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Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of March 2, 2014

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1
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PRIVATE L. A.
James Patterson and Mark Sullivan
Cover of PRIVATE L. A.

PRIVATE L. A.

by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan · Little, Brown

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

Private Jack Morgan investigates the disappearance of the biggest superstar couple in Hollywood. Thom and Jennifer Harlow are the perfect couple, with three perfect children. They maybe two of the biggest mega movie stars in the world, but they're also great parents, philanthropists and just all-around good people. When they disappear without a word from their ranch, facts are hard to find. They live behind such a high wall of security and image control that even world-renowned Private Investigator Jack Morgan can't get to the truth. But as Jack keeps probing, secrets sprout thick and fast--and the world's golden couple may emerge as hiding behind a world of desperation and deception that the wildest reality show couldn't begin to unveil. Murder is only the opening scene.

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THE GOLDFINCH
Donna Tartt
Cover of THE GOLDFINCH

THE GOLDFINCH

by Donna Tartt · Little, Brown

17 wks on list

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION Theo Decker, aged thirteen, is left alone in the world after surviving a catastrophe that kills his only close relative - his mother - and tears him away from everything he knows. Tormented by grief, drifting from home to home, he grows increasingly obsessed with a small, enchanting work of art which dominates his imagination and ultimately draws him, as an adult, into a much darker life than he could ever have foreseen. 'A masterpiece' The Times 'Astonishing' Guardian 'Superb' Daily Mail 'A gripping page turner' Independent on Sunday 'A triumph' Stephen King 'Dazzling' New York Times

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KILLER
Jonathan Kellerman
Cover of KILLER

KILLER

by Jonathan Kellerman · Ballantine

1 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Jonathan Kellerman returns with this stunning thriller—a mesmerizing L.A. noir portrayal of the darkest impulses of human nature carried to shocking extremes. The City of Angels has more than its share of psychopaths, and no one recognizes that more acutely than the brilliant psychologist and police consultant Dr. Alex Delaware. Despite that, Constance Sykes, a sophisticated, successful physician, hardly seems like someone Alex needs to fear. Then, at the behest of the court, he becomes embroiled in a bizarre child custody dispute initiated by Connie against her sister and begins to realize that there is much about the siblings he has failed to comprehend. And when the court battle between the Sykes sisters erupts into cold, calculating murder and a rapidly growing number of victims, Alex knows he’s been snared in a toxic web of pathology. Nothing would please Alex more than to be free of the ugly spectacle known as Sykes v. Sykes. But then the little girl at the center of the vicious dispute disappears and Alex knows he must work with longtime friend Detective Milo Sturgis, braving an obstacle course of Hollywood washouts, gangbangers, and self-serving jurists in order to save an innocent life. Killer is Kellerman—and Delaware—at their finest. Praise for Killer “Killer is well plotted and paced. . . . One of [Kellerman’s] best.”—Bookreporter “As usual, the rapport between Alex and Milo is a show-stealer, and longtime fans . . . will love the well-executed flashbacks to Alex’s professional past.”—Booklist “Kellerman kicks this one up to a whole new level.”—RT Book Reviews Praise for Jonathan Kellerman “Jonathan Kellerman has justly earned his reputation as a master of the psychological thriller.”—People “Kellerman really knows how to keep those pages turning.”—The New York Times Book Review

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THE INVENTION OF WINGS
Sue Monk Kidd
Cover of THE INVENTION OF WINGS

THE INVENTION OF WINGS

by Sue Monk Kidd · Viking Press

6 wks on list

An exclusive free sample chapter from THE INVENTION OF WINGS... From the celebrated author of the international bestseller THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES comes an extraordinary novel about two exceptional women. Sarah Grimké is the middle daughter. The one her mother calls difficult and her father calls remarkable. On Sarah's eleventh birthday, Hetty 'Handful' Grimké is taken from the slave quarters she shares with her mother, wrapped in lavender ribbons, and presented to Sarah as a gift. Sarah knows what she does next will unleash a world of trouble. She also knows that she cannot accept. And so, indeed, the trouble begins ... A powerful, sweeping novel, inspired by real events, and set in the American Deep South in the nineteenth century, THE INVENTION OF WINGS evokes a world of shocking contrasts, of beauty and ugliness, of righteous people living daily with cruelty they fail to recognise; and celebrates the power of friendship and sisterhood against all the odds.

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STILL LIFE WITH BREAD CRUMBS
Anna Quindlen
Cover of STILL LIFE WITH BREAD CRUMBS

STILL LIFE WITH BREAD CRUMBS

by Anna Quindlen · Random House

3 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “marvelous romantic comedy” (The New York Times Book Review) from Pulitzer Prize–winning author Anna Quindlen “[A] wise tale about second chances, starting over, and going after what is most important in life.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune Still Life with Bread Crumbs begins with an imagined gunshot and ends with a new tin roof. Between the two is a wry and knowing portrait of Rebecca Winter, a photographer whose work made her an unlikely heroine for many women. Her career is now descendent, her bank balance shaky, and she has fled the city for the middle of nowhere. There she discovers, in a tree stand with a roofer named Jim Bates, that what she sees through a camera lens is not all there is to life. Brilliantly written, powerfully observed, Still Life with Bread Crumbs is a deeply moving and often very funny story of unexpected love, and a stunningly crafted journey into the life of a woman, her heart, her mind, her days, as she discovers that life is a story with many levels, a story that is longer and more exciting than she ever imagined.

