TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of December 24, 2017

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
Jump to
1
1
ORIGIN
Dan Brown
Cover of ORIGIN

ORIGIN

by Dan Brown · Doubleday

5 wks at #1 · 10 on list

An extract from Origin, the spell-binding new thriller from the bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code and Inferno. Dan Brown's new novel, Origin, features renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and is set in Spain, where Langdon is drawn into a terrifying race against time that will bring him face-to-face with a world-shaking truth that has remained buried - until now. This preview includes the prologue and first chapter of Origin. Origin is out on 3rd October 2017. 'Dan Brown is the master of the intellectual cliffhanger' Wall Street Journal 'As engaging a hero as you could wish for' Mail on Sunday 'For anyone who wants more brain-food than thrillers normally provide' Sunday Times

2
1
THE ROOSTER BAR
John Grisham
Cover of THE ROOSTER BAR

THE ROOSTER BAR

by John Grisham · Doubleday

7 wks on list

Mark, Todd, and Zola came to law school to change the world, to make it a better place. But now, as third-year students, these close friends realize they have been duped. They all borrowed heavily to attend a third-tier, for-profit law school so mediocre that its graduates rarely pass the bar exam, let alone get good jobs. And when they learn that their school is one of a chain owned by a shady New York hedge-fund operator who also happens to own a bank specializing in student loans, the three know they have been caught up in The Great Law School Scam. But maybe there's a way out. Maybe there's a way to escape their crushing debt, expose the bank and the scam, and make a few bucks in the process. But to do so, they would first have to quit school. And leaving law school a few short months before graduation would be completely crazy, right? Well, yes and no . . . Pull up a stool, grab a cold one, and get ready to spend some time at The Rooster Bar.

3
NEW
YEAR ONE
Nora Roberts
Cover of YEAR ONE

YEAR ONE

by Nora Roberts · St. Martin's

1 wks on list

A stunning new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author—an epic of hope and horror, chaos and magic, and a journey that will unite a desperate group of people to fight the battle of their lives... It began on New Year’s Eve. The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed—and more than half of the world’s population was decimated. Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magic rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river—or in the ones you know and love the most. As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, and with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arlys, a journalist who has lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possessed of burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. And Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive. In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a savior, none of them knows exactly where they are heading, or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remain. The end has come. The beginning comes next.

4
1
THE PEOPLE VS. ALEX CROSS
James Patterson
Cover of THE PEOPLE VS. ALEX CROSS

THE PEOPLE VS. ALEX CROSS

by James Patterson · Little, Brown

3 wks on list

NOW THE INSPIRATION FOR THE ORIGINAL SERIES 'CROSS' ON PRIME VIDEO ___________________________________ 'No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades. The Alex Cross series proves it.' LEE CHILD ___________________________________ The charges: explosive Alex Cross has never been on the wrong side of the law - until now. Charged with killing in cold blood, Cross is being turned into the poster child for trigger-happy cops. The evidence: shocking Cross knows it was self-defense. But, as the case against him builds, even those closest to him begin to doubt his innocence. The People vs. Alex Cross: the trial of the century With his whole life and career on the line, if Cross can't convince his own family that he didn't pull the trigger with intent to kill, how can he hope to persuade a jury? ___________________________________ 'Told with a ferocious power and emotion that is quite impossible to ignore' DAILY MAIL 'Fast-paced and action-packed' I NEWSPAPER 'Alex Cross is a legend' HARLAN COBEN

5
1
THE MIDNIGHT LINE
Lee Child
Cover of THE MIDNIGHT LINE

THE MIDNIGHT LINE

by Lee Child · Delacorte Press

5 wks on list

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER A RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB 2018 PICK ---------- Jack Reacher is having a bad day. It would be a dumb idea to make it worse. Reacher sees a West Point class ring in a pawn shop window. It's tiny. It's a woman cadet's graduation present to herself. Why would she give it up? Reacher was a West Pointer too, and he knows what she went through to get it. All he wants is to find the woman. He'll have to go through bikers, cops, crooks, and low-life muscle. If she's ok, he'll walk away. If she's not ... he'll stop at nothing. Best advice: stay out of his way. _________ Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, The Midnight Line follows on directly from the end of Make Me. And don’t miss Reacher's newest adventure, No.30, Exit Strategy! ***OUT NOW***

6
3
ARTEMIS
Andy Weir
Cover of ARTEMIS

ARTEMIS

by Andy Weir · Crown

4 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the renowned author of Project Hail Mary and The Martian comes a “propulsive” (NPR) tale of science, suspense, and humor—a heist story set on the moon. “An action-packed techno-thriller of the first order.”—USA Today Jasmine Bashara never signed up to be a hero. She just wanted to get rich. Not crazy, eccentric-billionaire rich, like many of the visitors to her hometown of Artemis, humanity’s first and only lunar colony. Just rich enough to move out of her coffin-sized apartment and eat something better than flavored algae. Rich enough to pay off a debt she’s owed for a long time. So when a chance at a huge score finally comes her way, Jazz can’t say no. But engineering the perfect crime is just the start of her problems—because her little heist is about to land her in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis herself. Trapped between competing forces, pursued by a killer and the law alike, she’ll have to hatch a truly spectacular scheme to have a chance at staying alive and saving her city. Jazz is no hero, but she is a very good criminal. That’ll have to do.

