TheBestseller
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Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of May 13, 2012

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1
NEW
THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE
Stephen King
Cover of THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE

THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE

by Stephen King · Scribner

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

Returns to the rich landscape of Mid-World in a story within a story about gunslinger Roland Deschain, who while investigating a murderous shape-shifter interviews a terrified teen who has witnessed the creature's most recent killing.

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THE INNOCENT
David Baldacci
Cover of THE INNOCENT

THE INNOCENT

by David Baldacci · Grand Central

2 wks on list

From a #1 New York Times bestselling author, America's best hitman must rescue a teenage runaway and investigate her parents' murder. It begins with a hit gone wrong. Robie is dispatched to eliminate a target unusually close to home in Washington, D.C. But something about this mission doesn't seem right to Robie, and he does the unthinkable—he refuses to pull the trigger. Now, Robie becomes a target himself and is on the run. Fleeing the scene, Robie crosses paths with a fourteen-year-old runaway from a foster home. But she isn't an ordinary runaway—her parents were murdered, and her own life is in danger. Against his professional training, Robie rescues her and finds he can't walk away. He needs to help her. The more Robie learns about the girl, the more he's convinced she is at the center of a vast cover-up, one that involves unimaginable levels of power. Now, Robie may have to step out of the shadows in order to save this girl's life...and perhaps his own.

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CALICO JOE
John Grisham
Cover of CALICO JOE

CALICO JOE

by John Grisham · Doubleday

3 wks on list

This story, based on the Cubs and Mets 1973 season follows the divergent paths of Joe Castle, a rookie hitter for the Chicago Cubs, and Warren Tracey, a hard-throwing Mets pitcher.

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THE WITNESS
Nora Roberts
Cover of THE WITNESS

THE WITNESS

by Nora Roberts · Putnam

2 wks on list

In her stunning 200th novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts proves why no one is better “when it comes to flawlessly fusing high-stakes suspense with red-hot romance" (Booklist, starred review). Daughter of a cold, controlling mother and an anonymous donor, studious, obedient Elizabeth Fitch finally let loose one night, drinking too much at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent to lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. Twelve years later, the woman now known as Abigail Lowery lives alone on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance security systems designer, her own protection is supplemented by a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. Unfortunately, that seems to be the quickest way to get attention in a tiny southern town. The mystery of Abigail Lowery and her sharp mind, secretive nature and unromantic viewpoint intrigues local police chief Brooks Gleason, on both a personal and professional level. And while he suspects that Abigail needs protection from something, Gleason is accustomed to two-bit troublemakers, not the powerful and dangerous men who are about to have him in their sights. And Abigail Lowery, who has built a life based on security and self-control, is at risk of losing both.

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CRYSTAL GARDENS
Amanda Quick
Cover of CRYSTAL GARDENS

CRYSTAL GARDENS

by Amanda Quick · Putnam

1 wks on list

New York Times bestselling author Amanda Quick delivers “a promising start to a Victorian-era series”* with the first Ladies of Lantern Street novel… Evangeline Ames has rented a country cottage far from the London streets where she was recently attacked. Fascinated by the paranormal energy of nearby Crystal Gardens, she finds pleasure in sneaking past the wall to explore the grounds. And when her life is threatened again, she instinctively goes to the gardens for safety. Lucas Sebastian has never been one to ignore a lady in danger, even if she is trespassing on his property. Quickly disposing of her would-be assassin, he insists they keep the matter private. There are rumors enough already, about treasure buried under his garden and occult botanical experiments performed by his uncle—who died of mysterious causes. With Evangeline’s skill for detection, and Lucas’s sense of the criminal mind, they soon discover that they have a common enemy. And as the energy emanating from Crystal Gardens intensifies, they realize that to survive they must unearth what has been buried for too long.

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GUILTY WIVES
James Patterson and David Ellis
Cover of GUILTY WIVES

GUILTY WIVES

by James Patterson and David Ellis · Little, Brown

5 wks on list

The vacation of a lifetime in Monte Carlo turns into a hellish nightmare when best friends Abbie, Winnie, Serena and Bryah are arrested aboard an unfamiliar yacht and accused of an unthinkable crime. 1 million first printing.

