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Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of December 5, 2021

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THE JUDGE'S LIST
John Grisham
Cover of THE JUDGE'S LIST

THE JUDGE'S LIST

by John Grisham · Doubleday

5 wks at #1 · 5 on list

Books are leather-bound, signed and numbered, with printed endpapers, gold stamping, a slipcase, and a ribbon marker. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author, a new legal thriller about a man who might be the most criminal sitting judge in American history As an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct, Lacy Stoltz sees plenty of corruption among the men and women elected to the bench. In THE WHISTLER, she took on a crime syndicate that was paying millions to a crooked judge. Now, in THE JUDGE'S LIST, the crimes are even worse. The man hiding behind the black robe is not taking bribes--but he may be taking lives. THE JUDGE'S LIST--you don't want to be on it.

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MERCY
David Baldacci
Cover of MERCY

MERCY

by David Baldacci · Grand Central

1 wks on list

Special Agent Atlee Pine’s quest to find her missing sister reaches an explosive climax in Mercy, the gripping follow up to Long Road to Mercy and Daylight, from one of the world’s most favourite thriller writers, David Baldacci. The hunt is finally over. FBI agent Atlee Pine is at the end of her long journey to discover what happened to her twin sister, Mercy, who was abducted when the girls were just six years old – an incident which destroyed her family and left Atlee physically and mentally scarred. She knew her sister and parents were out there somewhere. And she had to find them. Dead or alive. Atlee and her assistant, Carol Blum, discover the truth. But the truth hurts. And hurt makes you tough. So how tough do you have to be to forgive? As they uncover a shocking trail of lies, greed, fear and revenge, they must face one final challenge. A challenge more deadly and dangerous than they could ever have imagined . . .

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THE STRANGER IN THE LIFEBOAT
Mitch Albom
Cover of THE STRANGER IN THE LIFEBOAT

THE STRANGER IN THE LIFEBOAT

by Mitch Albom · Harper

3 wks on list

#1 New York Times Bestseller What would happen if we called on God for help and God actually appeared? In Mitch Albom’s profound new novel of hope and faith, a group of shipwrecked passengers pull a strange man from the sea. He claims to be “the Lord.” And he says he can only save them if they all believe in him. Adrift in a raft after a deadly ship explosion, ten people struggle for survival at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in. “Thank the Lord we found you,” a passenger says. “I am the Lord,” the man whispers. So begins Mitch Albom’s most beguiling novel yet. Albom has written of heaven in the celebrated number one bestsellers The Five People You Meet in Heaven and The First Phone Call from Heaven. Now, for the first time in his fiction, he ponders what we would do if, after crying out for divine help, God actually appeared before us? In The Stranger in the Lifeboat, Albom keeps us guessing until the end: Is this strange man really who he claims to be? What actually happened to cause the explosion? Are the survivors in heaven, or are they in hell? The story is narrated by Benji, one of the passengers, who recounts the events in a notebook that is discovered—a year later—when the empty life raft washes up on the island of Montserrat. It falls to the island’s chief inspector, Jarty LeFleur, a man battling his own demons, to solve the mystery of what really happened. A fast-paced, compelling novel that makes you ponder your deepest beliefs, The Stranger in the Lifeboat suggests that answers to our prayers may be found where we least expect them.

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THE WISH
Nicholas Sparks
Cover of THE WISH

THE WISH

by Nicholas Sparks · Grand Central

8 wks on list

'When Nicholas The Notebook Sparks publishes his first Christmas novel, you know it's going to be special ... A real Christmas cracker' HEAT What if the person you needed most, turned up when you least expected them? The international #1 bestselling author of The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks is back with his most epic story yet Maggie hasn't told this story in years. More than two decades ago, she fell in love. She was sixteen and far from home, waiting to give her baby up for adoption. Bryce showed Maggie how to take photographs and he didn't judge her for the way her belly swelled under her jumper. They had the perfect first kiss. Theirs was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. Now, as Maggie sits by the Christmas tree in her gallery telling her story, surrounded by the photographs that made her famous - the photographs Bryce never saw - her new gallery assistant asks her a question. If she had one wish, what would she wish for this Christmas? Maggie always thought she knew the answer to that question. But before she can say 'I'd go back to that winter with Bryce', she stops herself. It is all she has ever wanted but suddenly here, on this dark night under the twinkling stars, there is something else she wants. She wants to find her baby. A heart-wrenching and uplifting story about discovery and loss, The Wish is a reminder that time with those precious to us is the greatest gift of all. * Praise for Nicholas Sparks: 'This one won't leave a dry eye' Daily Mirror 'A fiercely romantic and touching tale' Heat 'An A-grade romantic read' OK! 'Pulls at the heartstrings' Sunday Times 'An absorbing page-turner' Daily Mail

