TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of March 25, 2012

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1
NEW
THE THIEF
Clive Cussler and Justin Scott
Cover of THE THIEF

THE THIEF

by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott · Putnam

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

Turn-of-the-century detective Isaac Bell matches wits with a German spy just as the world inches closer to global warfare in this novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series. It's 1910 and Chief Investigator Isaac Bell, along with fellow Van Dorn detective, Archie Abbott, is escorting a Wall Street stock swindler to his trial in New York aboard the ocean liner Mauretania. Pair intend to enjoy the open sea and make use of the leisure time to plan Bell’s wedding to Miss Marion Morgan, but are forced to change plans when two European scientists are nearly abducted and forced overboard. Bell springs into action just in time to stop the kidnapping, but his new charges are convinced they are still at risk. There’s something in their possession, an historic invention, and there’s a German munitions trust that will stop at nothing to steal it. For war clouds are looming, and a ruthless espionage agent has spotted an opportunity to give the German Empire an edge in the coming conflict. What’s worse, Bell’s already a step behind. He’s made the mistake of assuming it’s some sort of war machine. But not all weapons are meant for the battlefield…

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LONE WOLF
Jodi Picoult
Cover of LONE WOLF

LONE WOLF

by Jodi Picoult · Emily Bestler/Atria

2 wks on list

When his father and sister are injured in an accident that has rendered his father comatose, estranged son Edward decides to stop his father's life support so that his organs can be donated, a choice his sister urges him to reconsider.

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A RISING THUNDER
David Weber
Cover of A RISING THUNDER

A RISING THUNDER

by David Weber · Baen

1 wks on list

Peril and strife strike on a double front for Honor Harrington and company. After a brutal attack on the Manticoran home system, Honor Harrington has rooted out a plan designed to enslave the entire human species. Behind that plan lies the shadowy organization known as the Mesan Alignment. Task number one for Honor is to shut down and secure the wormhole network that is the source of the Star Kingdom's wealth and power¾but also its greatest vulnerability. Yet this is an act that the ancient and corrupt Earth-based Solarian League inevitably takes as a declaration of war. The thunder of battle rolls as the Solarian League directs its massive power against the Star Kingdom. And once again, Honor Harrington is thrust into a desperate battle that she must win if she is to survive to take the fight to the real enemy of galactic freedom¾the insidious puppetmasters of war who lurk behind the Mesan Alignment! At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

4
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FAIR GAME
Patricia Briggs
Cover of FAIR GAME

FAIR GAME

by Patricia Briggs · Ace

1 wks on list

#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs' third Alpha and Omega novel brings werewolves out of the darkness and into a society where fear and prejudice could turn the hunters into the prey… It is said that opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son—and enforcer—of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant Alpha. While Anna, an Omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind. When the FBI requests the pack’s help on a local serial-killer case, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston to join the investigation. It soon becomes clear that someone is targeting the preternatural. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer’s sights...

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KILL SHOT
Vince Flynn
Cover of KILL SHOT

KILL SHOT

by Vince Flynn · Emily Bestler/Atria

5 wks on list

THE NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER For months, Mitch Rapp has been steadily working his way - bullet by bullet - through a list of the men responsible for the slaughter of 270 civilians, including his own girlfriend, in the Pan Am Lockerbie bombing. His next target - a Libyan diplomat - should be easy. Prone to drink and currently in Paris without a bodyguard, Rapp quickly tracks the man down and sends a bullet into his skull while he's sleeping. But in the split second it takes the bullet to leave the silenced pistol, everything changes. The door to the hotel room is kicked open and gunfire erupts all around Rapp. When the news breaks that Libya's Oil Minister has been killed along with three innocent civilians and four unidentified men, the French authorities are certain that a wounded gunman is still on the loose in Paris. As the finger-pointing begins, Rapp's handlers have only one choice - deny any responsibility for the incident and race to do damage control. Rapp has become a liability, and he must not be taken alive by the French authorities. But alone in Paris, on the run from the authorities and from his own employers, Mitch Rapp must prepare to fight for his life. AMERICAN ASSASSIN, book one in the series, is soon to be a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE starring Dylan O'Brien (Maze Runner), Taylor Kitsch (True Detective) and Michael Keaton. Praise for the Mitch Rapp series 'Sizzles with inside information and CIA secrets' Dan Brown 'A cracking, uncompromising yarn that literally takes no prisoners' The Times 'Vince Flynn clearly has one eye on Lee Child's action thriller throne with this twist-laden story. . . instantly gripping' Shortlist 'Action-packed, in-your-face, adrenalin-pumped super-hero macho escapist fiction that does exactly what it says on the label' Irish Independent

