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Hardcover Fiction

Week of November 25, 2018

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1
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PAST TENSE
Lee Child
Cover of PAST TENSE

PAST TENSE

by Lee Child · Delacorte Press

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

JACK REACHER NEVER LOOKS BACK . . . UNTIL NOW. 'There's only one Jack Reacher. Accept no substitutes.' - Mick Herron. The present can be tense . . . A young couple trying to get to New York City are stranded at a lonely motel in the middle of nowhere. Before long they're trapped in an ominous game of life and death. But the past can be worse . . . Meanwhile, Jack Reacher sets out on an epic road trip across America. He doesn't get far. Deep in the New England woods, he sees a sign to a place he has never been - the town where his father was born. But when he arrives he is told no one named Reacher ever lived there. Now he wonders: who's lying? As the tension ratchets up and these two stories begin to entwine, the stakes have never been higher for Reacher. That's for damn sure. _________ Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Past Tense is the 23rd in the series. And don’t miss Reacher's newest adventure, No.30, Exit Strategy! ***OUT NOW***

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NINE PERFECT STRANGERS
Liane Moriarty
Cover of NINE PERFECT STRANGERS

NINE PERFECT STRANGERS

by Liane Moriarty · Flatiron

1 wks on list

Download a free excerpt from Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers! From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Little Lies Could ten days at a health resort really change you forever? In Liane Moriarty’s latest page-turner, nine perfect strangers are about to find out... Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be. Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can? It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question. Combining all of the hallmarks that have made her writing a go-to for anyone looking for wickedly smart, page-turning fiction that will make you laugh and gasp, Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers once again shows why she is a master of her craft.

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THE RECKONING
John Grisham
Cover of THE RECKONING

THE RECKONING

by John Grisham · Doubleday

3 wks on list

Books are leather-bound, signed and numbered, with printed endpapers, gold stamping, a slipcase, and a ribbon marker. John Grisham returns to Clanton, Mississippi, to tell the story of an unthinkable murder, the bizarre trial that follows it, and its profound and lasting effect on the people of Ford County. Pete Banning was Clanton's favorite son, a returning war hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, father, neighbor, and a faithful member of the Methodist church. Then one cool October morning in 1946. he rose early, drove into town, walked into the Church, and calmly shot and killed the Reverend Dexter Bell. As if the murder wasn't shocking enough, it was even more baffling that Pete's only statement about it--to the sheriff, to his defense attorney, to the judge, to his family and friends, and to the people of Clanton--was "I have nothing to say." And so the murder of the esteemed Reverend Bell became the most mysterious and unforgettable crime Ford County had ever known.

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DARK SACRED NIGHT
Michael Connelly
Cover of DARK SACRED NIGHT

DARK SACRED NIGHT

by Michael Connelly · Little, Brown

2 wks on list

Harry Bosch teams up with LAPD detective Renée Ballard to solve the murder of a young girl in the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly. Detective Renée Ballard is working the night beat -- known in LAPD slang as "the late show" -- and returns to Hollywood Station in the early hours to find a stranger rifling through old file cabinets. The intruder is retired detective Harry Bosch, working a cold case that has gotten under his skin. Ballard can't let him go through department records, but when he leaves, she looks into the case herself and feels a deep tug of empathy and anger. She has never been the kind of cop who leaves the job behind at the end of her shift -- and she wants in. The murder, unsolved, was of fifteen-year-old Daisy Clayton, a runaway on the streets of Hollywood who was brutally killed, her body left in a dumpster like so much trash. Now Ballard joins forces with Bosch to find out what happened to Daisy, and to finally bring her killer to justice. Along the way, the two detectives forge a fragile trust, but this new partnership is put to the test when the case takes an unexpected and dangerous turn. Dark Sacred Night for the first time brings together these two powerhouse detectives in a riveting story that unfolds with furious momentum. And it shows once more why "there's no doubt Connelly is a master of crime fiction" (Associated Press).