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THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY
Amor Towles
Cover of THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY

THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY

by Amor Towles · Viking Press

7 wks on list

"In June 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the working farm where he has just served a year for involuntary manslaughter. His mother is long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett intends to pick up his eight-year-old brother and head west where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the working farm have hidden in the trunk of the warden's car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett's future. Spanning just ten days and told from multiple points of view, Towles' third novel will satisfy fans of his multi-layered literary styling, while providing an array of new and richly imagined settings, characters, and themes."--Container.

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THE DARK HOURS
Michael Connelly
Cover of THE DARK HOURS

THE DARK HOURS

by Michael Connelly · Little, Brown

2 wks on list

A CRIME BURIED FOR YEARS. AND ONE THAT'S JUST BEGUN... 'An authentic, topical and terrifying thriller: one of Michael Connelly's very best' THE TIMES 'Yet another superb thriller from a writer at the top of his game' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Consistently excellent' MAIL ON SUNDAY * * * * * A MURDER YEARS IN THE MAKING A murder in the middle of a street party seems a senseless tragedy. But the victim had a dark past which came back to haunt him. THE DEEPER YOU LOOK Detective Renée Ballard connects the killing to an unsolved case last worked by ex-LAPD legend Harry Bosch. But then a new crime shatters the night shift... THE DARKER IT GETS The Midnight Men are a deadly pair of predators who stalk the city during the dark hours and disappear without a trace. Ballard once believed her job was to bring the truth to light. In a police department shaken to the core by protests and pandemic, both cases have the power to save her - or end her... * * * * * CRIME DOESN'T COME BETTER THAN CONNELLY: 'One of the very best writers working today' Sunday Telegraph 'The pre-eminent detective novelist of his generation' Ian Rankin 'The best mystery writer in the world' GQ 'A superb natural storyteller' Lee Child 'A master' Stephen King 'Crime thriller writing of the highest order' Guardian 'America's greatest living crime writer' Daily Express 'A crime writing genius' Independent on Sunday

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BETTER OFF DEAD
Lee Child and Andrew Child
Cover of BETTER OFF DEAD

BETTER OFF DEAD

by Lee Child and Andrew Child · Delacorte Press

4 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Don’t miss the hit streaming series Reacher! Digging graves had not been part of my plans when I woke up that morning. Reacher goes where he wants, when he wants. That morning he was heading west, walking under the merciless desert sun—until he comes upon a curious scene. A Jeep has crashed into the only tree for miles around. A woman is slumped over the wheel. Dead? No, nothing is what it seems. The woman is Michaela Fenton, an army veteran turned FBI agent trying to find her twin brother, who might be mixed up with some dangerous people. Most of them would rather die than betray their terrifying leader, who has burrowed his influence deep into the nearby border town, a backwater that has seen better days. The mysterious Dendoncker rules from the shadows, out of sight and under the radar, keeping his dealings in the dark. He would know the fate of Fenton’s brother. Reacher is good at finding people who don’t want to be found, so he offers to help, despite feeling that Fenton is keeping secrets of her own. But a life hangs in the balance. Maybe more than one. But to bring Dendoncker down will be the riskiest job of Reacher's life. Failure is not an option, because in this kind of game, the loser is always better off dead.

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GAME ON
Janet Evanovich
Cover of GAME ON

GAME ON

by Janet Evanovich · Atria

3 wks on list

Stephanie Plum returns to hunt down a new kind of criminal operating out of Trenton in the twenty-eighth book in the wildly popular series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich. When Stephanie Plum is woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of footsteps in her apartment, she wishes she didn’t keep her gun in the cookie jar in her kitchen. And when she finds out the intruder is fellow apprehension agent Diesel, six feet of hard muscle and bad attitude whom she hasn’t seen in more than two years, she still thinks the gun might come in handy. Turns out Diesel and Stephanie are on the trail of the same fugitive: Oswald Wednesday, an international computer hacker as brilliant as he is ruthless. Stephanie may not be the most technologically savvy sleuth, but she more than makes up for that with her dogged determination, her understanding of human nature, and her willingness to do just about anything to bring a fugitive to justice. Unsure if Diesel is her partner or her competition, she’ll need to watch her back every step of the way as she works to draw Wednesday out from behind his computer and into the real world in this “action-packed caper filled with crazy twists and some nail-biting suspense” (Booklist, starred review).