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PRIVATE GAMES
James Patterson and Mark Sullivan
Cover of PRIVATE GAMES

PRIVATE GAMES

by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan · Little, Brown

4 wks on list

On your mark Private, the world's most renowned investigation firm, has been commissioned to provide security for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Its agents are the smartest, fastest, and most technologically advanced in the world, and 400 of them have been transferred to London to protect more than 10,000 competitors who represent more than 200 countries. Get set The opening ceremony is hours away when Private investigator and single father of twins, Peter Knight, is called to the scene of a ruthless murder. A high-ranking member of the games' organizing committee has been killed. It's clear to Peter that this wasn't a crime of passion, but one of precise calculation and execution. Die Newspaper reporter Karen Pope receives a letter from a person who calls himself Cronus claiming responsibility for the murders. He promises to restore the Olympics to their ancient glory and to destroy all those who have corrupted the games with lies, corruption, and greed. Immediately, Karen hires Private to examine the letter, and she and Peter uncover a criminal genius who won't stop until he's completely destroyed the modern games. "America's #1 storyteller" (Forbes) delivers an exhilarating, action-packed thriller that brings the splendor and emotion of the Olympics to a wildly powerful climax.

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CHASING MIDNIGHT
Randy Wayne White
Cover of CHASING MIDNIGHT

CHASING MIDNIGHT

by Randy Wayne White · Putnam

1 wks on list

In the new novel from New York Times bestselling author Randy Wayne White, Doc Ford is the only hope for an island of hostages. On one of Florida’s private islands, a notorious Russian black marketer is hosting a reception. Doc Ford only wanted to get an underwater look at the billionaire’s yacht. But when he surfaces, he gets a look at something he’d rather not see. A group of violent, armed men have taken control of the island, their true identity unknown. Whatever the motive, they threaten to kill the hostages one by one unless their demands are met—after which they might kill everyone anyway. Communications from the island have been cut off, and Ford knows he has to act. Luckily, the militants do not know Ford’s capabilities, or that he is still on the loose. But that situation won’t last for long…and the clock is ticking.

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CELEBRITY IN DEATH
J. D. Robb
Cover of CELEBRITY IN DEATH

CELEBRITY IN DEATH

by J. D. Robb · Putnam

3 wks on list

At the star-studded party celebrating the premiere of a movie based on one of her cases, Lieutenant Eve Dallas discovers the actress who played Peabody drowned in the lap pool and investigates. (mystery & detective).

9
DEFENDING JACOB
William Landay
Cover of DEFENDING JACOB

DEFENDING JACOB

by William Landay · Delacorte Press

6 wks on list

Andy Barber adalah seorang asisten jaksa wilayah di pinggiran Massachusetts selama lebih dari dua puluh tahun. Dia dihormati, hebat di ruang persidangan, dan hidup bahagia dengan Laurie, istrinya, juga Jacob, anaknya. Namun ketika sebuah peristiwa pembunuhan terjadi di taman Cold Spring, di dekat rumah mereka, hidup keluarga Andy pun berubah. Jacob dituduh sebagai pembunuh. Sebagai seorang ayah, naluri untuk membela putranya terus berkobar dalam diri Andy. Dia melakukan berbagai cara untuk menyelamatkan putranya, karena dia tahu bahwa Jacob tidak bersalah. Dia percaya pada putranya. Persidangan terus berlanjut, dan dampaknya memengaruhi kehidupan keluarga Barber. Fakta tersembunyi yang telah lama dikubur Andy malah terkuak, bahkan mengancam rumah tangganya.

