TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of December 15, 2024

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THE WOMEN
Kristin Hannah

THE WOMEN

by Kristin Hannah · St. Martin's

22 wks at #1 · 43 on list
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THE HOUSE OF CROSS
James Patterson
Cover of THE HOUSE OF CROSS

THE HOUSE OF CROSS

by James Patterson · Little, Brown

1 wks on list

The latest instalment in James Patterson's globally bestselling Alex Cross series. Now a major PRIME VIDEO original series. _____________________________________________ It’s time to put the guns down, Detective Cross. Even if you knew the way out of this place, we would catch you. A serial killer is taking out America’s finest legals minds, and Alex Cross is called to investigate their brutal murders. But during a dangerous mission to track down the killer, his wife, Bree, and best friend, John Sampson, go missing. To save the people he loves most, Cross has only three goals. Number one: Find Bree and John. Number two: Escape. Number three: Survive. If he fails, there will be no one left in the House of Cross. ___________________________________________ PRAISE FOR THE ALEX CROSS SERIES 'Patterson never, and I mean never, disappoints' USA Today 'Behind all the noise and the numbers, we shouldn't forget that 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 'Alex Cross is a legend' Harlan Coben 'Alex Cross ... only gets better and better' Lisa Scottoline 'I wrote, "Along Came a Spider is the best thriller I've come across in many a year. It deserves to be this season's no. 1 bestseller and should instantly make James Patterson a household name." A household name, indeed' Nelson DeMille '[Alex Cross] has become one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time, a character for the ages' Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

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NOW OR NEVER
Janet Evanovich
Cover of NOW OR NEVER

NOW OR NEVER

by Janet Evanovich · Atria

2 wks on list

Hit the beach with three funny, fast-paced summer reads, including a smokin’ hot Stephanie Plum novel—now in a special ebook bundle from #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich! In THE HEIST, Evanovich teams up with Lee Goldberg, bestselling author and television writer for Monk, for the first adventure in an electrifying series featuring Kate O’Hare, an FBI agent who always gets her man, and Nicolas Fox, a fearless con artist who lives for the chase. In WICKED BUSINESS, Lizzy Tucker’s once normal life as a pastry chef in Salem, Massachusetts, turns upside down as she battles both sinister forces and an inconvenient attraction to her unnaturally talented but off-limits partner, Diesel. And in SMOKIN’ SEVENTEEN, Stephanie Plum is under pressure to choose between her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and the bad boy in her life, security expert Ranger. With a cold-blooded killer after her, a handful of hot men, and a capture list that includes a dancing bear and a senior citizen vampire, Stephanie’s life looks like it’s about to go up in smoke. Also includes excerpts from The Chase, Wicked Charms, and Explosive Eighteen as well as a preview of the first book in Janet Evanovich’s upcoming Knight and Moon series, Curious Minds, with co-author Phoef Sutton! Praise for Janet Evanovich “No less than her plotting, Evanovich’s characterizations are models of screwball artistry. . . . The intricate plot machinery of her comic capers is fueled by inventive twists.”—The New York Times “[Evanovich’s novels are] among the great joys of contemporary crime fiction.”—GQ “Chutzpah and sheer comic inventiveness . . . The Evanovich/Plum books [are] good fun.”—The Washington Post “Laugh-out-loud funny.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Brilliantly evocative.”—The Denver Post “The Heist is the perfect title to carry on a trip to the beach. The laugh out loud humor that readers expect from Evanovich is in full force, and [Lee] Goldberg’s crafty and elaborate writing is prominent. . . . Everyone will be eager for the next book in the series.”—Associated Press “[The Fox and O’Hare series mixes] the humor from Evanovich and Goldberg’s books with the intricate cons seen in the best episodes of Mission: Impossible.”—Library Journal

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COUNTING MIRACLES
Nicholas Sparks
Cover of COUNTING MIRACLES