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THE LOST YEARS
Mary Higgins Clark
Cover of THE LOST YEARS

THE LOST YEARS

by Mary Higgins Clark · Simon & Schuster

4 wks on list

Now in mass market, the latest suspense from #1 New York Times bestselling author and Queen of Suspense Mary Higgins Clark, where a biblical scholar is found murdered shortly after discovering the most revered and holy document in human history, which has now gone missing... Dr. Jonathan Lyons, a seventy-year-old biblical scholar, believes he has found the rarest of parchments—a letter that may have been written by Jesus Christ. Stolen from the Vatican library in the fifteenth century, it was assumed to be lost forever. Under the promise of secrecy, Jonathan attempts to confirm his findings with several other biblical experts. But on the eve before his own murder, he confides to Father Aiden O’Brien, a family friend, that one of those whom he trusted most is determined to keep it from being returned to the Vatican. The next evening Jonathan Lyons is found shot to death in his New Jersey home. His daughter, twenty-seven year old Mariah, finds her father’s body sprawled over his desk in his study, a fatal bullet wound in the back of his neck, and her mother, Kathleen, an Alzheimer’s victim, hiding in the study closet, incoherent and clutching the murder weapon. The police suspect that Kathleen, who in her lucid moments knows that Jonathan was involved with a much younger woman Lily Stewart, has committed the murder. But Mariah believes that the key to her father’s death is tied to another question: Where is the missing parchment? Whom, among his close circle of friends, might he have consulted? And did one of them kill to keep possession of the letter? With all the elements that have made her a worldwide bestseller, Mary Higgins Clark’s The Lost Years is at once a breathless murder mystery and a hunt for what may be the most precious religious and archaeological treasure of all time.

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UNNATURAL ACTS
Stuart Woods
Cover of UNNATURAL ACTS

UNNATURAL ACTS

by Stuart Woods · Putnam

2 wks on list

In this action-packed thriller in Stuart Woods’s #1 New York Times bestselling series, Stone Barrington discovers that some jobs don’t pay… When a hedge fund billionaire hires Stone Barrington to talk some sense into his wayward son, it seems like an easy enough job; no one knows the hidden sins and temptations of the ultra-wealthy better than Stone. But as Stone and his erstwhile protégé, Herbie Fisher, probe deeper into the case—and an old one comes back to haunt him—he realizes that even he may have underestimated just how far some people will go to cover up their crimes, and commit new ones.

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THE SHOEMAKER'S WIFE
Adriana Trigiani
Cover of THE SHOEMAKER'S WIFE

THE SHOEMAKER'S WIFE

by Adriana Trigiani · Harper/HarperCollins

4 wks on list

‘Trigiani is a master of palpable and visual detail’ Washington Post A sweeping epic of risk and destiny, of family, and of the power of love to change lives forever At the turn of the last century, Ciro, a young dreamer raised in a convent orphanage, and Enza, a practical girl born into poverty, meet as teenagers in the Italian Alps. Stumbling onto a scandal, Ciro is sent to hide in America and work as apprentice in Little Italy. Enza is bereft, but her life too is about to change. Unbeknownst to one another, Ciro is later a shoemaker and Enza is working in a factory in nearby Hoboken when fate reunites them. But it is already too late: Ciro has volunteered to serve in the war, and Enza has a new job at the Metropolitan Opera House that will sweep her into the glamorous salons of Manhattan and into the life of international singing sensation Enrico Caruso. From the stately mansions of Carnegie Hill, to the cobblestone streets of Little Italy, over the perilous cliffs of northern Italy, to the white-capped lakes of northern Minnesota, The Shoemaker’s Wife defines an era with operatic scope and splendour, in this breathtaking multigenerational love story that spans decades and continents as two star-crossed lovers weave their paths to each other. ‘Gloriously romantic… exquisite writing and a story enriched by the power of abiding love’ USA Today ‘Completely wonderful: a rich, sweeping epic which tells the story of the women and men who built America dream by dream’ Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help ‘An old-fashioned, romantic tale of two star-tangled lovers... but also a paean to artisanal work, food, friendship and family’ Washington Post ‘Breathtaking’ Hufffington Post

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SACRÉ BLEU
Christopher Moore
Cover of SACRÉ BLEU

SACRÉ BLEU

by Christopher Moore · Morrow/HarperCollins

4 wks on list

1890. Vincent Van Gogh est assassiné à Auvers-sur-Oise par un mystérieux dealer de bleu, « l’Homme-aux-Couleurs ». Toulouse-Lautrec mène l’enquête. Il enrôle son ami Lucien Lessard, peintre-boulanger de la butte Montmartre. Mais Lucien n’a qu’une obsession : brosser le portrait de Juliette, muse magnétique, qui vient de lui offrir un tube de bleu très rare... De sa plume débridée, trempée à l’ultramarine, Christopher Moore signe une fabuleuse comédie qui revisite l’histoire et le Paris de l’impressionnisme. Renoir, Pissarro, Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet, Manet, les frères Van Gogh, Gauguin sont victimes d’un piège qui n’est peut-être que celui de l’inspiration. Comment savoir ? Surtout lorsque la muse sort du cadre pour asséner de façon peu académiques ses considérations sur l’art et la manière. Sacré Bleu dynamite tous les codes, du roman noir au rose, du livre d’art à la saga. Voici le premier roman bleu.

