TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of December 2, 2012

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1
NEW
THE LAST MAN
Vince Flynn
Cover of THE LAST MAN

THE LAST MAN

by Vince Flynn · Emily Bestler/Atria

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

When a CIA black ops master with ties to disreputable figures in Afghanistan goes missing, Mitch Rapp is ordered to track down the missing man at all costs and finds himself enmeshed in a dangerous plot involving the interests of numerous countries.

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THE RACKETEER
John Grisham
Cover of THE RACKETEER

THE RACKETEER

by John Grisham · Doubleday

4 wks on list

EVERYONE HAS THEIR PRICE. A judge has been brutally murdered. His body is found in a remote lakeside cabin. There is no sign of forced entry or a struggle. Just two dead bodies - the judge and his secretary - and one state-of-the-art safe, opened and emptied. Ex-attorney Malcolm Bannister knows who killed the judge - and why. The FBI need to know his secrets. And Bannister is ready to talk. But there's a catch: he is currently serving a ten-year prison sentence. Bannister knows that everything has a price - and this racketeer wasn't born yesterday. 💥350+ million copies, 45 languages, 10 blockbuster films: JOHN GRISHAM IS THE MASTER OF THE LEGAL THRILLER💥 Readers are raving about The Racketeer: 'Genius' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'This story is utterly fantastic'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'A cracker of a read'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'A six star read with more twists and turns than Ariadne's Labyrinth'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

4
NEW
SWEET TOOTH
Ian McEwan
Cover of SWEET TOOTH

SWEET TOOTH

by Ian McEwan · Nan A. Talese/Doubleday

1 wks on list

'A web of spying, subterfuge, deceit and betrayal... Acute, witty...winningly cunning' Sunday Times The year is 1972, the Cold War is far from over and Serena Frome, in her final year at Cambridge, is being groomed for MI5. Sent on Operation Sweet Tooth - a highly secret undercover mission - she meets Tom Haley, a promising young writer. First she loves his stories, then she begins to love the man. Can she maintain the fiction of her undercover life? And who is inventing whom? To answer these questions, Serena must abandon the first rule of espionage - trust no one.

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2
FLIGHT BEHAVIOR
Barbara Kingsolver
Cover of FLIGHT BEHAVIOR

FLIGHT BEHAVIOR

by Barbara Kingsolver · Harper/HarperCollins

2 wks on list

New York Times Bestseller "An intricate story that entwines considerations of faith and faithlessness, inquiry, denial, fear and survival in gorgeously conceived metaphor. Kingsolver has constructed a deeply affecting microcosm of a phenomenon that is manifesting in many different tragic ways, in communities and ecosystems all around the globe.” — Seattle Times A truly stunning and unforgettable work from the extraordinary New York Times bestselling author of The Lacuna (winner of the Orange Prize), The Poisonwood Bible (nominated for the Pulitzer Prize), and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Flight Behavior is a brilliant and suspenseful novel set in present day Appalachia; a breathtaking parable of catastrophe and denial that explores how the complexities we inevitably encounter in life lead us to believe in our particular chosen truths. Kingsolver's riveting story concerns a young wife and mother on a failing farm in rural Tennessee who experiences something she cannot explain, and how her discovery energizes various competing factions—religious leaders, climate scientists, environmentalists, politicians—trapping her in the center of the conflict and ultimately opening up her world. Flight Behavior represents contemporary American fiction at its finest.