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VICTIMS
Jonathan Kellerman
Cover of VICTIMS

VICTIMS

by Jonathan Kellerman · Ballantine

2 wks on list

Not since Jack the Ripper terrorized the London slums has there been such a gruesome crime scene. By all accounts, acid-tongued Vita Berlin hadn't a friend in the world, but whom did she cross so badly as to end up arranged in such a grotesque tableau? One look at her apartment-turned-charnel house prompts hard-bitten LAPD detective Milo Sturgis to summon his go-to expert in hunting homicidal maniacs, Alex Delaware.

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THE WOLF GIFT
Anne Rice
Cover of THE WOLF GIFT

THE WOLF GIFT

by Anne Rice · Knopf

18 wks on list

A young reporter on assignment is attacked and bitten by an unknown beast in rural Northern California and begins a terrifying but seductive transformation into a being with a dual nature, both man and wolf.

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11/22/63
Stephen King
Cover of 11/22/63

11/22/63

by Stephen King · Scribner

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King’s heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a tour de force. Following his massively successful novel Under the Dome, King sweeps readers back in time to another moment—a real life moment—when everything went wrong: the JFK assassination. And he introduces readers to a character who has the power to change the course of history. Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night fifty years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk. Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life—a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time. A tribute to a simpler era and a devastating exercise in escalating suspense, 11/22/63 is Stephen King at his epic best.

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A DANCE WITH DRAGONS
George R. R. Martin
Cover of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS

A DANCE WITH DRAGONS

by George R. R. Martin · Bantam

32 wks on list

A latest installment of the popular series follows a showdown set in the north of the Seven Kingdoms and reveals the circumstances that shaped southern-region events. By the best-selling author of A Feast for Crows.

14
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THE EXPATS
Chris Pavone
Cover of THE EXPATS

THE EXPATS

by Chris Pavone · Crown

1 wks on list

Kate Moore is an expat mum, newly transplanted from Washington D.C. In the cobblestoned streets of Luxembourg, her days are filled with play dates and coffee mornings, her weekends spent in Paris or skiing in the Alps. Kate is also guarding a secret - one so momentous it could destroy her neat little expat life - and she suspects that another American couple are not who they claim to be; plus her husband is acting suspiciously. As she travels around Europe, she finds herself looking over her shoulder, terrified her past is catching up with her. As Kate begins to dig, to uncover the secrets of those around her, she finds herself buried in layers of deceit so thick they threaten her family, her marriage and her life. A thrilling debut-to-remember, Chris Pavone's The Expats will keep you guessing until the very end.

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A PERFECT BLOOD
Kim Harrison
Cover of A PERFECT BLOOD

A PERFECT BLOOD

by Kim Harrison · Harper Voyager/HarperCollins

3 wks on list

Ritually murdered corpses are appearing across Cincinnati, terrifying amalgams of human and other. Pulled in by the FIB to help investigate, former witch-turned-day-walking demon Rachel Morgan soon realizes a horrifying truth: others want to create their own demons, and to do so they need her blood. She's faced vampires, witches, werewolves, demons, and more—but this time Rachel's toughest challenge might be humanity itself.

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I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER
Sophie Kinsella
Cover of I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER

I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER

by Sophie Kinsella · Dial Press

"Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her "happily ever after" begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect! Well, perfect except that the phone's owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn't agree. He wants his phone back and doesn't appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life. What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other's lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents, she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life."--Back cover

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