COUNTING MIRACLES

by Nicholas Sparks · Random House

10 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the acclaimed author of The Longest Ride and The Notebook comes an emotional, powerful novel about wondering if we can change—or even make our peace with—the path we’ve taken. “Sparks is superb at what he does. The setting is postcard perfect. The characters are immensely likable. . . . This is a tidy miracle you can count on.”—The Washington Post Tanner Hughes was raised by his grandparents, following in his grandfather’s military footsteps to become an Army Ranger. His whole life has been spent abroad, and he is the proverbial rolling stone: happiest when off on his next adventure, zero desire to settle down. But when his grandmother passes away, her last words to him are find where you belong. She also drops a bombshell, telling him the name of the father he never knew—and where to find him. Tanner is due at his next posting soon, but his curiosity is piqued, and he sets out for Asheboro, North Carolina, to ask around. He’s been in town less than twenty-four hours when he meets Kaitlyn Cooper, a doctor and single mom. They both feel an immediate connection; Tanner knows Kaitlyn has a story to tell, and he wants to hear it. To Kaitlyn, Tanner is mysterious, exciting—and possibly leaving in just a few weeks. Meanwhile, nearby, eighty-three-year-old Jasper lives alone in a cabin bordering a national forest. With only his old dog, Arlo, for company, he lives quietly, haunted by a tragic accident that took place decades before. When he hears rumors that a white deer has been spotted in the forest—a creature of legend that inspired his father and grandfather—he becomes obsessed with protecting the deer from poachers. As these characters’ fates orbit closer together, none of them is expecting a miracle . . . but that may be exactly what is about to alter their futures forever.

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IRON FLAME
Rebecca Yarros
Cover of IRON FLAME

IRON FLAME

by Rebecca Yarros · Red Tower

56 wks on list

"Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College--Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky. Now the real training begins, and Violet's already wondering how she'll get through. It's not just that it's grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it's designed to stretch the riders' capacity for pain beyond endurance. It's the new vice commandant, who's made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is-unless she betrays the man she loves. Although Violet's body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else's, she still has her wits--and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules. But a determination to survive won't be enough this year. Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College--and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end." --

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CHRISTMAS IN BETHEL
Richard Paul Evans
Cover of CHRISTMAS IN BETHEL

CHRISTMAS IN BETHEL

by Richard Paul Evans · Gallery

1 wks on list

From Richard Paul Evans, the New York Times bestselling author of The Christmas Promise and The Christmas Box—“the most popular holiday tale since Tiny Tim” (Newsweek)—a new novel celebrating the life-changing power of the holiday spirit. Leigh Beth Stilton has never liked the holidays. After growing up in an unstable home, escaping an abusive marriage, and witnessing daily tragedies as an EMT, Leigh just can’t bring herself to care about Christmas cheer. In fact, she’s so convinced she’s not worth loving that one winter’s eve, she decides she can’t go on—until she comes across a book called Bethel and starts to read. Leigh is unfamiliar with the author, J.D. Harper, but his words speak directly to her. She’s never felt so seen and understood, and this connection gives her the strength to carry on. She avidly reads every novel Harper has written, and when he comes to town for a book signing, she jumps at the opportunity to meet the writer who means so much to her. In a twist of fate, Leigh runs into J.D. in a coffee shop, and the two immediately click. Before she knows it, she’s swept up in a whirlwind of fancy dinners, exciting travel, and the attention of the man whose work has been so meaningful to her. But she’s leery after a lifetime of pain and when she discovers that J.D. hasn’t been completely honest, her hopes are dashed. Can they find their way back to each other and can Leigh learn to trust her heart?

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TO DIE FOR
David Baldacci
Cover of TO DIE FOR

TO DIE FOR

by David Baldacci · Grand Central

3 wks on list

From a #1 New York Times bestselling author, the 6:20 Man returns, this time sent to the Pacific Northwest to aid in a complicated FBI case—and he’s about to come face-to-face with his nemesis. Travis Devine has become a pro at accomplishing any mission he's given. But this time it’s not his skills that send him to Seattle to aid the FBI in escorting orphaned, twelve-year-old Betsy Odom to a meeting with her uncle, who’s under federal investigation. Instead, he’s hoping to lay low and keep off the radar of an enemy—the girl on the train. But as Devine gets to know Betsy, questions begin to arise around the death of her parents. Devine digs for answers, and what he finds points to a conspiracy bigger than he could’ve ever imagined. It might finally be time for Devine and the girl on the train to come face-to-face. Devine is going to find out the difference between his friends and his enemies—and in some cases, they might well be both.

