TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of April 10, 2011

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1
NEW
LIVE WIRE
Harlan Coben
Cover of LIVE WIRE

LIVE WIRE

by Harlan Coben · Dutton

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

Over the years, Myron Bolitar has walked a tight rope between sports agent, friend, problem solver and private eye, his big heart quick to defend his clients' interests so fiercely that he can't help but jump in to save them, no matter the cost to his own happiness. So when former tennis star Suzze T and her rock star husband, Lex, encounter an anonymous Facebook post questioning the paternity of their unborn child, Lex runs off, and Suzze - at eight months pregnant - asks Myron to save her marriage, and perhaps her husband's life. But when he finds Lex, he also finds two people he wasn't looking for: his sister-in-law, Kitty, wife of Myron's estranged brother, and her teenage son, Mickey, who is achingly familiar. But this boy that he has never met blames Myron for everything that has happened to his parents¿ As Myron races to locate his missing brother while their father clings to life after a savage heart-attack, he must face the lies that led to the estrangement long ago - including the ones told by Myron himself. He must also answer the questions that Mickey's arrival has thrown up. Who is Myron Bolitar really? And can he heal the damage of the past? We thought we knew Myron, but Harlan Coben now shows us we never did. An electric, stay-up-all night thriller that unfolds at a breakneck pace, Live Wire proves that Coben still has the ability to shock us anew.

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TOYS
James Patterson and Neil McMahon
Cover of TOYS

TOYS

by James Patterson and Neil McMahon · Little, Brown

2 wks on list

Hays Baker and his wife, Lizbeth, possess superhuman strength, extraordinary intelligence, stunning looks, a sex life to die for, and two beautiful children. Of course they do-they're Elites, endowed at birth with the very best that the world has to offer. The only problem in their perfect life: humans and their toys! The top operative for the Agency of Change, Hays has just won the fiercest battle of his career. He has been praised by the president and is a national hero. But before he can savor his triumph, he receives an unbelievable shock that overturns everything he thought was true. Suddenly, Hays is on the other side of the gun, forced to leave his perfect family and fight for his life. Now a hunted fugitive, Hays is thrown into an existence he never dreamed possible-fighting to save humans everywhere from extinction. He enlists all of his training to uncover the truth that will save millions of lives-maybe even his own. James Patterson's Toys is a thriller on a hyperplane-with a hero who rivals both James Bond and Jason Bourne.

3
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THE SATURDAY BIG TENT WEDDING PARTY
Alexander McCall Smith
Cover of THE SATURDAY BIG TENT WEDDING PARTY

THE SATURDAY BIG TENT WEDDING PARTY

by Alexander McCall Smith · Pantheon

1 wks on list

THE TWELFTH BOOK IN THE BELOVED NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIES The one where Mma Makutsi gets married . . . As the countdown to Mma Makutsi's big day begins, Violet Sephotho, her former rival for the affections of Phuti Radiphuti, is up to no good as usual. And will Mma Makutsi bury her differences with pushy Mma Potokwani, who has offered to help with the wedding feast? Meanwhile Mma Ramotswe is called away on a case at a southern cattle post, and Charlie has again got himself in a bit of bother with a young lady. At least they all have the happy occasion to look forward to . . .

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SING YOU HOME
Jodi Picoult
Cover of SING YOU HOME

SING YOU HOME

by Jodi Picoult · Atria

4 wks on list

Zoe Baxter finds unexpected love with a younger woman after she and her husband divorce, and when the couple wants to use the embryos Zoe and her ex-husband had frozen when they were trying to get pregnant, it sparks a legal battle over the rights of gay couples and whether an embryo is considered a life or a piece of property.

5
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NIGHT ROAD
Kristin Hannah
Cover of NIGHT ROAD

NIGHT ROAD

by Kristin Hannah · St. Martin's

1 wks on list

‘One of the greatest storytellers of our time’ – Delia Owens, bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing From the number one bestselling author of The Women, in Kristin Hannah’s Night Road, the consequence of one terrible night changes a group of young people’s lives forever. 'There was a beauty in chaos, a wildness that hinted at things gone wrong and mistakes overcome' Lexi and Mia are inseparable from the moment they start high school. Though different in so many ways – Lexi is an orphan and lives with her aunt on a trailer park, while Mia is a golden girl blessed with a loving family and a beautiful home – they nonetheless recognize something in each other, and Mia comes to rely heavily on Lexi’s steadfast friendship. The summer they graduate is a time they’ll never forget; a summer of love, best friends and shared confidences. But then one night changes them forever. As hearts are broken, loyalties challenged and hopes dashed, the time has come to leave childhood behind and learn to face a new future . . . Praise for Kristin Hannah: ‘Utterly absorbing . . . A triumph’ – Taylor Jenkins Reid, bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six ‘Stuns with sacrifice. Uplifts with heroism’ – Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry ‘Moving and unforgettable’ – Christy Lefteri, bestselling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo ‘A classic storyteller’ – Matt Haig, bestselling author of The Midnight Library

6
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A LESSON IN SECRETS
Jacqueline Winspear
Cover of A LESSON IN SECRETS

A LESSON IN SECRETS

by Jacqueline Winspear · Harper/HarperCollins

1 wks on list

Maisie Dobbs' first assignment for the British Secret Service takes her undercover to Cambridge, and leads to the investigation of the deadly acts being conducted by the up-and-coming Nazi party. By the author of The Mapping of Love and Death. 100,000 first printing.

