TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of May 12, 2013

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1
NEW
THE HIT
David Baldacci
Cover of THE HIT

THE HIT

by David Baldacci · Grand Central

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

From David Baldacci--#1 bestselling author and one of the world's most popular, widely read storytellers--comes the most thrilling novel of the year. THE HIT Will Robie is a master of killing. A highly skilled assassin, Robie is the man the U.S. government calls on to eliminate the worst of the worst-enemies of the state, monsters committed to harming untold numbers of innocent victims. No one else can match Robie's talents as a hitman...no one, except Jessica Reel. A fellow assassin, equally professional and dangerous, Reel is every bit as lethal as Robie. And now, she's gone rogue, turning her gun sights on other members of their agency. To stop one of their own, the government looks again to Will Robie. His mission: bring in Reel, dead or alive. Only a killer can catch another killer, they tell him. But as Robie pursues Reel, he quickly finds that there is more to her betrayal than meets the eye. Her attacks on the agency conceal a larger threat, a threat that could send shockwaves through the U.S. government and around the world.

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WHISKEY BEACH
Nora Roberts
Cover of WHISKEY BEACH

WHISKEY BEACH

by Nora Roberts · Putnam

2 wks on list

Suffering an intense year of public and police scrutiny after being wrongly implicated in his fiance's murder, Boston lawyer Eli Landon takes sanctuary in a centuries-old family home and falls in love with resident housekeeper Abra Walsh, with whom he is entangled in an old, life-threatening mystery.

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FLY AWAY
Kristin Hannah
Cover of FLY AWAY

FLY AWAY

by Kristin Hannah · St. Martin's

1 wks on list

Three women bond over the feeling that they have lost their way. They rely on each other - and maybe a miracle - to find their way back to themselves

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PARIS
Edward Rutherfurd
Cover of PARIS

PARIS

by Edward Rutherfurd · Doubleday

1 wks on list

From the grand master of the historical novel comes a dazzling epic portrait of Paris that leaps through centuries as it weaves the tales of families whose fates are forever entwined with the City of Lights. As he did so brilliantly in London: The Novel and New York: The Novel, Edward Rutherfurd brings to life the most magical city in the world: Paris. This breathtaking multigenerational saga takes readers on a journey through thousands of years of glorious Parisian history--from its founding under the Romans to the timeless love story of Abelard and Heloise against the backdrop of the building of Notre Dame; to the martyrdom of Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years War; to the dangerous manipulations of Cardinal Richelieu and the bloody religious conflicts between Catholics and Protestants; to the gilded glories of Versailles; to the horrors of the French Revolution and the conquests of Napoleon; to the beauty and optimism of the belle epoque when Impressionism swept the world; to the hotbed of cultural activity of the 1920s and '30s that included Picasso, Salvador Dali, Ernest Hemingway, and the writers of the Lost Generation; to the Nazi occupation and the incredible efforts of the French Resistance. Even more richly detailed, thrilling, and romantic then anything Rutherfurd has written before, Paris: The Novel illuminates thousands of years in the City of Lights through intimate and vivid tales of characters both fictional and true, and with them, the sights, scents, and tastes of Paris come to sumptuous life.

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LIFE AFTER LIFE
Kate Atkinson
Cover of LIFE AFTER LIFE

LIFE AFTER LIFE

by Kate Atkinson · Little, Brown

4 wks on list

WINNER OF THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right? During a snowstorm in England in 1910, a baby is born and dies before she can take her first breath. During a snowstorm in England in 1910, the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale. What if there were second chances? And third chances? In fact an infinite number of chances to live your life? Would you eventually be able to save the world from its own inevitable destiny? And would you even want to? Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she lives through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. With wit and compassion, Kate Atkinson finds warmth even in life's bleakest moments, and shows an extraordinary ability to evoke the past. Here she is at her most profound and inventive, in a novel that celebrates the best and worst of ourselves.

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WEDDING NIGHT
Sophie Kinsella
Cover of WEDDING NIGHT

WEDDING NIGHT

by Sophie Kinsella · Dial Press

1 wks on list

When her old boyfriend Ben reappears and reminds her of their pact to get married if they were both still single at thirty, Lottie jumps at the chance. But not everyone is thrilled with Lottie and Ben's rushed marriage, and family and friends are determined to intervene. Will Lottie and Ben have a wedding night to remember ... or one to forget?

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DADDY'S GONE A HUNTING
Mary Higgins Clark
Cover of DADDY'S GONE A HUNTING

DADDY'S GONE A HUNTING

by Mary Higgins Clark · Simon & Schuster

3 wks on list

In this "tantalizing" (Booklist) novel, Mary Higgins Clark, the #1 New York Times bestselling Queen of Suspense, exposes a dark secret from a family’s past that threatens the lives of two sisters. What was Kate Connelly—a tall, glamorous CPA—doing in her family’s antique furniture museum when it exploded into flames in the middle of the night? Why was Gus—a disgruntled retired employee—with her? Now Gus is dead, and Kate lies in a coma, unable to explain the tragedy’s mysterious link to a decades-old missing persons case. And unable to warn her sister what could happen next. In a novel of dazzling suspense and excitement, Mary Higgins Clark once again demonstrates the mastery of her craft that has made her books international bestsellers for years. She presents the reader with a perplexing mystery, a puzzling question of identity, and a fascinating cast of characters—one of whom may just be a ruthless killer.