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CLIVE CUSSLER'S THE DEVIL'S SEA
Dirk Cussler
Cover of CLIVE CUSSLER'S THE DEVIL'S SEA

CLIVE CUSSLER'S THE DEVIL'S SEA

by Dirk Cussler · Putnam

1 wks on list

DIRK PITT IS BACK, AND ON HIS SHOULDERS RESTS THE FATE OF THE ENTIRE PLANET . . . JOIN THE LATEST THRILL RIDE FROM THE GRAND MASTER OF ADVENTURE, CLIVE CUSSLER _________ In 1959 a Skytrain plane flees Tibet - carrying a precious artefact - but after crossing the Himalayas it is never seen again . . . Sixty years later Dirk Pitt and NUMA are surveying near the Philippines when a rogue wave nearly sinks their ship. Diverting to rescue washed-away islanders, Pitt discovers the wave has raised a sunken relic - an ancient cargo plane. But before he can get to the bottom of one mystery, Pitt is hit with another: beat the Chinese military to find a lost hypersonic missile. Yet what should be a simple search and retrieve reveals evidence of a far more dangerous weapon. Because the rogue wave that almost sank Pitt and devastated the islands was no natural phenomenon. And the weapon that caused it is to be turned on a much bigger target . . . _________ Praise for Clive Cussler: 'The Adventure King' Sunday Express 'Just about the best in the business' New York Post 'Cussler is hard to beat' Daily Mail

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CLOUD CUCKOO LAND
Anthony Doerr
Cover of CLOUD CUCKOO LAND

CLOUD CUCKOO LAND

by Anthony Doerr · Scribner

8 wks on list

Seleccionado como uno de los mejores libros de ficción del 2021 por Publishers Weekly Finalista del National Book Awards 2021 Uno de los libros favoritos de Obama en el 2021 El esperado regreso del autor de La luz que no puedes ver con una ambiciosa novela llena de imaginación y emoción sobre el poder de la palabra escrita. Los jóvenes héroes de esta novela intentan entender el mundo que les rodea: Anna y Omeir se encuentran en lados opuestos de las magníficas murallas de Constantinopla durante el asedio de la ciudad en 1453; el idealista Seymour está inmerso en un atentado contra una biblioteca en el Idaho de la actualidad; y Konstance viaja a bordo de una nave espacial que se dirige a un nuevo planeta en el futuro. Todos ellos son soñadores que encuentran fuerza y esperanza en la adversidad... y todos están unidos por un libro escrito en la antigua Grecia que narra un viaje excepcional ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Publishers Weekly Best Book 2021 Fiction Longlisted 2021 National Book Awards ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021 From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of All the Light We Cannot See, perhaps the most bestselling and beloved literary fiction of our time, comes a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring novel about children on the cusp of adulthood in a broken world, who find resilience, hope, and story. The heroes of Cloud Cuckoo Land are trying to figure out the world around them: Anna and Omeir, on opposite sides of the formidable city walls during the 1453 siege of Constantinople; teenage idealist Seymour in an attack on a public library in present day Idaho; and Konstance, on an interstellar ship bound for an exoplanet, decades from now. Like Marie-Laure and Werner in All the Light We Cannot See, Anna, Omeir, Seymour, and Konstance are dreamers and outsiders who find resourcefulness and hope in the midst of peril. An ancient text—the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky—provides solace and mystery to these unforgettable characters. Doerr has created a tapestry of times and places that reflects our vast interconnectedness—with other species, with each other, with those who lived before us and those who will be here after we’re gone. Dedicated to “the librarians then, now, and in the years to come,” Cloud Cuckoo Land is a hauntingly beautiful and redemptive novel about stewardship—of the book, of the Earth, of the human heart.

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NEVER
Ken Follett
Cover of NEVER