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GONE GIRL
Gillian Flynn
Cover of GONE GIRL

GONE GIRL

by Gillian Flynn · Crown

24 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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POSEIDON'S ARROW
Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler
Cover of POSEIDON'S ARROW

POSEIDON'S ARROW

by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler · Putnam

2 wks on list

Dirk Pitt must fight another perilous battle in Clive Cussler's Atlantis Found. An ancient cargo long thought lost is found. With terrible consequences . . . Dirk Pitt is surveying in the Middle East when a stroke of luck reveals an Ottoman wreck with a very curious cargo. While investigating the find, he foils a night raid on Istanbul's Topkapi Palace Museum. This puts Pitt at the centre of a race to acquire a series of legendary artefacts. Meanwhile, the region is being pushed to the brink of war by a series of explosions across Turkey and Egypt. Finding that his search for the artefacts is linked to the attacks, Pitt must prevent a deranged brother and sister's fanatical plans succeeding... Packed with breathtaking suspense and fired by an extraordinary imagination, Crescent Dawn is a barnstorming read for all fans of action, suspense and intrigue. Crescent Dawn is the twenty-first of Clive Cussler's bestselling Dirk Pitt novels - the series that also includes Inca Gold and, his first novel,Mayday - co-authored with his son Dirk Cussler, in which hero Dirk Pitt finds himself caught between artefacts and fanatics. Praise for Clive Cussler: 'No holds barred adventure ... a souped-up treat' Daily Mirror 'Frightening and full of suspense ... unquestionably entertaining' Daily Express

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THE CASUAL VACANCY
J. K. Rowling
Cover of THE CASUAL VACANCY

THE CASUAL VACANCY

by J. K. Rowling · Little, Brown

8 wks on list

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils. . . Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations? A big novel about a small town, THE CASUAL VACANCY is J.K. Rowling's first novel for adults. It is the work of a storyteller like no other.

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3
THE PANTHER
Nelson DeMille
Cover of THE PANTHER

THE PANTHER

by Nelson DeMille · Grand Central

5 wks on list

It's one of the most dangerous and volatile countries in the world: Yemen. A Middle Eastern hotbed of corruption and insurgency and the perfect training ground for Islamic terrorists. When FBI agents John Corey and Kate Mayfield are assigned to overseas posts in Sana'a, Yemen's capital city, they are tasked with hunting down the high-ranking Al Qaeda operative responsible for the USS Cole bombing. This man, known as The Panther, is wanted for terrorist acts and multiple murders and the US government is determined to bring him down, no matter the cost. As latecomers to a deadly game, John and Kate don't know the rules, the players or the score. What they do know is that there is more to their assignment than meets the eye - and that the hunters are about to become the hunted. In an action-packed and terrifying race to take down one of the most ruthless men alive, Nelson DeMille reunites readers with his charismatic hero John Corey.

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CROSS ROADS
Wm. Paul Young
Cover of CROSS ROADS

CROSS ROADS

by Wm. Paul Young · FaithWords

1 wks on list

Anthony Spencer is egotistical, proud of being a self-made business success at the peak of his game, even though the cost of winning was painfully high. A cerebral hemorrhage leaves Tony comatose in a hospital ICU. He 'awakens' to find himself in a surreal world, a 'living' landscape that mirrors dimensions of his earthly life, from the beautiful to the corrupt. It is here that he has vivid interactions with others he assumes are projections of his own subconscious, but whose directions he follows nonetheless with the possibility that they might lead to authenticity and perhaps, redemption. The adventure draws Tony into deep relational entanglements where he is able to 'see' through the literal eyes and experiences of others, but is "blind" to the consequences of hiding his personal agenda and loss that emerge to war against the processes of healing and trust. Will this unexpected coalescing of events cause Tony to examine his life and realize he built a house of cards on the poisoned grounds of a broken heart? Will he also have the courage to make a critical choice that can undo a major injustice he set in motion before falling into a coma?

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WINTER OF THE WORLD
Ken Follett
Cover of WINTER OF THE WORLD

