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Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of November 24, 2013

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1
SYCAMORE ROW
John Grisham
Cover of SYCAMORE ROW

SYCAMORE ROW

by John Grisham · Doubleday

6 wks at #1 · 3 on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • John Grisham returns to the iconic setting of his first novel, A Time to Kill, as Jake Brigance finds himself embroiled in a controversial trial that exposes a tortured history of racial tension. “Welcome back, Jake. . . . [Brigance] is one of the most fully developed and engaging characters in all of Grisham’s novels.”—USA Today Seth Hubbard is a wealthy white man dying of lung cancer. He trusts no one. Before he hangs himself from a sycamore tree, Hubbard leaves a new, handwritten will. It is an act that drags his adult children, his black maid, and defense attorney Jake Brigance into a conflict as riveting and dramatic as the murder trial that made Brigance one of Ford County’s most notorious citizens, just three years earlier. The second will raises many more questions than it answers. Why would Hubbard leave nearly all of his fortune to his maid? Had chemotherapy and painkillers affected his ability to think clearly? And what does it all have to do with a piece of land once known as Sycamore Row? Look for all of John Grisham’s gripping Jake Brigance novels: A Time to Kill Sycamore Row A Time for Mercy

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MIRAGE
Clive Cussler with Jack Du Brul
Cover of MIRAGE

MIRAGE

by Clive Cussler with Jack Du Brul · Putnam

1 wks on list

When a high-profile Russian prisoner warns of a deadly weapon designed by one of America's greatest inventors, Juan Cabrillo and the Oregon crew must race to uncover the truth in this adventure in the #1 New York Times–bestselling series. In October 1943, a U.S. destroyer sailed out of Philadelphia and supposedly vanished, the result of a Navy experiment with electromagnetic radiation. The story was considered a hoax—but now Juan Cabrillo and his Oregon colleagues aren’t so sure. There is talk of a new weapon soon to be auctioned, something very dangerous to America’s interests, and the rumors link it to the great inventor Nikola Tesla, who was working with the Navy when he died in 1943. Was he responsible for the experiment? Are his notes in the hands of enemies? As Cabrillo races to find the truth, he discovers there is even more at stake than he could have imagined—but by the time he realizes it, he may already be too late.

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THE GOLDFINCH
Donna Tartt
Cover of THE GOLDFINCH

THE GOLDFINCH

by Donna Tartt · Little, Brown

3 wks on list

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION Theo Decker, aged thirteen, is left alone in the world after surviving a catastrophe that kills his only close relative - his mother - and tears him away from everything he knows. Tormented by grief, drifting from home to home, he grows increasingly obsessed with a small, enchanting work of art which dominates his imagination and ultimately draws him, as an adult, into a much darker life than he could ever have foreseen. 'A masterpiece' The Times 'Astonishing' Guardian 'Superb' Daily Mail 'A gripping page turner' Independent on Sunday 'A triumph' Stephen King 'Dazzling' New York Times

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THE MINOR ADJUSTMENT BEAUTY SALON
Alexander McCall Smith
Cover of THE MINOR ADJUSTMENT BEAUTY SALON

THE MINOR ADJUSTMENT BEAUTY SALON

by Alexander McCall Smith · Pantheon

1 wks on list

THE FOURTEENTH BOOK IN THE BELOVED NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIES The one with the one hundred per cent new addition . . . There are joyful tidings at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency with the arrival of Mma Makutsi's baby. However, while her assistant is busy with motherhood, Mma Ramotswe must tackle tea-making and detective work alone. Well-known troublemaker Violet Sephotho may or may not be behind a smear campaign against the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, and a dispute over the will of a local dignitary points to a shocking family secret. But the agency is resilient, adaptable and open to useful lessons - in particular, that our enemies and allies are not always obvious.

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THE ALL-GIRL FILLING STATION'S LAST REUNION
Fannie Flagg
Cover of THE ALL-GIRL FILLING STATION'S LAST REUNION

