...

11
6
INHERENT VICE
Thomas Pynchon
Cover of INHERENT VICE

INHERENT VICE

by Thomas Pynchon · Penguin Press

2 wks on list

The wild, macabre tale of the twentieth century and of two men -- one looking for something he has lost, the other with nothing much to lose -- and "V.," the unknown woman of the title.

12
11
BAD MOON RISING
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Cover of BAD MOON RISING

BAD MOON RISING

by Sherrilyn Kenyon · St. Martin’s Press

2 wks on list

Fang Kattalakis isn't just a wolf. He is the brother of two of the most powerful members of the Omegrion: the ruling council that enforces the laws of the Were-Hunters. And when war erupts among the lycanthropes, sides must be chosen. Enemies are forced into shaky alliances. When Aimee, the woman Fang loves, is accused of betraying her people, her only hope is that Fang believes in her. Yet in order to save her, Fang must break the law of his people and the faith of his brothers. That breech could very well spell the end of both their races and change their world forever. The war is on and time is running out...

13
3
DEAD AND GONE
Charlaine Harris
Cover of DEAD AND GONE

DEAD AND GONE

by Charlaine Harris · Ace

15 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 ...

15
NEW
INTERVENTION
Robin Cook
Cover of INTERVENTION

INTERVENTION

by Robin Cook · Putnam

After performing a post-mortem on a young college student who'd been recently treated by a chiropractor, Jack Stapleton, a New York City medical examiner, decides to explore alternative medicine. What makes people seek help from Eastern philosophies or even faith healers to cure their illnesses? Meanwhile his old college friend, Shawn Doherty, a renowned archaeologist involved in a dig at St Peter's in Rome has made a startling discovery with huge ecclesiastical and medical implications. When Kevin Murray, another old colleague, and now Roman Catholic Bishop of New York, gets wind of Shawn's findings he's desperate to keep them from the public and to disassociate himself from Shawn. Kevin turns to his old friend Jack to help protect this explosive secret - one with the power to change lives forever.

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