TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of October 29, 2023

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1
FOURTH WING
Rebecca Yarros
Cover of FOURTH WING

FOURTH WING

by Rebecca Yarros · Red Tower

22 wks at #1 · 23 on list

As war grows more deadly, Violet Sorrengail joins the elite Navarre: the dragon riders. But she'll need to keep her wits because once you enter the Basgiath War College, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

3
HOLLY
Stephen King
Cover of HOLLY

HOLLY

by Stephen King · Scribner

6 wks on list

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl's desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down

4
NEW
SWORD CATCHER
Cassandra Clare
Cover of SWORD CATCHER

SWORD CATCHER

by Cassandra Clare · Del Rey

1 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Two outcasts find themselves caught in a web of dangerous magic and dark secrets that could change the world forever in the start of a riveting epic fantasy series from the author of The Shadowhunter Chronicles. “Everything I look for in fantasy.”—George R. R. Martin A POPSUGAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power, and the next hedonistic thrill. Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword Catcher—the body double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He and Conor are as close as brothers, but his destiny is to die for Conor. No other future is possible. Lin Caster is a physician from a small community whose members still possess magical abilities. But despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend without access to forbidden knowledge. After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the ruler of Castellane’s criminal underworld. But as long-kept secrets begin to unravel and forbidden attractions arise, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?

5
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BLOOD LINES
Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille

BLOOD LINES

by Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille · Scribner

1 wks on list

"Army Criminal Investigation Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor have been separated for five months following their last assignment, a dangerous mission in Venezuela to locate and detain an infamous Army deserter. Now, in Berlin, they are reunited and tasked with investigating the murder of one of their own: CID Special Agent Harry Vance of the 5th MP Battalion, an accomplished counterterrorism agent who had been stationed in western Germany, and whose body was discovered in a city park in the heart of Berlin's Arab refugee community. The authorities suspect this is an act of Islamic terrorism, but Brodie and Taylor soon believe there is more to this case. The reason for Vance's presence in Berlin is unknown, and as Brodie and Taylor work to discover what the murder victim was doing in the days and weeks preceding his death, they become immersed in the many conflicts and contradictions of modern Germany-the Arab refugee crisis, the dark legacy of the Cold War and the Stasi secret police, and the imminent threats of a rising neo-Nazi movement. At the same time, they are butting heads with the authorities--both German and American--and facing a possible threat from American intelligence agents who fear that Brodie and Taylor might have learned too much about US clandestine operations during their mission in Venezuela. Ultimately, Brodie and Taylor realize that the murder of Harry Vance was merely the prelude to a much more sinister future event--unless they can unravel the mystery in time to stop it."--

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TOM LAKE
Ann Patchett

TOM LAKE

by Ann Patchett · Harper

11 wks on list

In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America's finest writers. "Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature." --The Guardian In the spring of 2020, Lara's three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew. Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.

9
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12 MONTHS TO LIVE
James Patterson and Mike Lupica
Cover of 12 MONTHS TO LIVE

12 MONTHS TO LIVE

by James Patterson and Mike Lupica · Little, Brown

'The phenomenal Patterson, one of the great storytellers of our time, does not often produce a new character, but he does here to stunning effect' Daily Mail 'A gutsy heroine. A ticking clock. A breathless pace. Wow! This one had me reeling' JANE CORRY 'Compelling' Crime Monthly _____________________ Her name is Jane Smith. But to friends and foes, she's Jane Effing Smith. Why? Because she's the best criminal defence attorney in the Hamptons - the elite world of New York's rich and infamous. Because she's as good an investigator as she is a lawyer. Because she's tough. She's strong. As Jane is preparing to defend a high-profile client accused of a triple homicide, she's also hired to revive a cold case - a cluster of unsolved murders. Then another bombshell lands. A devastating medical diagnosis. Terminal. She's got a year to live. But for now, she has a trial to win. Unless one of her many enemies kills her first. ____________________________ Readers are loving 12 Months to Live! 'You are going to love Jane Smith! She is a fantastic new character from one of my favourite authors' 'Wow what a book! I could not put it down' 'I loved it from start to finish' 'A fast, easy to read, enjoyable and entertaining read' 'Punchy, fast-paced and totally absorbing' ________________________________ PRAISE FOR JAMES PATTERSON 'The master storyteller of our times' HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON 'It's no mystery why James Patterson is the world's most popular thriller writer ... Simply put: nobody does it better.' JEFFERY DEAVER 'No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades.' LEE CHILD 'Patterson boils a scene down to the single, telling detail, the element that defines a character or moves a plot along. It's what fires off the movie projector in the reader's mind.' MICHAEL CONNELLY 'James Patterson is The Boss. End of.' IAN RANKIN 'One of the greatest storytellers of all time' PATRICIA CORNWELL 'Patterson knows where our deepest fears are buried ... there's no stopping his imagination' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW 'Patterson is in a class by himself' GUARDIAN

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DEMON COPPERHEAD
Barbara Kingsolver
Cover of DEMON COPPERHEAD

DEMON COPPERHEAD

by Barbara Kingsolver · Harper

WINNER OF THE 2023 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION A New York Times "Ten Best Books of 2022 * An Oprah's Book Club Selection * An Instant New York Times Bestseller * An Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller * A #1 Washington Post Bestseller "Demon is a voice for the ages--akin to Huck Finn or Holden Caulfield--only even more resilient." --Beth Macy, author of Dopesick "May be the best novel of 2022. . . . Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, this is the story of an irrepressible boy nobody wants, but readers will love." (Ron Charles, Washington Post) From the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees, a brilliant novel that enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero's unforgettable journey to maturity Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities. Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens' anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can't imagine leaving behind.

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