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GONE GIRL
Gillian Flynn
Cover of GONE GIRL

GONE GIRL

by Gillian Flynn · Crown

47 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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THE BURGESS BOYS
Elizabeth Strout
Cover of THE BURGESS BOYS

THE BURGESS BOYS

by Elizabeth Strout · Random House

5 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Olive Kitteridge and My Name is Lucy Barton comes “a portrait of an American community in turmoil that’s as ambitious as Philip Roth’s American Pastoral but more intimate in tone” (Time). “What truly makes Strout exceptional . . . is the perfect balance she achieves between the tides of story and depths of feeling.”—Chicago Tribune A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, Good Housekeeping Haunted by the freak accident that killed their father when they were children, Jim and Bob Burgess escaped from their Maine hometown of Shirley Falls for New York City as soon as they possibly could. Jim, a successful corporate lawyer, has belittled his bighearted brother their whole lives, and Bob, a Legal Aid attorney who idolizes Jim, has always taken it in stride. But their long-standing dynamic is upended when their sister, Susan—the Burgess sibling who stayed behind—urgently calls them home, where the long-buried tensions that have shaped and shadowed the brothers’ relationship begin to surface in unexpected ways that will change them forever. This edition includes an original essay by Elizabeth Strout about the origins of The Burgess Boys.

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THE MYSTERY WOMAN
Amanda Quick
Cover of THE MYSTERY WOMAN

THE MYSTERY WOMAN

by Amanda Quick · Putnam

1 wks on list

The second Ladies of Lantern Street novel from Amanda Quick explores the crimes, passions and paranormal secrets of Victorian London. Under the plain gray skirts of Miss Beatrice Lockwood’s gown, a pistol waits at the ready. For Beatrice is a paid companion on a secret mission—and with a secret past—and she must be prepared to fight for her life at any moment. Yet she is thrown oddly off guard by the fierce-looking man who joins her in foiling a crime outside a fancy ball—and then disappears into the shadows, leaving only his card. His name is Joshua Gage, and he claims to know Beatrice’s employers. Beyond that, he is an enigma with a hypnotically calm voice and an ebony-and-steel cane. . . . Joshua, who carries out clandestine investigations for the Crown, is equally intrigued. He has a personal interest in Miss Lockwood, a suspected thief and murderer, not to mention a fraudster who claims to have psychical powers. The quest to discover her whereabouts has pulled him away from his mournful impulses to hurl himself into the sea—and engaged his curiosity about the real Beatrice Lockwood, whose spirit, he suspects, is not as delicate as her face and figure. He does know one thing, though: This flame-haired beauty was present the night Roland Fleming died at the Academy of the Occult. Guilty or not, she is his guide to a trail of blood and blackmail, mesmerism and madness—a path that will lead both of them into the clutches of a killer who calls himself the Bone Man. . . .

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DON'T GO
Lisa Scottoline
Cover of DON'T GO
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THE INTERESTINGS
Meg Wolitzer
Cover of THE INTERESTINGS

THE INTERESTINGS

by Meg Wolitzer · Riverhead

3 wks on list

Discover the generation-defining American novel from the author of The Wife Whatever became of the most talented people you once knew? On a warm summer night in 1974, six teenagers play at being cool. They smoke pot, drink vodka, share their dreams and vow always to be interesting. Decades later, aspiring actress Jules has resigned herself to a more practical occupation; Cathy has stopped dancing; Jonah has laid down his guitar and Goodman has disappeared. Only Ethan and Ash, now married, have remained true to their adolescent dreams and have become shockingly successful too. As the group’s fortunes tilt precipitously, their friendships are put under the ultimate strain. ‘A truly great novel about friendship, and how it deepens and changes over the years’ David Sedaris, author of Me Talk Pretty One Day

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SIX YEARS
Harlan Coben
Cover of SIX YEARS

SIX YEARS

by Harlan Coben · Dutton

6 wks on list

The bestselling author and creator of the hit Netflix drama The Stranger explores the dangers of obsession in this #1 New York Times bestselling masterpiece of modern suspense. Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd. But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for...but she is not Natalie. As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can’t be found, or don’t remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. And soon, Jake’s search for the woman who broke his heart puts his very life at risk as he uncovers the secrets and lies that love can hide....

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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

70 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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MAYA'S NOTEBOOK
Isabel Allende

MAYA'S NOTEBOOK

by Isabel Allende · Harper

1 wks on list

To escape a life of drugs, crime and prostitution, nineteen-year-old Maya Vidal flees California to a remote island off the west coast of Chile. There, in the company of a torture survivor, a lame dog and other unforgettable characters, Maya writes her story, which includes pursuit by a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI and Interpol. In the process, she unveils a terrible family secret, she comes to understand the meaning of love and loyalty, and she initiates the greatest adventure of her life: the journey into her own soul.

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UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
Stuart Woods
Cover of UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

by Stuart Woods · Putnam

Stone Barrington finds intrigue abroad in this sensational thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Stuart Woods. Stone Barrington is no stranger to schemes and deceptions of all stripes—as an attorney for the premier white-shoe law firm Woodman & Weld, he’s seen more than his share. But when he travels to Europe under highly unusual circumstances, Stone finds himself at the center of mystery that is most peculiar, even by his standards. Two unexpected invitations may be the first clues in an intricate puzzle that will lead Stone deep into the rarefied world of European ultra-wealth and privilege, where billionaires rub elbows with spies, insider knowledge is traded at a high premium, and murder is never too high a price to pay for a desired end...

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