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THE MIRROR
Nora Roberts
10
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WICKED
Gregory Maguire
Cover of WICKED

WICKED

by Gregory Maguire · Morrow

1 wks on list

The New York Times bestseller and basis for the Tony Award-winning hit musical, soon to be a major motion picture starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. With millions of copies in print around the world, Gregory Maguire's Wicked is established not only as a commentary on our time but as a novel to revisit for years to come. Wicked relishes the inspired inventions of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, while playing sleight of hand with our collective memories of the 1939 MGM film starring Margaret Hamilton (and Judy Garland). In this fast-paced, fantastically real, and supremely entertaining novel, Maguire has populated the largely unknown world of Oz with the power of his own imagination. Years before Dorothy and her dog crash-land, another little girl makes her presence known in Oz. This girl, Elphaba, is born with emerald-green skin--no easy burden in a land as mean and poor as Oz, where superstition and magic are not strong enough to explain or overcome the natural disasters of flood and famine. Still, Elphaba is smart, and by the time she enters Shiz University, she becomes a member of a charmed circle of Oz's most promising young citizens. But Elphaba's Oz is no utopia. The Wizard's secret police are everywhere. Animals--those creatures with voices, souls, and minds--are threatened with exile. Young Elphaba, green and wild and misunderstood, is determined to protect the Animals--even if it means combating the mysterious Wizard, even if it means risking her single chance at romance. Ever wiser in guilt and sorrow, she can find herself grateful when the world declares her a witch. And she can even make herself glad for that young girl from Kansas. Recognized as an iconoclastic tour de force on its initial publication, the novel has inspired the blockbuster musical of the same name--one of the longest-running plays in Broadway history. Popular, indeed. But while the novel's distant cousins hail from the traditions of magical realism, mythopoeic fantasy, and sprawling nineteenth-century sagas of moral urgency, Maguire's Wicked is as unique as its green-skinned witch.

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YOU LIKE IT DARKER
Stephen King
Cover of YOU LIKE IT DARKER

YOU LIKE IT DARKER

by Stephen King · Scribner

15 wks on list

** With a bonus story for the paperback edition. ** 'You like it darker? Fine, so do I' writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of stories that delve into the darker part of life - both metaphorical and literal. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys and mysteries; each feels iconic. In 'Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream', a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny's most catastrophically. 'Rattlesnakes', a sequel to Cujo, sees a grieving widower travel to Florida for respite and instead receive an unexpected inheritance - with major strings attached. 'The Answer Man' asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful. King writes to feel 'the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind' and his ability to surprise, amaze and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. You like it darker? You got it. 'As classic as King's novels are, his shorter fiction has been just as gripping over the years' USA Today 'One of the great storytellers of our time' Guardian

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HER SOUL TO TAKE
Harley Laroux
Cover of HER SOUL TO TAKE

HER SOUL TO TAKE

by Harley Laroux · Kensington

1 wks on list

*** DELUXE LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER with exclusive content, stenciled edges, reversible dust jacket, foil stamping, and designed endpapers!*** Like Buffy or The Vampire Diaries but with tons more spice, a titillating fork-tongued demon, and a ritualistic monster cult, the edgy dark romance that set TikTok on fire is now available as a special deluxe, extremely limited edition hardcover for fans of Scarlett St. Claire, Penelope Douglas, and Katee Robert. Leon My reputation among magicians is unblemished. Killer, they call me; killing is what I’m best at. One wrong move and you’re dead. Except her. The one I was supposed to take, the one I should have killed. The cult that once controlled me wants her, but I’m not about to lose my new toy to them. Rae I’ve always believed in the supernatural. Hunting for ghosts is my passion, but summoning a demon was never part of the plan. Monsters are roaming the woods, and something ancient—something evil—is waking up . . . and calling my name. I don’t know who I can trust, or how deep this darkness goes. All I know is my one shot at survival is the demon stalking me, and he doesn’t just want my body—he wants my soul.

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IN TOO DEEP
Lee Child and Andrew Child
Cover of IN TOO DEEP

IN TOO DEEP

by Lee Child and Andrew Child · Delacorte Press

READ A FREE PREVIEW OF THE EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT, HEART-IN-YOUR-MOUTH NEW JACK REACHER THRILLER Reacher had no idea where he was. No idea how he had got there. But someone must have brought him. And shackled him. And whoever had done those things was going to rue the day. That was for damn sure. Jack Reacher wakes up, alone, in the dark, handcuffed to a makeshift bed. His right arm has suffered some major damage. His few possessions are gone. He has no memory of getting there. The last thing Reacher can recall is the car he hitched a ride in getting run off the road. The driver was killed. His captors assume Reacher was the driver's accomplice and patch up his wounds as they plan to make him talk. A plan that will backfire spectacularly . . . 'There's only one Jack Reacher. Accept no substitutes.' MICK HERRON ---- Read the first chapter for free - perfect for your next coffee break!

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