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Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of August 12, 2012

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GONE GIRL
Gillian Flynn
Cover of GONE GIRL

GONE GIRL

by Gillian Flynn · Crown

11 wks at #1 · 8 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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WHERE WE BELONG
Emily Giffin
Cover of WHERE WE BELONG

WHERE WE BELONG

by Emily Giffin · St. Martin's

1 wks on list

From New York Times –bestselling author Emily Giffin, Where We Belong delivers an unforgettable story of two women, the families that make them who they are, and the longing, loyalty, and love that binds them together. "[ Where We Belong ] is that special type of story that takes priority over getting to bed on time. And the payoff is well worth it." —Boston Globe Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six year old television producer, living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and satisfying relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had sealed off forever. From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian's perfectly constructed world—and her very identity—will be shaken to its core, resurrecting ghosts and memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her. For the precocious and determined Kirby, the encounter will spur a process of discovery that ushers her across the threshold of adulthood, forcing her to re-evaluate her family and future in a wise and bittersweet light. As the two women embark on a journey to find the one thing missing in their lives, each will come to recognize that where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves—a place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever. "In another surefire hit, [Giffin] serves up pathos, humor, and one doozy of a twist." — Entertainment Weekly

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FRIENDS FOREVER
Danielle Steel
Cover of FRIENDS FOREVER

FRIENDS FOREVER

by Danielle Steel · Delacorte Press

1 wks on list

Five children meet on their first day of school, one bright September morning. Drawn by that magical spark of connection that happens to the young, Gabby, Billy, Izzie, Andy and Sean – each bursting with their own personality, all with strikingly different looks and diverse talents – soon become an inseparable group, known to everyone else as the Big Five. As they grow up, their seemingly perfect lives are altered by families falling apart, unfortunate mistakes, and losses and victories great and small. Throughout their adolescence, the five are able to turn back to their trusted group to regain their footing and steady their course. But as they emerge from school, their futures seem neither safe nor clear. As their lives separate, the challenges and risks they face become greater, the losses sharper, and it becomes much harder to know the right path to choose. But despite life’s ups and downs, together they are able to face up to challenges with the help of the important bonds forged all those years ago. And the five realise just how lucky they are to treasure valuable friendships that last a lifetime.

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BLACK LIST
Brad Thor
Cover of BLACK LIST

BLACK LIST

by Brad Thor · Emily Bestler/Atria

1 wks on list

From #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author Thor comes the follow-up to "Full Black," in which Scot Harvath, former Navy SEAL Team 6 member turned covert counterterrorism operative, joins forces with a fearsome member of the top-secret, all-female ATHENA team.

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BROKEN HARBOR
Tana French
Cover of BROKEN HARBOR

BROKEN HARBOR

by Tana French · Viking Press

1 wks on list

From Tana French, author of the forthcoming novel The Hunter, a New York Times bestselling novel that “proves anew that [Tana French] is one of the most talented crime writers alive” (The Washington Post). “Required reading for anyone who appreciates tough, unflinching intelligence and ingenious plotting.” —The New York Times Mick “Scorcherˮ Kennedy is the star of the Dublin Murder Squad. He plays by the books and plays hard, and thatʼs how the biggest case of the year ends up in his hands. On one of the half-abandoned “luxuryˮ developments that litter Ireland, Patrick Spain and his two young children have been murdered. His wife, Jenny, is in intensive care. At first, Scorcher thinks itʼs going to be an easy solve, but too many small things canʼt be explained: the half-dozen baby monitors pointed at holes smashed in the Spainsʼ walls, the files erased from the familyʼs computer, the story Jenny told her sister about a shadowy intruder slipping past the houseʼs locks. And this neighborhood—once called Broken Harbor—holds memories for Scorcher and his troubled sister, Dina: childhood memories that Scorcher thought he had tightly under control.

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I, MICHAEL BENNETT
James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Cover of I, MICHAEL BENNETT

I, MICHAEL BENNETT

by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge · Little, Brown

3 wks on list

Police officers shot Detective Michael Bennett arrests an infamous Mexican crime lord in a deadly chase that leaves Bennett's lifelong friend Hughie McDonough dead. From jail, the prisoner vows to rain epic violence down upon New York City-and to get revenge on Michael Bennett. Judges murdered To escape the chaos, Bennett takes his ten kids and their beautiful nanny, Mary Catherine, on a much-needed vacation to his family's cabin near Newburgh, New York. But instead of the calm and happy town he remembers from growing up, they step into a nightmare worse than they could have ever imagined. Newburgh is an inferno of warring gangs, and there's little the police-or Bennett-can do to keep the children safe. Target: Michael Bennett As violence overwhelms the state, Bennett is torn between protecting his hometown and saving New York City. A partner in his investigations, federal prosecutor Tara McLellan, brings him new weapons for the battle-and an attraction that endangers his relationship with Mary Catherine. A no-holds-barred, pedal-to-the-floor, action-packed novel, I, Michael Bennett is James Patterson at his most personal and most thrilling best.