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THE JUNGLE
Clive Cussler with Jack Du Brul
Cover of THE JUNGLE

THE JUNGLE

by Clive Cussler with Jack Du Brul · Putnam

3 wks on list

Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon take on another covert mission and confront a weapon rooted in thirteenth-century China and the treacherous jungles of northern Myanmar to overcome the greatest threat to U.S. security ever known.

10
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COLD WIND
C. J. Box
Cover of COLD WIND

COLD WIND

by C. J. Box · Putnam

1 wks on list

Don’t miss the JOE PICKETT series—now streaming on Paramount+ Joe Pickett investigates a murder that hits close to home in this thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series. When Earl Alden is found dead, dangling from a wind turbine, his wife, Missy, is arrested. Unfortunately for Joe Pickett, Missy is his much-disliked mother-in-law, and he’s not sure what to do—especially since it looks like Missy is guilty as sin. But then things happen to make Joe wonder: Is Earl's death what it appears to be? Is Missy being set up? He has the county DA and sheriff on one side, his wife on the other, his estranged friend Nate on a lethal mission of his own, and some powerful interests breathing down his neck. Whichever way this goes, it’s not going to be good... “I would say that C. J. Box is at the top of his form, but the top just keeps moving ever upward...A nonstop thrill ride not to be missed!”—Bookpage

11
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THE PEACH KEEPER
Sarah Addison Allen
Cover of THE PEACH KEEPER

THE PEACH KEEPER

by Sarah Addison Allen · Bantam

1 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather and once the finest home in Walls of Water, North Carolina—has stood for years as a monument to misfortune and scandal. Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite Paxton Osgood—has restored the house to its former glory, with plans to turn it into a top-flight inn. But when a skeleton is found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, long-kept secrets come to light, accompanied by a spate of strange occurrences throughout the town. Thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the passions and betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover the truths that have transcended time to touch the hearts of the living.

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BREAKING THE RULES
Suzanne Brockmann
Cover of BREAKING THE RULES

BREAKING THE RULES

by Suzanne Brockmann · Ballantine

1 wks on list

When Eden Gillman needed someone most, Navy SEAL Izzy Zanella was always there for her—offering a place to stay and a shoulder to cry on. And when she got pregnant with another man’s child, he offered his hand in marriage. Their life together seemed meant to be, until Eden’s miscarriage left them devastated and estranged. Yet in order to save Eden’s teenage brother, Ben, from his abusive stepfather, Eden once again reaches out to Izzy for help. He doesn’t hesitate to reach back, and there’s no denying the passion that still crackles between them. Together they wage a courtroom battle and win custody. But when Ben attracts some dangerous enemies, Izzy and Eden must pull together like never before and strike back, swift and hard, to protect their own—and everything they hold most precious. BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Suzanne Brockmann's Born to Darkness.

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DECEIVED
Paul S. Kemp
Cover of DECEIVED

DECEIVED

by Paul S. Kemp · Ballantine

1 wks on list

The second novel set in the Old Republic era and based on the massively multiplayer online game Star Wars: The Old Republic TM ramps up the action and brings readers face-to-face for the first time with a Sith warrior to rival the most sinister of the Order's Dark Lords—Darth Malgus, the mysterious, masked Sith of the wildly popular "Deceived" and "Hope" game trailers. Malgus brought down the Jedi Temple on Coruscant in a brutal assault that shocked the galaxy. But if war crowned him the darkest of Sith heroes, peace would transform him into something far more heinous—something Malgus would never want to be, but cannot stop, any more than he can stop the rogue Jedi fast approaching. Her name is Aryn Leneer—and the lone Knight that Malgus cut down in the fierce battle for the Jedi Temple was her Master. And now she's going to find out what happened to him, even if it means breaking every rule in the book.

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THE PARIS WIFE
Paula McLain
Cover of THE PARIS WIFE

THE PARIS WIFE

by Paula McLain · Ballantine

5 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A deeply evocative novel of ambition and betrayal that captures the love affair between two unforgettable people, Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley—from the author of Love and Ruin and When the Stars Go Dark “A beautiful portrait of being in Paris in the glittering 1920s—as a wife and as one’s own woman.”—Entertainment Weekly NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY People • Chicago Tribune • NPR • The Philadelphia Inquirer • Kirkus Reviews • The Toronto Sun • BookPage Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking, fast-living, and free-loving life of Jazz Age Paris. As Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history and pours himself into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises, Hadley strives to hold on to her sense of self as her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Eventually they find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for. A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.

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A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES
Deborah Harkness
Cover of A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES

by Deborah Harkness · Viking Press

Discovering a magical manuscript in Oxford's library, scholar Diana Bishop, a descendant of witches who has rejected her heritage, inadvertently unleashes a fantastical underworld of daemons, witches and vampires whose activities center around an enchanted treasure.

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