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Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of September 25, 2016

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1
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APPRENTICE IN DEATH
J. D. Robb
Cover of APPRENTICE IN DEATH

APPRENTICE IN DEATH

by J. D. Robb · Berkley

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Lieutenant Eve Dallas must hunt down the deadly snipers terrorizing Manhattan in this fast-paced In Death thriller from J. D. Robb. The shots came quickly, silently, and with deadly accuracy. Within seconds, three people were dead at Central Park’s ice-skating rink. The victims: a talented young skater, a doctor, and a teacher. As random as random can be. Eve Dallas has seen a lot of killers during her time with the NYPSD but never one like this. A review of the security videos reveals that the victims were killed with a tactical laser rifle fired by a sniper, who could have been miles away when the trigger was pulled. And though the list of locations where the shooter could have set up seems endless, the number of people with that particular skill set is finite: police, military, professional killer. Eve’s husband, Roarke, has unlimited resources—and genius—at his disposal. And when his computer program leads Eve to the location of the sniper, she learns a shocking fact: There were two—one older, one younger. Someone is being trained by an expert in the science of killing, and they have an agenda. Central Park was just a warm-up. And as another sniper attack shakes the city to its core, Eve realizes that though we’re all shaped by the people around us, there are those who are just born evil...

2
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RAZOR GIRL
Carl Hiaasen
Cover of RAZOR GIRL

RAZOR GIRL

by Carl Hiaasen · Knopf

1 wks on list

*SHORLISTED FOR THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE 2017* A book of the month in The Times A thriller of the week in the Mail on Sunday One of the Guardian Readers' Books of the Year Key West is a small place, but there are criminal secrets buried everywhere . . . When jumped-up reality TV star Buck Nance aggravates the crowd in a Key West bar, he incites a riot and vanishes in the melee. His hapless agent Lane Coolman should have been by Buck's side, but has been accidentally taken hostage by two petty criminals who now think they can turn a quick profit by ransoming an LA talent agent. As the search for Buck continues, the mystery draws in a broad cast of characters from across the island including Andrew Yancy, the disgraced cop who now works restaurants on roach patrol; a delusional fan of Buck's show; the local sheriff who's desperate for re-election; a shady lawyer and his gold-digging fiancée; the gay mayor and his restauranteur partner; a Mafioso hotelier; and a redheaded con artist named Merry who, using a razor blade and a high-speed car, has developed a signature way of luring in her victims. Outrageously funny, fast-paced and uniquely addictive, Razor Girl will keep you utterly gripped until the final page. Praise for Razor Girl 'if you are unlucky enough not to have read Carl Hiaasen, delay no longer' Evening Standard 'a joy from first page to last' Daily Mail 'absorbing' The Herald 'hugely entertaining' Crime Scene 'razor-sharp' Irish Times

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THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
Colson Whitehead
Cover of THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

by Colson Whitehead · Doubleday

6 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • "An American masterpiece" (NPR) that chronicles a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. One of The New York Times’s 10 Best Books of the 21st Century • A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book of the Century • A Los Angeles Times Best Fiction Book of the Last 30 Years The basis for the acclaimed original Prime Video series directed by Barry Jenkins. Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. An outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is on the cusp of womanhood—where greater pain awaits. And so when Caesar, a slave who has recently arrived from Virginia, urges her to join him on the Underground Railroad, she seizes the opportunity and escapes with him. In Colson Whitehead's ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor: engineers and conductors operate a secret network of actual tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora embarks on a harrowing flight from one state to the next, encountering, like Gulliver, strange yet familiar iterations of her own world at each stop. As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the terrors of the antebellum era, he weaves in the saga of our nation, from the brutal abduction of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is both the gripping tale of one woman's will to escape the horrors of bondage—and a powerful meditation on the history we all share.