7
2
END GAME
David Baldacci
Cover of END GAME

END GAME

by David Baldacci · Grand Central

4 wks on list

Two of the government's most lethal assassins scour rural Colorado to find their missing handler--and discover an insidious and lethal threat along the way in this New York Times bestselling thriller. Will Robie and Jessica Reel are two of the most lethal people alive. They're the ones the government calls in when the utmost secrecy is required to take out those who plot violence and mass destruction against the United States. And through every mission, one man has always had their backs: their handler, code-named Blue Man. But now, Blue Man is missing. Last seen in rural Colorado, Blue Man had taken a rare vacation to go fly fishing in his hometown when he disappeared off the grid. With no communications since, the team can't help but fear the worst. Sent to investigate, Robie and Reel arrive in the small town of Grand to discover that it has its own share of problems. A stagnant local economy and a woefully understaffed police force have made this small community a magnet for crime, drugs, and a growing number of militant fringe groups. But lying in wait in Grand is an even more insidious and sweeping threat, one that may shake the very core of America. And when Robie and Reel find themselves up against an adversary with superior firepower and a home-court advantage, they'll be lucky if they make it out alive, with or without Blue Man...

8
1
TOM CLANCY POWER AND EMPIRE
Marc Cameron
Cover of TOM CLANCY POWER AND EMPIRE

TOM CLANCY POWER AND EMPIRE

by Marc Cameron · Putnam

2 wks on list

As mounting tensions between China and the United States push the world’s two great powers to the brink of war, it falls to President Jack Ryan to identify the lethal chess master behind the scenes in this thriller in Tom Clancy's #1 New York Times bestselling series. Jack Ryan is dealing with an aggresive challenge from the Chinese government as the G20 Summit approaches. Pawns are being moved around a global chessboard: an attack on an oil platform in Africa, a terrorist strike on an American destroyer and a storm tossed American spy ship that may fall into Chinese hands. It seems that Premier Zhao is determined to limit Ryan's choices in the upcoming negotiations. But there are hints that there's even more going on. A routine traffic stop in rural Texas leads to a shocking discovery—a link to a Chinese spy who may have intelligence that lays bare an unexpected revelation. John Clark and the members of the Campus are in close pursuit, but can they get the information in time?

9
1
HARDCORE TWENTY-FOUR
Janet Evanovich
Cover of HARDCORE TWENTY-FOUR

HARDCORE TWENTY-FOUR

by Janet Evanovich · Putnam

4 wks on list

Trouble comes in bunches for Stephanie Plum. First, professional grave robber and semi-professional loon Simon Diggery won't let her take him in until she agrees to care for his boa constrictor, Ethel. Stephanie's main qualification for babysitting an extremely large snake is that she owns a stun gun--whether that's for use on the wandering serpent or the petrified neighbors remains to be seen. Events take a dark turn when headless bodies start appearing across town. At first, it's just corpses from a funeral home and the morgue that have had the heads removed. But when a homeless man is murdered and dumped behind a church Stephanie knows that she's the only one with a prayer of catching this killer. If all that's not enough, Diesel's back in town. The 6-foot-tall, blonde-haired hunk is a man who accepts no limits -- that includes locked doors, closed windows and underwear. Trenton's hottest cop, Joe Morelli isn't pleased at this unexpected arrival nor is Ranger, the high-powered security consultant who has his own plans for Stephanie. As usual Jersey's favorite bounty hunter is stuck in the middle with more questions than answers. What's the deal with Grandma Mazur's latest online paramour? Who is behind the startling epidemic of mutilated corpses? And is the enigmatic Diesel's sudden appearance a coincidence or the cause of recent deadly events?

10
3
LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE
Celeste Ng
Cover of LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE

LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE

by Celeste Ng · Penguin Press

12 wks on list

The #1 New York Times bestseller • Named a Best Book of the Year by People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Goodreads, Library Reads, Book of the Month, Paste, Kirkus Reviews, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and more “To say I love this book is an understatement. It’s a deep psychological mystery about the power of motherhood, the intensity of teenage love, and the danger of perfection. It moved me to tears.” —Reese Witherspoon From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You and Our Missing Hearts comes a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned—from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules. Enter Mia Warren—an enigmatic artist and single mother—who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community. When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town—and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs. Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood—and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster. Named a Best Book of the Year by: People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Goodreads, Library Reads, Book of the Month, Paste, Kirkus Reviews, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and more

11
5
PAST PERFECT
Danielle Steel
Cover of PAST PERFECT

PAST PERFECT

by Danielle Steel · Delacorte Press

2 wks on list

Past Perfect is a heartwarming, magical story of an unexpected friendship spanning a century, from the world's favourite storyteller, Danielle Steel. Sybil and Blake Gregory live a well-ordered, predictable Manhattan life, she as a cutting-edge design authority and museum consultant, he in high-tech investments, raising their children. But when Blake is offered a dream job as CEO of a start-up in San Francisco, he accepts it, without consulting his wife, and buys a magnificent, historic mansion as their new home in Pacific Heights. Past and present collide at their elegant mansion, when they meet the large and lively family who lived there a century ago. All long dead but very much alive in spirit – visible to the Gregorys and no one else. Within these enchanted rooms, it is at once 1917 and a century later. The Gregorys been given a perfect gift; but does living in the past prevent them from embracing their future?