NEVER

by Ken Follett · Viking Press

2 wks on list

Ken Follett regresa al thriller con una emocionante novela que imagina lo inimaginable: la inminente amenaza de una Tercera Guerra Mundial. Desde el abrasador desierto del Sáhara hasta el Ala Oeste de la Casa Blanca y los corredores del poder de las grandes capitales del mundo, el maestro de la narrativa de acción y suspense imagina un escenario de crisis global sin precedentes en el que un pequeño grupo de personajes comprometidos y tenaces lucha en una carrera contrarreloj. Nunca es un thriller extraordinario, lleno de heroínas y villanos, falsos profetas, agentes de élite, políticos desencantados y cínicos revolucionarios. Envía un mensaje de advertencia para nuestros tiempos y presenta una historia intensa y trepidante que transporta a los lectores hasta el filo de lo inimaginable. «Cuando me documentaba para La caída de los gigantes me impactó darme cuenta de que la Primera Guerra Mundial fue una guerra que nadie quería. Ningún líder europeo de ninguno de los dos bandos tenía intención de que sucediera. Pero, uno por uno, los emperadores y primeros ministros, sin pretender la guerra, tomaron decisiones -decisiones lógicas y moderadas- que nos acercaron un pasito más a uno de los conflictos más terribles que el mundo ha conocido. Y me pregunté: podría suceder de nuevo?» KEN FOLLETT ENGLISH DESCRIPTION The new must-read epic from master storyteller Ken Follett: more than a thriller, it’s an action-packed, globe-spanning drama set in the present day. “A compelling story, and only too realistic.” —Lawrence H. Summers, former U.S. Treasury Secretary “Every catastrophe begins with a little problem that doesn’t get fixed.” So says Pauline Green, president of the United States, in Follett’s nerve-racking drama of international tension. A shrinking oasis in the Sahara Desert; a stolen US Army drone; an uninhabited Japanese island; and one country’s secret stash of deadly chemical poisons: all these play roles in a relentlessly escalating crisis. Struggling to prevent the outbreak of world war are a young woman intelligence officer; a spy working undercover with jihadists; a brilliant Chinese spymaster; and Pauline herself, beleaguered by a populist rival for the next president election. Never is an extraordinary novel, full of heroines and villains, false prophets and elite warriors, jaded politicians and opportunistic revolutionaries. It brims with cautionary wisdom for our times, and a delivers a visceral, heart-pounding read that transports readers to the brink of the unimaginable.

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BILLY SUMMERS
Stephen King
Cover of BILLY SUMMERS

BILLY SUMMERS

by Stephen King · Scribner

16 wks on list

Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong? How about everything. This spectacular can’t-put-it-down novel is part war story, part love letter to small town America and the people who live there, and it features one of the most compelling and surprising duos in King fiction, who set out to avenge the crimes of an extraordinarily evil man. It’s about love, luck, fate, and a complex hero with one last shot at redemption. You won’t put this story down, and you won’t forget Billy.

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TOM CLANCY: CHAIN OF COMMAND
Marc Cameron
Cover of TOM CLANCY: CHAIN OF COMMAND

TOM CLANCY: CHAIN OF COMMAND

by Marc Cameron · Putnam

1 wks on list

The United States has stared down many threats with President Jack Ryan at the helm, but what if he’s not there when we need him? That’s the question facing a nation in the most shocking entry in Tom Clancy's #1 New York Times bestselling series. A shadowy billionaire uses his fortune to further his corrupt ambitions. Along the way, he’s toppled democratically elected governments and exacerbated divisions within stable nations. The competitors he’s destroyed, the people he’s hurt, they’re all just marks on a ledger. Now, he’s ready to implement his most ambitious plan of all. There’s only one force standing in his way—President Jack Ryan. How do you compel a man like Jack Ryan to bend? He’s personally faced down everything from the Russian navy to cartel killers. It will take more than political headwinds or media disfavor to cause him to turn from his duty to the American people, but every man has an Achilles heel. Jack Ryan’s is his family. The answer is as simple as it is shocking. The billionaire has assembled an international team of the most ruthless mercenaries alive. Their mission—kidnap the First Lady.

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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY
Matt Haig
Cover of THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY

THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY

by Matt Haig · Viking Press

50 wks on list

Between life and death there is a library. When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?

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THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME
Laura Dave
Cover of THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME

THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME

by Laura Dave · Simon & Schuster

* OVER TWO MILLION COPIES SOLD * * THE NO.1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * * THE RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK * * THE REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK * _______________________________________ * NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES ON APPLE TV+ STARRING JENNIFER GARNER * 'The ultimate page turner' - REESE WITHERSPOON 'Powerful, intense and beautifully observed' - T.M. LOGAN 'A brilliant thriller' - JANE CASEY IT WAS THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME: PROTECT HER Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his new wife, Hannah: protect her. Hannah knows exactly who Owen needs her to protect - his teenage daughter, Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. And who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother. As her desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, his boss is arrested for fraud and the police start questioning her, Hannah realises that her husband isn't who he said he was. And that Bailey might hold the key to discovering Owen's true identity, and why he disappeared. Together they set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen's past, they soon realise that their lives will never be the same again... Now a major Apple TV+ series starring Jennifer Garner and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, discover the book that everyone is talking about...

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