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EVERY BREATH
Nicholas Sparks
Cover of EVERY BREATH

EVERY BREATH

by Nicholas Sparks · Grand Central

4 wks on list

In the romantic tradition of The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with a story about a chance encounter that becomes a touchstone for two vastly different individuals -- transcending decades, continents, and the bittersweet workings of fate. Hope Anderson is at a crossroads. At thirty-six, she's been dating her boyfriend, an orthopedic surgeon, for six years. With no wedding plans in sight, and her father recently diagnosed with ALS, she decides to use a week at her family's cottage in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, to ready the house for sale and mull over some difficult decisions about her future. Tru Walls has never visited North Carolina but is summoned to Sunset Beach by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. A safari guide, born and raised in Zimbabwe, Tru hopes to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his mother's early life and recapture memories lost with her death. When the two strangers cross paths, their connection is as electric as it is unfathomable . . . but in the immersive days that follow, their feelings for each other will give way to choices that pit family duty against personal happiness in devastating ways. Illuminating life's heartbreaking regrets and enduring hope, EVERY BREATH explores the many facets of love that lay claim to our deepest loyalties -- and asks the question, How long can a dream survive?

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ELEVATION
Stephen King
Cover of ELEVATION

ELEVATION

by Stephen King · Scribner

2 wks on list

From legendary master storyteller Stephen King, a riveting story about “an ordinary man in an extraordinary condition rising above hatred” (The Washington Post) and bringing the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine together—a “joyful, uplifting” (Entertainment Weekly) tale about finding common ground despite deep-rooted differences, “the sign of a master elevating his own legendary game yet again” (USA TODAY). Although Scott Carey doesn’t look any different, he’s been steadily losing weight. There are a couple of other odd things, too. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesn’t want to be poked and prodded. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis. In the small town of Castle Rock, the setting of many of King’s most iconic stories, Scott is engaged in a low grade—but escalating—battle with the lesbians next door whose dog regularly drops his business on Scott’s lawn. One of the women is friendly; the other, cold as ice. Both are trying to launch a new restaurant, but the people of Castle Rock want no part of a gay married couple, and the place is in trouble. When Scott finally understands the prejudices they face—including his own—he tries to help. Unlikely alliances, the annual foot race, and the mystery of Scott’s affliction bring out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others. “Written in masterly Stephen King’s signature translucent…this uncharacteristically glimmering fairy tale calls unabashedly for us to rise above our differences” (Booklist, starred review). Elevation is an antidote to our divisive culture, an “elegant whisper of a story” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), “perfect for any fan of small towns, magic, and the joys and challenges of doing the right thing” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

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THE NEXT PERSON YOU MEET IN HEAVEN
Mitch Albom
Cover of THE NEXT PERSON YOU MEET IN HEAVEN

THE NEXT PERSON YOU MEET IN HEAVEN

by Mitch Albom · Harper

5 wks on list

THE LIFE-AFFIRMING FOLLOW UP TO THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN, 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 __________ No act done for someone else is ever wasted. The accident that killed Eddie left an indelible mark on Annie. Only a girl at the time, injured, scarred, and unable to remember why, Annie's life is forever changed by the incident. Bullied by her peers and haunted by something she cannot recall, Annie struggles to find acceptance as she grows. When, as a young woman, she reconnects with Paulo, her childhood love, she believes she has finally found happiness. But when her wedding day ends in an unimaginable accident, Annie finds herself on her own heavenly journey. It will lead her to her very own five people, whose responsibility it falls on to teach her about the meaning of her life, and to her inevitable reunion with Eddie. __________ WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE NEXT PERSON YOU MEET IN HEAVEN 'The story has your heart in a million pieces whilst you smile and simply can't wait to read what happens next' 'A master storyteller!' 'A perfect end to an already perfect story. It is truly a gift for any reader' 'Anyone who read the first book would expect this second book to be a work of art. It is just that' 'Mitch Albom knows how to tug on the heartstrings!'