12
2
TWO KINDS OF TRUTH
Michael Connelly
Cover of TWO KINDS OF TRUTH

TWO KINDS OF TRUTH

by Michael Connelly · Little, Brown

6 wks on list

If the truth doesn't get him - the lies will. 'Two Kinds of Truth is as brilliant as anything Connelly has written. A super-gripping thriller' Evening Standard * * * * * Harry Bosch works cold cases, helping out the under-funded San Fernando police department. When a double murder at a local pharmacy is called in, Bosch is the most seasoned detective on the scene. But with experience, come the ghosts of long-forgotten crimes. A death row inmate claims Bosch framed him, and that new DNA evidence proves it. The LAPD investigators say the case is watertight, leaving Bosch out in the wilderness to clear his name and keep a sadistic killer behind bars. There's only one person he can trust to help prove his innocence: Mickey Haller, The Lincoln Lawyer... As both cases tangle around him, Bosch learns there are two kinds of truth: the kind that won't die and the kind that kills. * * * * * CRIME FICTION DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN BOSCH. 'One of the world's greatest crime writers' Daily Mail 'Harry Bosch: one of the finest minds in crime fiction' Evening Standard 'Crime thriller writing of the highest order' Guardian 'A master of the genre' Stephen King 'Harry Bosch: one of the most iconic protagonists in crime fiction' Irish Times 'A crime writing genius' Independent on Sunday 'Michael Connelly's detective Harry Bosch has been in 19 novels of exceptional quality' The Times 'America's greatest living crime writer' Daily Express

13
1
SLEEPING BEAUTIES
Stephen King and Owen King
Cover of SLEEPING BEAUTIES

SLEEPING BEAUTIES

by Stephen King and Owen King · Scribner

11 wks on list

In this spectacular father/son collaboration, Stephen King and Owen King tell the highest of high-stakes stories: what might happen if women disappeared from the world of men? All around the world, something is happening to women when they fall asleep; they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If awakened, if the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed, the women become feral and spectacularly violent... In the small town of Dooling, West Virginia, the virus is spreading through a women's prison, affecting all the inmates except one. Soon, word spreads about the mysterious Evie, who seems able to sleep - and wake. Is she a medical anomaly or a demon to be slain? The abandoned men, left to their increasingly primal devices, are fighting each other, while Dooling's Sheriff, Lila Norcross, is just fighting to stay awake. And the sleeping women are about to open their eyes to a new world altogether...

14
A COLUMN OF FIRE
Ken Follett
Cover of A COLUMN OF FIRE

A COLUMN OF FIRE

by Ken Follett · Viking Press

13 wks on list

Millions of readers have been enthralled by the saga that began in The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, which now continues with Ken Follett's magnificent, gripping A Column of Fire. A WORLD IN TURMOIL 1558, and Europe is in revolt as religious hatred sweeps the continent. Elizabeth Tudor has ascended to the throne but she is not safe in this dangerous new world. There are many who would see her removed, not least Mary Queens of Scots, who lies in wait in Paris. A NEW ORDER Elizabeth determines to set up a new secret service: a group of resourceful spies and courageous agents entrusted to keep her safe and in power. As she searches for those who will make the difference, one man stands out. A MAN WHO WOULD DIE FOR HIS QUEEN For Ned Willard the opportunity to serve his queen is God-sent. He cannot stay in Kingsbridge and watch the love of his life marry another, and as fires burn and extremism begins to spark throughout Europe, Ned makes his choice. He will spend his life protecting his monarch from the tyrants who aim to destroy her or die trying . . .

15
NEW
UNCOMMON TYPE
Tom Hanks
Cover of UNCOMMON TYPE

UNCOMMON TYPE

by Tom Hanks · Knopf

WITH AN INTRODUCTION FROM THE AUTHOR 'Impressive' The Times 'Funny and pitch perfect' Sunday Express 'I blink, bubble and boggle in amazed admiration' Stephen Fry 'These stories are a hit' Financial Times A small-town newspaper columnist with old-fashioned views of the modern world. A World War II veteran grappling with his emotional and physical scars. A second-rate actor plunged into sudden stardom and a whirlwind press junket. Four friends travelling to the moon in a rocket ship built in the backyard. These are just some of the stories that Tom Hanks captures with great affection, humour and insight - the human condition in all its foibles.

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