THE ALL-GIRL FILLING STATION'S LAST REUNION

by Fannie Flagg · Random House

1 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. The one and only Fannie Flagg, beloved author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven, and I Still Dream About You, is at her hilarious and superb best in this new comic mystery novel about two women who are forced to reimagine who they are. Mrs. Sookie Poole of Point Clear, Alabama, has just married off the last of her daughters and is looking forward to relaxing and perhaps traveling with her husband, Earle. The only thing left to contend with is her mother, the formidable Lenore Simmons Krackenberry. Lenore may be a lot of fun for other people, but is, for the most part, an overbearing presence for her daughter. Then one day, quite by accident, Sookie discovers a secret about her mother’s past that knocks her for a loop and suddenly calls into question everything she ever thought she knew about herself, her family, and her future. Sookie begins a search for answers that takes her to California, the Midwest, and back in time, to the 1940s, when an irrepressible woman named Fritzi takes on the job of running her family’s filling station. Soon truck drivers are changing their routes to fill up at the All-Girl Filling Station. Then, Fritzi sees an opportunity for an even more groundbreaking adventure. As Sookie learns about the adventures of the girls at the All-Girl Filling Station, she finds herself with new inspiration for her own life. Fabulous, fun-filled, spanning decades and generations, and centered on a little-known aspect of America’s twentieth-century story, The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion is another irresistible novel by the remarkable Fannie Flagg. Praise for The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion “A beautifully told tale, world-class humor, and characters who live forever in a grateful reader’s world. Fannie Flagg keeps getting better and better. The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion proves it.”—Pat Conroy “If all the self-help books that promote ways to ‘find yourself’ were stacked in an enormous pile . . . none would approach the sweet wisdom with which Flagg infuses The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch “It’s Flagg’s pleasure to hit her characters with several happy endings, but the real happiness is that she’s given us another lovable—and quirky—novel.”—The Washington Post

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DOCTOR SLEEP
Stephen King
Cover of DOCTOR SLEEP

DOCTOR SLEEP

by Stephen King · Scribner

7 wks on list

From master storyteller Stephen King, his unforgettable and terrifying sequel to The Shining—an instant #1 New York Times bestseller that is “[a] vivid frightscape” (The New York Times)—also a major motion picture starring Ewan McGregor! Years ago, the haunting of the Overlook Hotel nearly broke young Dan Torrance’s sanity, as his paranormal gift known as “the shining” opened a door straight into hell. And even though Dan is all grown up, the ghosts of the Overlook—and his father’s legacy of alcoholism and violence—kept him drifting aimlessly for most of his life. Now, Dan has finally found some order in the chaos by working in a local hospice, earning the nickname “Doctor Sleep” by secretly using his special abilities to comfort the dying and prepare them for the afterlife. But when he unexpectedly meets twelve-year-old Abra Stone—who possesses an even more powerful manifestation of the shining—the two find their lives in sudden jeopardy at the hands of the ageless and murderous nomadic tribe known as the True Knot, reigniting Dan’s own demons and summoning him to battle for this young girl’s soul and survival...

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THE LONGEST RIDE
Nicholas Sparks
Cover of THE LONGEST RIDE

THE LONGEST RIDE

by Nicholas Sparks · Grand Central

8 wks on list

Ninety-one year old Ira Levinson is in trouble. Struggling to stay conscious after a car crash, with his mind fading, an image of his beloved, and long-dead, wife Ruth appears. Urging him to hang on, she lovingly recounts the joys and sorrows of their life together - how they met, the dark days of WWII, and its unrelenting effect on their families. A few miles away, college student Sophia Danko's life is about to change. Recovering from a break-up, she meets the young, rugged Luke and is thrown into a world far removed from her privileged school life. Sophia sees a new and tantalising future for herself, but Luke has a secret which threatens it all. Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples, separated by years and experience, whose lives are about to converge in the most unexpected - and shocking - of ways. The new epic love story from the multi-million-copy bestselling author of The Notebook, The Lucky One and The Best of Me. Nicholas Sparks is one of the world's most beloved authors.

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WINNERS
Danielle Steel
Cover of WINNERS

WINNERS

by Danielle Steel · Delacorte Press

2 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Even the most perfect lives can be shattered in an instant. In this moving, emotionally charged novel, Danielle Steel introduces readers to an unforgettable cast of characters striving to overcome tragedy and discover the inner resources and resilience to win at life—once again. WINNERS Lily Thomas is an aspiring ski champion training for the Olympics, a young woman with her heart set on winning the gold. But in one moment, Lily’s future is changed forever, her hopes for the Olympics swept away in a tragic accident. Dr. Jessie Matthews, the neurosurgeon who operates on her that night, endures a tragedy of her own, and instantly becomes the sole support of her four young children, while her own future hangs in the balance. Bill, Lily’s father, has pinned all his hopes on his only daughter, his dreams now shattered. Other lives will entwine themselves with theirs: Joe, a financial manager, faces a ruined career at the hand of a dishonest partner. Carole, a psychologist at Mass General, is a breast cancer survivor, her body and heart scarred by what she’s been through. Teddy, with a spinal cord injury worse than Lily’s, dreams of college and becoming an artist. From the ashes of their lives, six people fight to alter the course of destiny and refuse to be defeated. When Bill builds a remarkable rehab facility for his daughter, countless lives are forever altered, and each becomes a winner. Winners is about refusing to be beaten, no matter how insurmountable the challenge. And when Lily gets on skis again and enters the Paralympics, the battle to brave life again is won. Winners is about more than surviving, it is about courage, victory, and triumph. When all appears to be lost, the battle has just begun. Praise for Winners “Steel skillfully weaves the strands of the Matthews and Thomas families together in a layered story. . . . Together, they discover friendship, loyalty, and new dreams.”—Publishers Weekly “[Winners] will leave readers crying and cheering.”—Booklist

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S.
Doug Dorst
Cover of S.