WINTER OF THE WORLD

by Ken Follett · Dutton

9 wks on list

Winter of the World is the second novel in Ken Follett’s uniquely ambitious Century trilogy. On its own or read in sequence with Fall of Giants and Edge of Eternity, this is a gripping epic of global conflict and personal drama. A BATTLE OF IDEALS 1933, and at Cambridge, Lloyd Williams is drawn to irresistible socialite Daisy Peshkov, who represents everything that his left-wing family despise, but Daisy is more interested in aristocratic Boy Fitzherbert, a leading light of the British Union of Fascists. AN EVIL UPRISING Berlin is in turmoil. Eleven-year-old Carla von Ulrich struggles to understand the tensions disrupting her family as Hitler strengthens his grip on Germany. Many are resolved to oppose Hitler’s brutal regime – but are they willing to betray their country? A GLOBAL CONFLICT ON A SCALE NEVER SEEN BEFORE Shaken by the tyranny and the prospect of war, five interconnected families’ lives become ever more enmeshed. An international clash of military power and personal beliefs is sweeping the world, but what will this new war mean for those who must live through it? *Ken Follett’s Column of Fire was an instant Sunday Times HB bestseller when it published in 2017

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THE SINS OF THE MOTHER
Danielle Steel
Cover of THE SINS OF THE MOTHER

THE SINS OF THE MOTHER

by Danielle Steel · Delacorte Press

3 wks on list

After building an empire that has made her a legend in business, Olivia spends months each year planning a lavish holiday for everyone in her family to enjoy. This summer she has arranged a dream trip on a luxurious yacht in the Mediterranean, which she hopes will be the most memorable of all. More than anything, she hopes to express her love and her regret at all the important times she missed during her children’s early years. But her younger daughter, Cassie, a hip London music producer, refuses the invitation altogether as she does every year. Liz, her older daughter, is preoccupied with a chance to recapture her dream of being a writer and is terrified of failure, again. And her sons John and Phillip work for her, for better or worse, with wives who wish they didn’t. Immersed in the splendour of the Riviera, this should be a summer to remember, but old resentments die hard, and Olivia is still running the business full-time. As each of these individuals confront the past and the challenges of the present and future, they also learn to accept the enduring, unconditional love of their family – and a mother who is strong enough to take more than her fair share of the blame, and loving enough to accept them as they really are. The question is: can they do the same for her?

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THE BONE BED
Patricia Cornwell
Cover of THE BONE BED

THE BONE BED

by Patricia Cornwell · Putnam

5 wks on list

Scarpetta, an all-new Original Series, is coming soon to Prime Video! Enter the chilling and captivating world of Dr. Kay Scarpetta before Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis bring the mystery to life onscreen. “The new audience will be compelled by the characters, crimes, and mysteries that are the trifecta of Patricia’s masterful storytelling… and a warning……there WILL be BLOOD.” – Jamie Lee Curtis Dr. Kay Scarpetta’s investigation takes her to the prehistoric age—and alarmingly close to home—in this “nail-bitingly . . . suspenseful” (The City Paper) thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell. A woman has vanished while digging a dinosaur bone bed in the remote wilderness of Canada. Somehow, the only evidence has made its way to the inbox of Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta, over two thousand miles away in Boston. She has no idea why. But as events unfold with alarming speed, Scarpetta begins to suspect that the paleontologist’s disappearance is connected to a series of crimes much closer to home: a gruesome murder, inexplicable tortures, and trace evidence from the last living creatures of the dinosaur age. When she turns to those around her, Scarpetta finds that the danger and suspicion have penetrated even her closest circles. Her niece Lucy speaks in riddles. Her lead investigator, Pete Marino, and FBI forensic psychologist and husband, Benton Wesley, have secrets of their own. Feeling alone and betrayed, Scarpetta is tempted by someone from her past as she tracks a killer both cunning and cruel.

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THE ROUND HOUSE
Louise Erdrich
Cover of THE ROUND HOUSE

THE ROUND HOUSE

by Louise Erdrich · Harper/HarperCollins

"[In this] story of a young Ojibwa girl, Omakayas, living on an island in Lake Superior around 1847, Louise Erdrich is reversing the narrative perspective used in most children's stories about nineteenth-century Native Americans. Instead of looking out at 'them' as dangers or curiosities, Erdrich, drawing on her family's history, wants to tell about 'us', from the inside. The Birchbark House establishes its own ground, in the vicinity of Laura Ingalls Wilder's 'Little House' books." --The New York Times Book Review

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