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A GREAT RECKONING
Louise Penny
Cover of A GREAT RECKONING

A GREAT RECKONING

by Louise Penny · Minotaur

2 wks on list

Instant New York Times bestseller: #1 in Hardcover Fiction #1 in E-book Fiction #1 in Combined Print and E-book Fiction "Deep and grand and altogether extraordinary....Miraculous." —The Washington Post "Artful...Powerful...Magical." - The New York Times Book Review "Superb" - People “A Great Reckoning succeeds on every level." —St. Louis Post-Dispatch #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny pulls back the layers to reveal a brilliant and emotionally powerful truth in her latest spellbinding novel. When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes. Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must. And there he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor. And, with the body, a copy of the old, odd map. Everywhere Gamache turns, he sees Amelia Choquet, one of the cadets. Tattooed and pierced. Guarded and angry. Amelia is more likely to be found on the other side of a police line-up. And yet she is in the academy. A protégée of the murdered professor. The focus of the investigation soon turns to Gamache himself and his mysterious relationship with Amelia, and his possible involvement in the crime. The frantic search for answers takes the investigators back to Three Pines and a stained glass window with its own horrific secrets. For both Amelia Choquet and Armand Gamache, the time has come for a great reckoning.

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RUSHING WATERS
Danielle Steel
Cover of RUSHING WATERS

RUSHING WATERS

by Danielle Steel · Delacorte Press

2 wks on list

As Hurricane Ophelia bears down on New York City, millions are caught up in the horrific flooding it unleashes. Successful interior designer Ellen Wharton flies into New York from London, heedless of the hurricane warnings. She is intent on seeing her mother, Grace. But when the storm hits, the women are forced to wade through freezing waters to the police boats outside. British investment banker Charles Williams is travelling on business but is also eager to see his young daughters, who live with his beautiful, estranged ex-wife. As the hurricane rages, he desperately checks the shelters where thousands have taken refuge to find them, and runs into Ellen and her mother. Meanwhile Juliette Dubois, a dedicated ER doctor, fights to save lives when the generators at the hospital fail. The day of chaos takes its toll as New Yorkers struggle to face a natural disaster of epic proportions. But as lives are shattered, heroes are revealed – and then the real challenge begins, when the survivors face their futures . . . Unforgettable and powerful, RUSHING WATERS proves that even in the darkest storm there is courage, unexpected joy and new life . . . Danielle Steel is famous for her powerfully emotional stories about family, love and life. Her novels will be enjoyed by readers of Penny Vincenzi, Jodi Picoult and Diane Chamberlain.

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HERE I AM
Jonathan Safran Foer
Cover of HERE I AM

HERE I AM

by Jonathan Safran Foer · Farrar, Straus & Giroux

1 wks on list

A monumental novel from the bestselling author of Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer's Here I Am In the book of Genesis, when God calls out, “Abraham!” before ordering him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, Abraham responds, “Here I am.” Later, when Isaac calls out, “My father!” before asking him why there is no animal to slaughter, Abraham responds, “Here I am.” How do we fulfill our conflicting duties as father, husband, and son; wife and mother; child and adult? Jew and American? How can we claim our own identities when our lives are linked so closely to others’? These are the questions at the heart of Jonathan Safran Foer’s first novel in eleven years—a work of extraordinary scope and heartbreaking intimacy. Unfolding over four tumultuous weeks in present-day Washington, D.C., Here I Am is the story of a fracturing family in a moment of crisis. As Jacob and Julia Bloch and their three sons are forced to confront the distances between the lives they think they want and the lives they are living, a catastrophic earthquake sets in motion a quickly escalating conflict in the Middle East. At stake is the meaning of home—and the fundamental question of how much aliveness one can bear. Showcasing the same high-energy inventiveness, hilarious irreverence, and emotional urgency that readers loved in his earlier work, Here I Am is Foer’s most searching, hard-hitting, and grandly entertaining novel yet. It not only confirms Foer’s stature as a dazzling literary talent but reveals a novelist who has fully come into his own as one of our most important writers. “Dazzling . . . A profound novel about the claims of identity, history, family, and the burdens of a broken world.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s “Fresh Air”