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SHADOW OF NIGHT
Deborah Harkness
Cover of SHADOW OF NIGHT

SHADOW OF NIGHT

by Deborah Harkness · Viking Press

3 wks on list

The #1 New York Times bestselling second installment in the All Souls series, from the author of The Discovery of Witches and The Black Bird Oracle. Look for the hit series “A Discovery of Witches,” now streaming on AMC+, Sundance Now, and Shudder! Picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night takes reluctant witch Diana Bishop and vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont on a trip through time to Elizabethan London, where they are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and a coterie of Matthew's old friends, the School of Night. As the search for Ashmole 782—the lost and enchanted manuscript whose mystery first pulled Diana and Matthew into one another's orbit—deepens and Diana seeks out a witch to tutor her in magic, the net of Matthew's past tightens around them. Together they find they must embark on a very different—and vastly more dangerous—journey. “A captivating and romantic ripping yarn,”* Shadow of Night confirms Deborah Harkness as a master storyteller, able to cast an “addictive tale of magic, mayhem and two lovers”(Chicago Tribune).

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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

51 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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JUDGMENT CALL
J. A. Jance
Cover of JUDGMENT CALL

JUDGMENT CALL

by J. A. Jance · Morrow/HarperCollins

1 wks on list

County Sheriff Joanna Brady's worlds collide when her daughter, Jenny, stumbles upon the dead body of her principal, and the search for justice leads to her own door, when the possibility that her daughter may not be what she seems.

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BACKFIRE
Catherine Coulter
Cover of BACKFIRE

BACKFIRE

by Catherine Coulter · Putnam

3 wks on list

Savich are Sherlock take on an assassin in this novel in Catherine Coulter's FBI Thriller series. For what you did you deserve this. The mysterious note delivered to FBI agent Dillon Savich has him and his partner, Lacey Sherlock, on edge, just as they’re starting an investigation into the shooting of their longtime friend Ramsey Hunt. The San Francisco judge was shot in the back during a high-profile murder trial—and now Sherlock's and Savich’s search for the truth will take a shocking turn that no one could have seen coming…

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THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS
Chris Bohjalian
Cover of THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS

THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS

by Chris Bohjalian · Doubleday

2 wks on list

A haunting love story set during the First World War amidst the horrors of the Armenian Genocide One woman's journey into her family's past reveals a shocking story that has never been told. 1915, Aleppo, Syria.When Elizabeth Endicott steps off the boat from Boston, armed only with a crash course in nursing, nothing could have prepared her for the atrocities she is about to face. For Aleppo is the arrival point for the hundreds of thousands of Armenians who have been forced to march out of Turkey and through the desert to die. There Elizabeth gets to know Armen, a young Armenian engineer who has already lost his wife and infant daughter in the Genocide. When Armen travels to Egypt to join the British army, he begins to write to Elizabeth, and slowly realizes that, unless he can find his way back to her, he risks becoming lost forever. Present day, New York.Laura Petrosian has never really given her Armenian heritage much thought until an old friend calls, claiming to have seen a photo of Laura's grandmother advertising a museum exhibition. As Laura embarks on a journey back through her family's history she'll find a tale of love, loss - and the hidden story of a nation in mourning. 'Chris Bohjalian is at his very finest in this searing story of love and war. I was mesmerized from page one. Bravo!' Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife 'The Sandcastle Girlsis deft, layered, eye-opening, and riveting. I was deeply moved." Wally Lamb, author of The Hour I First Believed 'Powerful . . . Bohjalian's storytelling makes this a beautiful, frightening, and unforgettable read' Publishers' Weekly

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THE NEXT BEST THING
Jennifer Weiner
Cover of THE NEXT BEST THING

THE NEXT BEST THING

by Jennifer Weiner · Atria

4 wks on list

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner, an “utterly engaging story” (Time) about a young woman trying to make it as a writer in Hollywood. At three years old, Ruth Saunders miraculously survives the car crash that takes her parents’ lives on the icy Massachusetts Turnpike. Her eccentric grandmother nurtures her through years of surgeries, feeding her home-cooked meals, dispensing irreverent wisdom, and telling Ruth she’s beautiful, even though her scars will stay with her forever. After college, Ruth pursues her dream of writing to Hollywood, heading west with her grandmother in tow, hoping to make it big in the world of TV. After years of failure and a badly broken heart, Ruth gets The Call—her show has been green-lit. But Ruth’s happy ending is only the beginning, as she struggles with how television gets made: terrified (and terrifying) executives and actresses with their eyes on bigger prizes than Ruthie’s show. Add in an unrequited crush on the man who has been her mentor. Add to that her grandmother’s impending nuptials, and Ruth’s big break might just break her. A rollicking ride on the Hollywood roller coaster, The Next Best Thing is a heartfelt story about a young woman searching for her own happily-ever-after in the land where dreams come true.

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THIRTEEN
Kelley Armstrong
Cover of THIRTEEN

THIRTEEN

by Kelley Armstrong · Dutton

Savannah Levine emerges from the rescue of her half-brother and summons formidable powers to halt a supernatural war that is being complicated by the forces of heaven and hell.

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