TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of October 19, 2003

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THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN
Mitch Albom
Cover of THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN

THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN

by Mitch Albom · Hyperion

7 wks at #1 · 2 on list

Plot Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him, as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It's a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "Why was I here" Personal Details Collection Status In Collection Index 10 Read It Yes Links Amazon US Product Details LoC Classification PS3601.L335F59 2003 Dewey 813/.6

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SPLIT SECOND
David Baldacci
Cover of SPLIT SECOND

SPLIT SECOND

by David Baldacci · Warner

1 wks on list

Two Secret Service agents sworn to guard their protectees lost them in a single moment . . . and in this #1 New York Times bestseller, they're about to learn that the violence has just begun. Michelle Maxwell has just wrecked her promising career at the Secret Service. Against her instincts, she let a presidential candidate out of her sight for the briefest moment and the man whose safety was her responsibility vanished into thin air. ​Sean King knows how the younger agent feels. Eight years earlier, the hard-charging Secret Service agent allowed his attention to be diverted for a split second. And the candidate he was protecting was gunned down before his eyes. Now Michelle and Sean are about to see their destinies converge. Drawn into a maze of lies, secrets, and deadly coincidences, the two discredited agents uncover a shocking truth: that the separate acts of violence that shattered their lives were really a long time in the making—and are a long way from over.

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BLEACHERS
John Grisham
Cover of BLEACHERS

BLEACHERS

by John Grisham · Doubleday

4 wks on list

Books are leather-bound, signed and numbered, with printed endpapers, gold stamping, a slipcase, and a ribbon marker. High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty. Now, as Coach Rake's "boys" sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old games, relive the old glories, and try to decide once and for all whether they love Eddie Rake--or hate him. For Neely Crenshaw, a man who must finally forgive his coach--and himself--before he can get on with his life, the stakes are especially high.

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THE DA VINCI CODE
Dan Brown
Cover of THE DA VINCI CODE

THE DA VINCI CODE

by Dan Brown · Doubleday

29 wks on list

THE #1 WORLDWIDE BESTSELLING PHENOMENON, WITH MORE THAN 85 MILLION COPIES SOLD “Blockbuster perfection . . . a gleefully erudite suspense novel.” —The New York Times “A pulse-quickening, brain-teasing adventure.” —People While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and gifted French cryptologist Sophie Neveu sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter. Even more startling, the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion, a secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, and he guarded a breathtaking historical secret. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle—while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move—the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever. Robert Langdon returns in The Lost Symbol, Inferno, Origin, and The Secret of Secrets (coming soon)!

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THE WEDDING
Nicholas Sparks
Cover of THE WEDDING
6
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A PERFECT DAY
Richard Paul Evans
Cover of A PERFECT DAY

A PERFECT DAY

by Richard Paul Evans · Dutton

1 wks on list

One of the world's most beloved authors returns with the story of a man who found everything he thought he was missing in the family he already had. Robert Harlan has three loves in his life: his wife, Allyson, his daughter, Carson, and his writing. As a sales rep for a small radio station, he has hopes of one day leaving it all behind for a successful writing career. When he is unexpectedly laid off from his job, Allyson encourages him to pursue his dream of writing. He writes a novel entitled A Perfect Day, based on the last few months Allyson and her father spent together as he died of cancer. The story becomes a huge success and Robert finds himself swept into a new world far from his wife and home. In time Robert loses track of the things he loves most...until he meets a stranger who begins telling him intimate details about his past, his present and, most important, the brevity of his future. Thinking that he has just months to live, Robert begins to discover the truth about himself; who he has become, what he has lost and what it will take to find love again. A Perfect Day is a novel of love and awakening from one of the world's most beloved storytellers.

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REMEMBER WHEN
Nora Roberts and J. D. Robb
Cover of REMEMBER WHEN

REMEMBER WHEN

by Nora Roberts and J. D. Robb · Putnam

3 wks on list

A #1 New York Times Bestselling AuthorLike the lovely Vermont inn she managed, B. J. Clark was charming and old-fashioned. And she had no intention of allowing the new owner, hotel tycoon Taylor Reynolds, to modernize her beloved inn and destroy its uniqueness. Taylor lived a fast-paced, high-tech sophisticated life. But his fascination with this innocent enchantress made him long to live in B. J.'s arms from this day until forever.