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ONE MORE THING
B. J. Novak
Cover of ONE MORE THING

ONE MORE THING

by B. J. Novak · Knopf

2 wks on list

A boy wins $100,000 in a box of Frosted Flakes - only to discover that claiming the winnings may unravel his family. An acclaimed ambulance driver seeks the courage to follow his heart and throw it all away to be a singer-songwriter. A school principal unveils a bold plan to permanently abolish arithmetic. A new arrival in heaven, overwhelmed by infinite options, procrastinates over his long-ago promise to visit his grandmother. We meet a vengeance-minded hare. We learn why wearing a red T-shirt is the key to finding love; how February got its name; and why the stock market is sometimes just . . . down. Finding inspiration in questions from the nature of perfection to the icing on carrot cake, from the deeply familiar to the intoxicatingly imaginative, ONE MORE THING finds its heart in the most human of phenomena: love, fear, family, ambition, and the inner stirring for the one elusive element that might make a person complete. The stories in this collection are like nothing else, but they have one thing in common: they share the playful humour, deep heart, inquisitive mind, and altogether electrifying spirit of a writer with a fierce devotion to the entertainment of the reader.

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SYCAMORE ROW
John Grisham
Cover of SYCAMORE ROW

SYCAMORE ROW

by John Grisham · Doubleday

17 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • John Grisham returns to the iconic setting of his first novel, A Time to Kill, as Jake Brigance finds himself embroiled in a controversial trial that exposes a tortured history of racial tension. “Welcome back, Jake. . . . [Brigance] is one of the most fully developed and engaging characters in all of Grisham’s novels.”—USA Today Seth Hubbard is a wealthy white man dying of lung cancer. He trusts no one. Before he hangs himself from a sycamore tree, Hubbard leaves a new, handwritten will. It is an act that drags his adult children, his black maid, and defense attorney Jake Brigance into a conflict as riveting and dramatic as the murder trial that made Brigance one of Ford County’s most notorious citizens, just three years earlier. The second will raises many more questions than it answers. Why would Hubbard leave nearly all of his fortune to his maid? Had chemotherapy and painkillers affected his ability to think clearly? And what does it all have to do with a piece of land once known as Sycamore Row? Look for all of John Grisham’s gripping Jake Brigance novels: A Time to Kill Sycamore Row A Time for Mercy

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THE COUNTERFEIT AGENT
Alex Berenson
Cover of THE COUNTERFEIT AGENT

THE COUNTERFEIT AGENT

by Alex Berenson · Putnam

1 wks on list

This is New York Times bestseller Alex Berenson's eighth gripping spy novel featuring ex-CIA agent John Wells. At an Istanbul hotel, an informant tells the CIA that Iranian forces intend to kill a station chief. Ex-CIA agent John Wells, an expert in the Arab field, is summoned in to investigate, just as the tip comes true. So when the source warns of a radioactive package on a ship bound for the United States it's imperative he's taken seriously. As the threat rises and the government springs into action, something doesn't feel right. Sent on a private mission from Guatemala to Thailand, Hong Kong to Istanbul, Wells must now use every skill he has to hunt down the threat. Because soon it may be too late to pull the United States back from the brink of war. Can John Wells succeed where all others have failed?

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GONE GIRL
Gillian Flynn
Cover of GONE GIRL

GONE GIRL

by Gillian Flynn · Crown

76 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 FIRST PHONE CALL FROM HEAVEN
Mitch Albom
Cover of THE FIRST PHONE CALL FROM HEAVEN

THE FIRST PHONE CALL FROM HEAVEN

by Mitch Albom · Harper

14 wks on list

FROM THE MASTER STORYTELLER WHOSE BOOKS HAVE TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF OVER 40 MILLION READERS 'Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary' Cecilia Ahern __________ One last chance. What would you say? When the residents of a small town on Lake Michigan start receiving phone calls from the afterlife, it becomes the subject of widespread attention. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, returns to Coldwater from a stint in prison to discover his hometown gripped by 'miracle fever.' Even his young son carries a toy phone, hoping to hear from his mother in heaven. As the calls increase Sully begins to dig into the phenomenon. Determined to discover who or what is behind the mystery, he gradually begins to piece together the pieces of his broken heart. __________ WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE FIRST PHONE CALL FROM HEAVEN 'Gripping from start to finish . . . The plot twists and turns like a great mystery novel' 'As always, with Mitch Albom's books, the storyline is addictive, leaving the reader wanting more' 'Makes you see the world from a different perspective . . . A real treat for the soul' 'Brilliant and moving read from start to end. Superb' 'Beautifully constructed, thought-provoking and soulful'

