TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of June 24, 2012

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1
NEW
KISS THE DEAD
Laurell K. Hamilton
Cover of KISS THE DEAD

KISS THE DEAD

by Laurell K. Hamilton · Berkley

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

When a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by vampires, it’s up to U.S. Marshal Anita Blake to find her. And when she does, she’s faced with something she’s never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people—kids, grandparents, soccer moms—all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving a master. And where there’s one martyr, there will be more… But even vampires have monsters that they’re afraid of. And Anita is one of them…

2
NEW
GONE GIRL
Gillian Flynn
Cover of GONE GIRL

GONE GIRL

by Gillian Flynn · Crown

1 wks on list

THE ADDICTIVE No.1 BESTSELLER AND INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON OVER 20 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE THE BOOK THAT DEFINES PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER Who are you? What have we done to each other? These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren't made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what really did happen to Nick's beautiful wife? 'Flynn is a brilliantly accomplished psychological crime writer and this latest book is so dark, so twisted and so utterly compelling that it actually messes with your mind' DAILY MAIL 'A near-masterpiece. Flynn is an extraordinary writer who, with every sentence, makes words do things that other writers merely dream of' SOPHIE HANNAH, Sunday Express 'You think you're reading a good, conventional thriller and then it grows into a fascinating portrait of one averagely mismatched relationship...Nothing's as it seems - Flynn is a fabulous plotter, and a very sharp observer of modern life in the aftermath of the credit crunch' THE TIMES 'One of the most popular thrillers of the year is also one of the smartest... Flynn's book cleverly outpaces its neo-noir trappings and consistently surprises the reader.' FINANCIAL TIMES

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1
CALICO JOE
John Grisham
Cover of CALICO JOE

CALICO JOE

by John Grisham · Doubleday

9 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 STORM
Clive Cussler and Graham Brown
Cover of THE STORM

THE STORM

by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown · Putnam

2 wks on list

The Storm is Clive Cussler's thrilling tenth NUMA Files novel. In the middle of the Indian Ocean, a NUMA research vessel is taking water samples at sunset, when a crew member spots a sheen of black oil ahead of them. But it is not oil. Like a horde of army ants, a swarm of black particles suddenly attacks the ship, killing everyone aboard, while the ship itself goes up in flames. A few hours later, Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala are on their way to the Indian Ocean. What they will find there on the smouldering hulk of the ship will eventually lead them to the discovery of the most audacious scheme they have ever known: a plan to permanently alter the weather on a global scale. It will kill millions . . . and it has already begun. Packed with blazing action and daring exploits, The Storm is a nerve-shredding Kurt Austin Numa Filesthriller from Top Ten bestseller Clive Cussler, the master of action-adventure for over four decades, and co-author Graham Brown. Praise for Clive Cussler: 'Cussler is hard to beat' Daily Mail 'Clive Cussler is the guy I read' Tom Clancy 'The Adventure King' Daily Express

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3
SPRING FEVER
Mary Kay Andrews
Cover of SPRING FEVER

SPRING FEVER

by Mary Kay Andrews · St. Martin’s Press

5 wks on list

The New York Times bestselling author of Summer Rental delivers her delicious new escapist novel about small towns, old flames, and deep secrets Annajane Hudgens truly believes she is over her ex-husband, Mason Bayless. They've been divorced for four years, she's engaged to a new, terrific guy, and she's ready to leave the small town where she and Mason had so much history. She is so over Mason that she has absolutely no problem attending his wedding to the beautiful, intelligent, delightful Celia. But when fate intervenes and the wedding is called to a halt as the bride is literally walking down the aisle, Annajane begins to realize that maybe she's been given a second chance. Maybe everything happens for a reason. And maybe, just maybe, she wants Mason back. But there are secrets afoot in this small southern town. On the peaceful surface of Hideaway Lake, Annajane discovers that the past is never really gone. Even if there are people determined to keep Annajane from getting what she wants, happiness might be hers for the taking, and the life she once had with Mason in this sleepy lake town might be in her future.

6
NEW
11TH HOUR
James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Cover of 11TH HOUR

11TH HOUR

by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro · Little, Brown

Your best friend Lindsay Boxer is pregnant at last! But her work doesn't slow for a second. When millionaire Chaz Smith is mercilessly gunned down, she discovers that the murder weapon is linked to the deaths of four of San Francisco's most untouchable criminals. And it was taken from her own department's evidence locker. Anyone could be the killer--even her closest friends. Or a vicious killer? Lindsay is called next to the most bizarre crime scene she's ever seen: two bodiless heads elaborately displayed in the garden of a world-famous actor. Another head is unearthed in the garden, and Lindsay realizes that the ground could hide hundreds of victims. You won't know until the 11th hour A reporter launches a series of vicious articles about the cases and Lindsay's personal life is laid bare. But this time she has no one to turn to--especially not Joe. 11TH HOUR is the most shocking, most emotional, and most thrilling Women's Murder Club novel ever.