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LORD JOHN AND THE PRIVATE MATTER
Diana Gabaldon
Cover of LORD JOHN AND THE PRIVATE MATTER

LORD JOHN AND THE PRIVATE MATTER

by Diana Gabaldon · Delacorte Press

1 wks on list

A gripping fantasy historical adventure from the international #1 bestselling author of the OUTLANDER series. ______________ The year is 1757. On a bright June day, Lord John Grey emerges from his club, his mind in turmoil. A nobleman and a high-ranking officer in His Majesty's Army, Grey has just witnessed something shocking. But his efforts to avoid a scandal that might destroy his family are interrupted by something still more urgent: the Crown appoints him to investigate the brutal murder of a comrade-in-arms, who might well have been a traitor. Obliged to pursue two inquiries at once, Major Grey finds himself ensnared in a web of treachery and betrayal that touches every level of society - and threatens all he holds dear. From the bawdy-houses of London's night world to the drawing rooms of the nobility, from the blood of a murdered corpse to the thundering seas of the East India Company, Lord John follows the elusive trail of the woman in green who may hold the key to everything - or to nothing at all. The early days of the Seven Years War come brilliantly to life in this historical adventure mystery by the acclaimed author whose unique and compelling storytelling has engrossed millions of readers worldwide. ______________ Readers can't get enough of Lord John And The Private Matter . . . ***** 'This was a fun, suspenseful, historically interesting read.' ***** 'Good read for Outlander fans.' ***** 'If you love Gabaldon's writing and murder mystery novels, then this is the book for you.' ***** 'I was skeptical to start this series but once I started I couldn't put it down. I now have a book hangover.' ***** 'Great! Funny and gripping, totally entertaining.'

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STONE COLD
Robert B. Parker
Cover of STONE COLD

STONE COLD

by Robert B. Parker · Putnam

1 wks on list

In Stone Cold, Jesse Stone has a problem no officer of the law likes to face: Dead bodies keep appearing, but clues do not.

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AVENGER
Frederick Forsyth
Cover of AVENGER

AVENGER

by Frederick Forsyth · Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's

1 wks on list

Frederick Forsyth is back with Avenger! A heart-stopping thriller of murder, intrigue, deception, and revenge Attorney Calvin Dexter hangs his shingle in a quiet New Jersey town, has a reasonably successful practice, and takes the hills strong while triathlon training. But Dexter is no ordinary lawyer. On Sundays, he reads the paper and shuffles around his dark, empty house, trying to forget about a life he has lost forever. Until, of course, Dexter reads something in the papers that sends him the necessary signal. Until one of the handful who know of Dexter's other life tries to contact him. For in a world that has forgotten right and wrong, few can settle a score like Cal Dexter can. But the game is changing, and this time CIA agent Kevin McBride must find a way to stop Dexter before his quest for vengeance throws the world into chaos.

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BLACKLIST
Sara Paretsky
Cover of BLACKLIST

BLACKLIST

by Sara Paretsky · Putnam

1 wks on list

Chicago detective V.I. Warshawski investigates the murder of an African-American reporter and walks into a web of sex, politics, corruption, and secrecy spanning fifty years--from the McCarthy era to the Patriot Act--that could ultimately kill her.

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LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS
James Lee Burke
Cover of LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS

LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS

by James Lee Burke · Simon & Schuster

2 wks on list

Sheriff Dave Robicheaux returns to New Orleans to investigate the beating of a controversial Catholic priest and murder of three teenage girls in this intense, atmospheric entry in the New York Times bestselling series. For Dave Robicheaux, there is no easy passage home. New Orleans, and the memories of his life in the Big Easy, will always haunt him. So to return there means visiting old ghosts, exposing old wounds, opening himself up to new, yet familiar, dangers. When Robicheaux, now a police officer based in the somewhat quieter Louisiana town of New Iberia, learns that an old friend, Father Jimmie Dolan, a Catholic priest always at the center of controversy, has been the victim of a particularly brutal assault, he knows he has to return to New Orleans to investigate, if only unofficially. What he doesn’t realize is that in doing so he is inviting into his life—and into the lives of those around him—an ancestral evil that could destroy them all. A masterful exploration of the troubled side of human nature and the darkest corners of the heart, and filled with the kinds of unforgettable characters that are the hallmarks of his novels, Last Car to Elysian Fields is Burke in top form in the kind of lush, atmospheric thriller that is “an outstanding entry in an excellent series” (Publishers Weekly).

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