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UNSHELTERED
Barbara Kingsolver
Cover of UNSHELTERED

UNSHELTERED

by Barbara Kingsolver · Harper

4 wks on list

How could two hardworking people do everything right in life, a woman asks, and end up destitute? Willa Knox and her husband followed all the rules as responsible parents and professionals, and have nothing to show for it but debts and an inherited brick house that is falling apart. The magazine where Willa worked has folded; the college where her husband had tenure has closed. Their dubious shelter is also the only option for a disabled father-in-law and an exasperating, free-spirited daughter. When the family's one success story, an Ivy-educated son, is uprooted by tragedy, he seems likely to join them, with dark complications of his own. In another time, a troubled husband and public servant asks, How can a man tell the truth, and be reviled for it? A science teacher with a passion for honest investigation, Thatcher Greenwood finds himself under siege: his employer forbids him to speak of the exciting work just published by Charles Darwin. His young bride and social-climbing mother-in-law bristle at the risk of scandal, and dismiss his worries that their elegant house is unsound. In a village ostensibly founded as a benevolent Utopia, Thatcher wants only to honor his duties, but his friendships with a woman scientist and a renegade newspaper editor threaten to draw him into a vendetta with the town's powerful men. This is the story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum in Vineland, New Jersey, navigating what seems to be the end of the world as they know it.

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THE NOEL STRANGER
Richard Paul Evans
Cover of THE NOEL STRANGER

THE NOEL STRANGER

by Richard Paul Evans · Simon & Schuster

1 wks on list

From “The King of Christmas,” Richard Paul Evans, comes the next exciting holiday novel perfect for “fans of Debbie Macomber” (Booklist) in his New York Times bestselling Noel Collection. Maggie Walther feels like her world is imploding. Publicly humiliated after her husband, a local councilman, is arrested for bigamy, and her subsequent divorce, she has isolated herself from the world. When her only friend insists that Maggie climb out of her hole, and embrace the season to get her out of her funk, Maggie decides to put up a Christmas tree and heads off to buy one—albeit reluctantly. She is immediately taken by Andrew, the kind, handsome man who owns the Christmas tree lot and delivers her tree. She soon learns that Andrew is single and new to her city and, like her, is also starting his life anew. As their friendship develops, Maggie slowly begins to trust again—something she never thought possible. Then, just when she thinks she has finally found happiness, she discovers a dark secret from Andrew’s past. Is there more to this stranger’s truth than meets the eye? This powerful new holiday novel from Richard Paul Evans, the “King of Christmas fiction” (The New York Times), explores the true power of the season, redemption, and the freedom that comes from forgiveness.

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SEA OF GREED
Clive Cussler and Graham Brown
Cover of SEA OF GREED

SEA OF GREED

by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown · Putnam

1 wks on list

The world's oil supply is vanishing, the stock market is plummeting, and the key to saving the future seems to be a baffling historical mystery. Can the NUMA crew crack it in time? Sea of Greed is the suspenseful new NUMA Files novels from the #1 New York Times-bestselling grand master of adventure. After an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico destroys three oil rigs trying to revive a dying field, Kurt Austin and the NUMA Special Projects Team are tapped by the President of the United States to find out what's gone wrong. The trail leads them to a brilliant billionaire in the alternative energy field. Her goal is the end of the oil age; her company has spent billions developing the worlds' most advanced fuel-cell systems. But is she an environmental hero...or a rogue genetic engineer? The NUMA crew discovers that the oil fields are infected with bacteria that are consuming the oil before it can be pumped out of the earth--a bacteria originally lost decades ago when two submarines vanished in the Mediterranean. With hired killers on his trail, can Kurt Austin locate a submarine that's remained hidden for more than fifty years? And even if he can, can the biological terror that's been unleashed be stopped?