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STOLEN PREY
John Sandford
Cover of STOLEN PREY

STOLEN PREY

by John Sandford · Putnam

4 wks on list

A Lucas Davenport thriller by internationally bestselling novelist John Sandford Lucas Davenport has seen many terrible murder scenes. This is one of the worst. In the small Minnesota town of Deephaven, an entire family has been killed - husband, wife, two daughters, dogs. There's something about the scene that pokes at Lucas's cop instincts - it looks an awful lot like the kind of scorched-earth retribution he's seen in drug killings sometimes. But this is a seriously upscale town, and the husband was an executive vice president at a big bank. It just doesn't seem to fit. Until it does. And where it leads Lucas will take him into the darkest nightmare of his life. ***READERS LOVE THE PREY SERIES*** 'John Sandford knows all there is to know about detonating the gut-level shocks of a good thriller' The New York Times Book Review ​ 'The best Lucas Davenport story so far. The man has a fine touch for outlaws' Stephen King on Golden Prey 'Sandford’s trademark blend of rough humor and deadly action keeps the pages turning until the smile-inducing wrap-up, which reveals the fates of a number of his quirky, memorable characters' Publishers Weekly on Golden Prey 'It appears there is no limit to John Sandford’s ability to keep new breath and blood flowing into his Lucas Davenport series. This is a series you must be reading if you are not already' Bookreporter.com 'Sandford has always been at the top of any list of great mystery writers. His writing and the appeal of his lead character are as fresh as ever' The Huffington Post 'Sandford is consistently brilliant' Cleveland Plain Dealer

8
THE INNOCENT
David Baldacci
Cover of THE INNOCENT

THE INNOCENT

by David Baldacci · Grand Central

8 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.

9
A DANCE WITH DRAGONS
George R. R. Martin
Cover of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS

A DANCE WITH DRAGONS

by George R. R. Martin · Bantam

44 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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DEADLOCKED
Charlaine Harris
Cover of DEADLOCKED

DEADLOCKED

by Charlaine Harris · Ace

6 wks on list

When telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse investigates the body of a woman discovered in vampire Eric Northman's yard, she has no idea the murderer is an enemy out to get her in this latest novel in the series following Dead Reckoning. 100,000 first printing.

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5
BRING UP THE BODIES
Hilary Mantel
Cover of BRING UP THE BODIES

BRING UP THE BODIES

by Hilary Mantel · John Macrae/Holt

5 wks on list

Now a major TV seriesWinner of the Man Booker Prize 2009Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2012Winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2012Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2013Shortlisted for the the Orange Prize 2009Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2009

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NEW
THE BOURNE IMPERATIVE
Eric Van Lustbader

THE BOURNE IMPERATIVE

by Eric Van Lustbader · Grand Central

1 wks on list

The man Jason Bourne fishes out of the freezing sea is near death, half-drowned and bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound. He awakens with no memory of who he is or why he was shot-and Bourne is eerily reminded of his own amnesia. Then Bourne discovers that the Mossad agent named Rebeka is so determined to find this injured man that she has gone off the grid, cut her ties to her agency, and is now being stalked by Mossad's most feared killer. Do the answers to these mysteries lie back in southeast Lebanon, in a secret encampment to which Bourne and Rebeka escaped following a firefight weeks ago? The complex trail links to the mission given to Treadstone directors Peter Marks and Soraya Moore: find the semi-mythic terrorist assassin known as Nicodemo. In the course of Bourne's desperate, deadly search for a secret that will alter the future of the entire world, he will experience both triumph and loss, and his life will never be the same. Now everything turns on the amnesiac. Bourne must learn his identity and purpose before both he and Rebeka are killed. From Stockholm to Washington, D.C., from Mexico City to Beijing, the web of lies and betrayals extends into a worldwide conspiracy of monumental proportions.

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A BLAZE OF GLORY
Jeff Shaara
Cover of A BLAZE OF GLORY

A BLAZE OF GLORY

by Jeff Shaara · Ballantine

2 wks on list

“[An] exciting read . . . [Jeff] Shaara returns to the U.S. Civil War in this first book of a new trilogy. . . . This novel is meticulously researched and brings a vivid reality to the historical events depicted.”—Library Journal NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Spring 1862. The Confederate Army in the West teeters on the brink of collapse. General Albert Sidney Johnston is forced to abandon the critical city of Nashville and rally his troops in defense of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. Hot on Johnston’s trail are two of the Union’s best generals: Ulysses Grant and Don Carlos Buell. If their combined forces can crush Johnston’s army and capture the railroad, the war in the West likely will be over. There’s just one problem: Johnston knows of the Union plans and is poised to launch an audacious surprise attack on Grant’s encampment—a small settlement in southwestern Tennessee anchored by a humble church named Shiloh. Drawing on meticulous research, Jeff Shaara dramatizes the key decisions of the commanders on both sides of the conflict—and brings to life the junior officers, conscripts, and enlisted men who gave their all for the cause. With stunning immediacy, Shaara takes us inside the maelstrom of Shiloh as no novelist has before. “Brilliant . . . riveting . . . a work to be embraced.”—Bookreporter Includes a preview of Jeff Shaara’s next Civil War novel, A Chain of Thunder.

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

THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE

by Stephen King · Scribner

7 wks 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.

15
NEW
REDSHIRTS
John Scalzi
Cover of REDSHIRTS

REDSHIRTS

by John Scalzi · Tor/Tom Doherty

1 wks on list

Redshirts is John Scalzi’s Hugo Award-winning novel of the starship ensigns who were expendable...until they started comparing notes. Tor Essentials presents new editions of science fiction and fantasy titles of proven merit and lasting value, each volume introduced by an appropriate literary figure. Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, with the chance to serve on "Away Missions" alongside the starship’s famous senior officers. Life couldn’t be better...until Andrew begins to realize that (1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship’s senior officers always survive these confrontations, and (3) sadly, at least one low-ranking crew member is invariably killed. Unsurprisingly, the savvier crew members belowdecks avoid Away Missions at all costs. Then Andrew stumbles on information that transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is...and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives. With a new introduction by Mary Robinette Kowal, author of the Hugo-winning The Calculating Stars. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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