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FIRST LOVE
James Patterson and Emily Raymond
Cover of FIRST LOVE

FIRST LOVE

by James Patterson and Emily Raymond · Little, Brown

5 wks on list

Axi Moore is a "good girl": She studies hard, stays out of the spotlight, and doesn't tell anyone that what she really wants is to run away from it all. The only person she can tell is her best friend, Robinson--who she also happens to be madly in love with. When Axi impulsively invites Robinson to come with her on an unplanned cross-country road trip, she breaks the rules for the first time in her life. But the adventure quickly turns from carefree to out-of-control... A remarkably moving tale with its origins in James Patterson's own past, First Love is testament to the power of first love--and how it can change the rest of your life.

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THE MARTIAN
Andy Weir
Cover of THE MARTIAN

THE MARTIAN

by Andy Weir · Crown

1 wks on list

For use in schools and libraries only. Stranded on Mars by a duststorm that compromised his space suit and forced his crew to leave him behind, astronaut Mark Watney struggles to survive in spite of minimal supplies and environmental challenges that test his ingenuity.

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DOCTOR SLEEP
Stephen King
Cover of DOCTOR SLEEP

DOCTOR SLEEP

by Stephen King · Scribner

21 wks on list

From master storyteller Stephen King, his unforgettable and terrifying sequel to The Shining—an instant #1 New York Times bestseller that is “[a] vivid frightscape” (The New York Times)—also a major motion picture starring Ewan McGregor! Years ago, the haunting of the Overlook Hotel nearly broke young Dan Torrance’s sanity, as his paranormal gift known as “the shining” opened a door straight into hell. And even though Dan is all grown up, the ghosts of the Overlook—and his father’s legacy of alcoholism and violence—kept him drifting aimlessly for most of his life. Now, Dan has finally found some order in the chaos by working in a local hospice, earning the nickname “Doctor Sleep” by secretly using his special abilities to comfort the dying and prepare them for the afterlife. But when he unexpectedly meets twelve-year-old Abra Stone—who possesses an even more powerful manifestation of the shining—the two find their lives in sudden jeopardy at the hands of the ageless and murderous nomadic tribe known as the True Knot, reigniting Dan’s own demons and summoning him to battle for this young girl’s soul and survival...

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AN OFFICER AND A SPY
Robert Harris
Cover of AN OFFICER AND A SPY

AN OFFICER AND A SPY

by Robert Harris · Knopf

3 wks on list

**PRE-ORDER AGRIPPA NOW: THE THRILLING NEW NOVEL FROM ROBERT HARRIS, COMING AUGUST 2026** IN THE HUNT FOR A SPY, HE EXPOSED A CONSPIRACY. 'Seriously riveting . . . a testament to Robert Harris's storytelling power' THE TIMES 'Taut and exciting' GUARDIAN Paris, 1895: an army officer, Georges Picquart, watches a convicted spy, Alfred Dreyfus, being publicly humiliated in front of a baying crowd. Dreyfus is exiled for life to Devil's Island; Picquart is promoted to run the intelligence until that tracked him down. But when Picquart discovers that secrets are still being handed over to the Germans, he is forced to confront the dangerous truth that Dreyfus may be innocent. Soon Picquart is being drawn into a labyrinth of deceit and corruption that threatens not just his honour but his life . . . 'Menace and suspense twist tight in a narrative of tremendous tension' SUNDAY TIMES

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THE HUSBAND'S SECRET
Liane Moriarty
Cover of THE HUSBAND'S SECRET

THE HUSBAND'S SECRET

by Liane Moriarty · Amy Einhorn/Putnam

The no 1. New York Times bestseller from the author of Big Little Lies and new novel Apples Never Fall. "A staggeringly brilliant novel. It is literally unputdownable." Mail on Sunday How well do you know your husband? Cecilia Fitzpatrick, devoted mother, successful Tupperware business owner and efficient P&C President, has found a letter from her husband. "For my wife, Cecilia Fitzpatrick, to be opened only in the event of my death" But Cecilia's husband isn't dead, he's on a business trip. And when she questions him about it on the phone, Cecilia senses something she hasn't experienced before. John-Paul is lying. What happens next changes Cecilia's formerly blissful suburban existence forever, and the consequences will be life-changing for the most unexpected people. Fans of Jojo Moyes, Jodi Picoult and Paula Hawkins will love Liane Moriarty. PRAISE FOR THE HUSBAND'S SECRET "So good you won't be able to keep it to yourself" USA Today "The story is cleverly plotted, full of suspense and so well-written that it pulls you in from the first page" Sunday Mirror "Dark and compelling, this is a must read" Sun "Intelligent and funny" Sydney Morning Herald Named one of Entertainment Weekly's Best Books of the Year and People magazine's Top Ten Books of the Year

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