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YOU DON'T OWN ME
Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

YOU DON'T OWN ME

by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke · Simon & Schuster

1 wks on list

As Laurie Moran and Alex Buckley are planning a summer wedding and honeymoon, Laurie is approached by Robert and Cynthia Bell, parents of Dr. Martin Bell, a charming and talented physician who was shot dead as he pulled into the driveway five years ago. Determined to prove his wife, Kendra, guilty, and win custody over their grandchildren, they plead with Laurie to feature their son's case on "Under Suspicion," ensuring her that Kendra is willing to cooperate. As Laurie dives into the case, she learns that Martin wasn't the picture-perfect husband, father, and doctor he appeared to be. As she investigates this unsolved murder, she becomes entangled in a web of long-buried secrets and begins to wonder if her own life is in grave danger as a mysterious stalker plots revenge.-- adapted from publisher info.

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THE COLORS OF ALL THE CATTLE
Alexander McCall Smith
Cover of THE COLORS OF ALL THE CATTLE

THE COLORS OF ALL THE CATTLE

by Alexander McCall Smith · Pantheon

1 wks on list

When Mma Potokwane suggests to Mma Ramotswe that she run for a seat on the Gaborone City Council, Mma Ramotswe is unsure until she learns that developers plan to build the flashy Big Fun Hotel next to a graveyard. Her opponent is none other than Mma Makutsi’s old nemesis Violet Sephotho. Violet is intent on using every trick in the book to secure her election, but, for her part, Mma Ramotswe refuses to promise anything beyond what she can deliver. Meanwhile, to impress a new girlfriend, Charlie volunteers to take on the role of lead investigator in a case for an old friend of Mma Ramotswe’s late father. With Charlie’s inquiries landing him in hot water and Election Day fast approaching, Mma Ramotswe will have to call upon her good humor and generosity of spirit to help the community navigate these thorny issues, and prove that honesty and compassion will always carry the day.

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WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING
Delia Owens
Cover of WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

by Delia Owens · Putnam

10 wks on list

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE—The #1 New York Times bestselling worldwide sensation with more than 18 million copies sold, hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “a painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature.” New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens. Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

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HEADS YOU WIN
Jeffrey Archer
Cover of HEADS YOU WIN

HEADS YOU WIN

by Jeffrey Archer · St. Martin's

'Jeffrey Archer has a gift for plot that can only be described as genius' - The Daily Telegraph Can one man achieve his destiny? ***** Leningrad, Russia, 1968. From an early age it is clear that Alexander Karpenko is destined to lead his countrymen. But when his father is assassinated by the KGB for defying the state, Alexander and his mother will have to escape Russia if they hope to survive. At the docks, they have an irreversible choice: board a container ship bound for America or one bound for Great Britain. Alexander leaves the choice to a toss of a coin . . . In a single moment, a double twist decides Alexander’s future. During an epic tale, spanning two continents and thirty years, we follow Alexander through triumph and defeat as he sets out on parallel lives, as Alex in New York and Sasha in London. As this unique story unfolds, both come to realize that to find their destiny they must face the past they left behind as Alexander in Russia. With a final twist that will shock even his most ardent fans, Heads You Win is the gripping and thrilling novel by the master storyteller and bestselling author of the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel, Jeffrey Archer. Jeffrey Archer's book Traitors Gate was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2023-09-25. ***** Praise for Heads You Win: 'The master storyteller returns with a nail-biter every bit as good as Kane and Abel – utterly enthralling' - Joanna Lumley 'A page-turner with a memorable twist that made me shout out loud' - Daily Mail 'Leave it to Jeffrey Archer to spin a continent-straddling, decade-spanning, fate driven yarn that weaves its way from St Petersburg to London and New York, saving its final twist for the very last page' - The Mail on Sunday 'Archer draws us in with intrigue and great characters' - Daily Mirror

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