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A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW
Amor Towles
Cover of A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW

A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW

by Amor Towles · Viking Press

1 wks on list

Selected as a BOOK OF THE YEAR in THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES AND IRISH TIMES More than half a million readers have fallen in love with the New York Times bestseller A Gentleman in Moscow ‘This novel is astonishing, uplifting and wise. Don’t miss it’ Chris Cleave ‘No historical novel this year was more witty, insightful or original than Amor Towles’s A Gentleman in Moscow’ Sunday Times, Books of the Year ‘Charming ... shows that not all books about Russian aristocrats have to be full of doom and nihilism’ The Times, Books of the Year On 21 June 1922, Count Alexander Rostov – recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt – is escorted out of the Kremlin, across Red Square and through the elegant revolving doors of the Hotel Metropol. Deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the Count has been sentenced to house arrest indefinitely. But instead of his usual suite, he must now live in an attic room while Russia undergoes decades of tumultuous upheaval. Can a life without luxury be the richest of all?

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TRULY MADLY GUILTY
Liane Moriarty
Cover of TRULY MADLY GUILTY

TRULY MADLY GUILTY

by Liane Moriarty · Flatiron

7 wks on list

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, FROM THE AUTHOR OF BIG LITTLE LIES, now an HBO series. Winner of Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fiction “Here’s the best news you’ve heard all year: Not a single page disappoints....The only difficulty with Truly Madly Guilty? Putting it down.” —Miami Herald “Captivating, suspenseful...tantalizing.” —People Magazine Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One small dog. It’s just a normal weekend. What could possibly go wrong? In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty turns her unique, razor-sharp eye towards three seemingly happy families. Sam and Clementine have a wonderful, albeit busy, life: they have two little girls, Sam has just started a new dream job, and Clementine, a cellist, is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime. If there’s anything they can count on, it’s each other. Clementine and Erika are each other’s oldest friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last-minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don’t hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid’s larger-than-life personalities there will be a welcome respite. Two months later, it won’t stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can’t stop asking themselves the question: What if we hadn’t gone? In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty takes on the foundations of our lives: marriage, sex, parenthood, and friendship. She shows how guilt can expose the fault lines in the most seemingly strong relationships, how what we don’t say can be more powerful than what we do, and how sometimes it is the most innocent of moments that can do the greatest harm. Entertainment Weekly's “Best Beach Bet” A USA Today Hot Books for Summer Selection A Miami Herald Summer Reads Pick

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DOWNFALL
J. A. Jance
Cover of DOWNFALL

DOWNFALL

by J. A. Jance · Morrow/HarperCollins

1 wks on list

Arizona sheriff Joanna Brady returns in this outstanding new mystery set in the beautiful desert country of the Southwest. With a baby on the way, sudden deaths in the family from which to recover, a re-election campaign looming, and a daughter heading off for college, Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady has her hands full when a puzzling new case hits her department, demanding every resource she has at her disposal. Two women have fallen to their deaths from a small nearby peak, referred to by Bisbee locals as Geronimo. What’s the connection between these two women? Is this a case of murder/suicide or is it a double homicide? And if someone else is responsible, is it possible that the perpetrator may, even now, be on the hunt for another victim?

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MANITOU CANYON
William Kent Krueger
Cover of MANITOU CANYON

MANITOU CANYON

by William Kent Krueger · Atria

1 wks on list

Cork O'Connor has always considered November to be the cruelest of months, yet his daughter has chosen this dismal time of year in which to marry. When a man camping in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness goes missing, Cork is asked by the man's family to stay on the case. The wedding is fast approaching, the weather looks threatening, but Cork doesn't return from the search. Locating Cork's campsite, they find blood-- a lot of it.

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ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE
Anthony Doerr
Cover of ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE

by Anthony Doerr · Scribner

123 wks on list

An imaginative and intricate novel inspired by the horrors of World War II and written in short, elegant chapters that explore human nature and the contradictory power of technology.