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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

39 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.

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THE LIMPOPO ACADEMY OF PRIVATE DETECTION
Alexander McCall Smith
Cover of THE LIMPOPO ACADEMY OF PRIVATE DETECTION

THE LIMPOPO ACADEMY OF PRIVATE DETECTION

by Alexander McCall Smith · Pantheon

4 wks on list

THE THIRTEENTH BOOK IN THE BELOVED NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIES The one where Mma Ramotswe meets her hero . . . Mma Ramotswe, normally a peaceful sleeper, finds her slumbers disturbed by dreams of a tall stranger - but she is not quite ready to learn what this vision portends. Soon even Mma Makutsi has to admit that untoward things are occurring around the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: at Speedy motors, Fanwell finds himself in trouble with the law, and the indomitable Mma Potokwani disappears from the orphan farm. Armed with courage, kindness and an instinct for the truth, Mma Ramotswe sets out to restore order . . .

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COME HOME
Lisa Scottoline
Cover of COME HOME

COME HOME

by Lisa Scottoline · St. Martin’s Press

3 wks on list

From the New York Times –bestselling author of Think Twice comes an explosive novel about a woman faced with the ultimate choice: should she help someone from her past at the expense of her future? "The pace is relentless, the twists are jaw-dropping . . . Scottoline is a powerhouse." —David Baldacci Jill Farrow is a suburban mom who has finally gotten her and her daughter's lives back on track after a divorce. She loves being a pediatrician and is about to remarry, while her daughter, Megan, is a happily over-scheduled thirteen-year-old. But Jill's life is turned upside down when her ex-stepdaughter, Abby, shows up and delivers shocking news: Jill's ex-husband is dead. Abby insists that he was murdered-and pleads with Jill to help find his killer. Jill reluctantly agrees to make a few inquiries, and soon discovers that the story doesn't add up . . . As she digs deeper, her actions threaten to rip apart her new family, destroy their hard-earned happiness, and even endanger her own life. Yet how can Jill turn her back on a child she loves and once called her own? What are the limits of love, loss, and family? "This thrilling testament to a mother's relentless love may well be Scottoline's best novel to date." — Library Journal (starred review)

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INTO THE DREAMING
Karen Marie Moning
Cover of INTO THE DREAMING

INTO THE DREAMING

by Karen Marie Moning · Delacorte Press

1 wks on list

Between the Highlander and Fever worlds lies a place beyond imagining. This new edition of the novella contains more than 100 pages of bonus material, including: • a deleted scene from Kiss of the Highlander • a proposal for a never-published romance • an alternate opening version of The Dark Highlander • a sneak peek at art from the upcoming graphic novel Fever Moon For the first time in hardcover, here is #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning’s novella Into the Dreaming, a tale of Highland fantasy, star-crossed lovers, and the timeless manipulation of the ancient, immortal Unseelie king. This is Moning at her romantic, funniest finest. Free him from his ice-borne hell . . . Stolen from his beloved home in the Highlands of Scotland, imprisoned in the Unseelie king’s dark, frosty kingdom, Aedan MacKinnon endured centuries of torture before becoming the icy, emotionless Vengeance, the dark king’s dispatcher of death and destruction in the mortal realm. And in his century you both may dwell . . . Aspiring romance novelist Jane Sillee has always believed that she was born in the wrong century, but she’s managed to make a decent enough life for herself—if only she could stop having those recurring dreams about a man too perfect to exist. In the Dreaming you have loved him . . . Haunted every night of her life by a devastatingly sexy Highlander who comes to her while she sleeps, Jane tries to write him out of her head and heart. As a child he protected her, as a woman he loves her. Now in the Waking you must save him . . . When an ancient tapestry bearing the likeness of her beloved Highlander arrives on her doorstep, Jane is whisked back in time to fifteenth-century Scotland, to the castle of Dun Haakon on the isle of Skye, where she is given one chance to save her dream lover . . . or lose him forever to the Unseelie king. Caught in a deadly game between the light and dark courts of the Fae, Jane must find a way through the ice to the heart of her Highander. But will the love of one mortal woman be enough to defeat such ancient and ruthless immortal enemies?

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BETRAYAL
Danielle Steel
Cover of BETRAYAL

BETRAYAL

by Danielle Steel · Delacorte Press

5 wks on list

Her life shattered by her boyfriend's infidelity, movie director Tallie Jones also discovers that one of her closest associates has been stealing from her for years, and partners with a dashing FBI agent to identify a hidden enemy.

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WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU
Iris Johansen
Cover of WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU

WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU

by Iris Johansen · St. Martin's

From the #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author comes an explosive new thriller. Johansen is at her page-turning best in this novel that takes readers from the corridors of Langley to the alleyways of Hong Kong, and the darkest places of the human soul.

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