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STING
Sandra Brown
Cover of STING

STING

by Sandra Brown · Grand Central

4 wks on list

Number One New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown returns with another suspenseful thriller When Jordie Bennet and Shaw Kinnard lock eyes across a disreputable backwater bar, something sparks. Shaw's dangerous vibe makes men wary and women sit up and take notice... Jordie included. It's an unlikely meeting. She doesn't belong in a seedy dive on the banks of a bayou, but here she is...and Shaw Kinnard is there to kill her. Jordie's certain her time is up, but Shaw has other plans. He abducts her, hoping to get his hands on the thirty million dollars her brother has stolen. However, he's not the only one looking for the fortune. Now on the run from the feds and a notorious criminal, Jordie and Shaw must rely on their wits - and each other - to stay alive. Miles away from civilization, Jordie's only chance of survival is to outwit Shaw, but it soon becomes clear that neither is entirely trustworthy. Was she in on her brother's scam, or is she an innocent pawn? And just how valuable is her life to Shaw? Burning for answers - and for each other - this unlikely pair make a desperate move that could be their last. With nonstop plot twists and the tantalizing sexual tension that has made Sandra Brown one of the world's best-loved authors, STING will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final pages. Praise for Sandra Brown 'Suspense that has teeth' Stephen King 'Lust, jealousy, and murder suffuse Brown's crisp thriller' Publishers Weekly 'An edge-of-the-seat thriller that's full of twists . . . Top stuff!' Star

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THE NIX
Nathan Hill
Cover of THE NIX

THE NIX

by Nathan Hill · Knopf

2 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the suburban Midwest to New York City to the 1968 riots that rocked Chicago and beyond, a novel that explores—with sharp humor and a fierce tenderness—the resilience of love and home, even in times of radical change. "Hugely entertaining and unfailingly smart.... [A] supersize and audacious novel of American misadventure.” —The New York Times Book Review “Nathan Hill is a maestro.” —John Irving It’s 2011, and Samuel Andresen-Anderson hasn’t seen his mother, Faye, in decades—not since she abandoned the family when he was a boy. Now she’s reappeared, having committed an absurd crime that electrifies the nightly news and inflames a politically divided country. The media paints Faye as a radical hippie with a sordid past, but as far as Samuel knows, his mother was an ordinary girl who married her high-school sweetheart. Which version of his mother is true? Two facts are certain: she’s facing some serious charges, and she needs Samuel’s help. To save her, Samuel will have to embark on his own journey, uncovering long-buried secrets about the woman he thought he knew, secrets that stretch across generations and have their origin all the way back in Norway, home of the mysterious Nix. As he does so, Samuel will confront not only Faye’s losses but also his own lost love, and will relearn everything he thought he knew about his mother, and himself. Look for Nathan Hill's new novel, Wellness!

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THE NIGHTINGALE
Kristin Hannah
Cover of THE NIGHTINGALE

THE NIGHTINGALE

by Kristin Hannah · St. Martin's

The bestselling Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick 'One of the greatest storytellers of our time' – Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Soon to be a major motion picture, The Nightingale is a multi-million copy bestseller across the world. It is a heart-breakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the endurance of women. 'I always thought it was what I wanted: to be loved and admired. Now I think perhaps I’d like to be known' This story is about what it was like to be a woman during World War II when women’s stories were all too often forgotten or overlooked . . . Vianne and Isabelle Mauriac are two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals and passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path towards survival, love and freedom in war-torn France. Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime. ‘A rich, compelling novel of love, sacrifice and survival’ - Kate Morton ‘Movingly written and plotted with the heartless skill of a Greek tragedy, you’ll keep turning the pages until the last racking sob’ - Daily Mail ‘I loved The Nightingale . . . great characters, great plots, great emotions, who could ask for more in a novel?’ - Isabel Allende, bestselling author of The House of the Spirits ‘A gripping tale of family, love, grief and forgiveness’ - Sunday Express The Nightingale has sold more than 4 million copies globally, TIME, February 2021

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