S.

by Doug Dorst · Mulholland/Little, Brown

2 wks on list

A young woman picks up a book left behind by a stranger. Inside it are his margin notes, which reveal a reader entranced by the story and by its mysterious author. She responds with notes of her own, leaving the book for the stranger, and so begins an unlikely conversation that plunges them both into the unknown. The book: Ship of Theseus, the final novel by a prolific but enigmatic writer named V.M. Straka, in which a man with no past is shanghaied onto a strange ship with a monstrous crew and launched onto a disorienting and perilous journey. The writer: Straka, the incendiary and secretive subject of one of the world's greatest mysteries, a revolutionary about whom the world knows nothing apart from the words he wrote and the rumors that swirl around him. The readers: Jennifer and Eric, a college senior and a disgraced grad student, both facing crucial decisions about who they are, who they might become, and how much they're willing to trust another person with their passions, hurts, and fears. S. ... is the chronicle of two readers finding each other in the margins of a book and enmeshing themselves in a deadly struggle between forces they don't understand, and it is also Abrams and Dorst's love letter to the written word

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WE ARE WATER
Wally Lamb
Cover of WE ARE WATER

WE ARE WATER

by Wally Lamb · Harper

3 wks on list

From New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb, a disquieting and ultimately uplifting novel about a marriage, a family, and human resilience in the face of tragedy. As her wedding day approaches, Annie Oh finds herself one morning staring at a bed covered in Vera Wang wedding dresses, at the mercy of hopes and fears about the momentous change on the horizon. this is not Annie's first walk down the aisle. She has just emerged from a twenty-seven year marriage to Orion Oh, which produced three children, twins Andrew and Ariane and daughter Marisa. Annie has been trying to reach her ex-husband, as she wants to make sure that he is all right. Orion, a psychologist with a crippling need to help others, keeps assuring everyone that he is fine. But how can he be? Annie, a self-taught artist, is about to marry a woman named Viveca, the sophisticated and seductive art dealer who understands her work and has helped make her enormously successful. the Oh children have different responses to their mother's upcoming wedding and her new partner. But when Viveca, who specializes in outsider art, discovers a painting by Josephus Jones, a self-taught African American artist of the 1950's and '60's, in the Oh family home in three Rivers, Connecticut, the already difficult relationship between Orion, Annie, and Viveca becomes even more fraught. Jones's canvases, and the story of his prematurely shortened life, come to play an unexpected role in the life of the Oh family. On the very day of the wedding, as its members struggle with their new roles in the reshaped family landscape, secrets are shared and shocking truths come to light. A sweeping epic novel from one of America's most beloved writers, WE ARE WAtER pulls you into the emotional center of each richly drawn character. Even Annie's impending marriage, apparently the source of the Oh family drama, turns out to be merely the catalyst that uncovers old hurts and renews past anger. An intricate and layered portrait of marriage and family, tempered by compassion, big-heartedness, and humor, WE ARE WAtER recalls Richard Russo's EMPIRE FALLS and Jonathan Franzen's FREEDOM. Once again, Wally Lamb has dug down deep into the complexities of the human heart to explore the ways in which we all live, love, and find meaning in our lives.

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IDENTICAL
Scott Turow
Cover of IDENTICAL

IDENTICAL

by Scott Turow · Grand Central

4 wks on list

A gripping masterpiece of dark family rivalries, shadowy politics and hidden secrets, Identical is the stunning thriller from bestselling author Scott Turow. Two families entangled in a long and complex history of love and deceit . . . Twenty five years ago, after a society picnic held by businessman and politician Zeus Kronon, Zeus’ headstrong daughter Dita was found murdered. Her boyfriend, Cass Gianis, confessed to the crime. Now Cass has been released from prison into the care of his twin, Mayoral candidate Paul Gianis, who is in the middle of a high profile political campaign. But Dita’s brother Hal is convinced there is information surrounding his sister’s death that remains buried – and he won’t rest until he’s discovered the truth. Hal’s employee, former FBI Special Agent Evon Miller, teams up with Tim Brodie, a retired police officer, to investigate. After all this time, can they find evidence to place Paul Gianis, the ‘innocent’ twin, at the scene of the crime? Soon Paul will find himself struggling to hold his campaign together amidst Hal’s increasingly damning allegations. But what does the mayoral candidate really have to hide? And why has Cass Gianis vanished?

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AIMLESS LOVE
Billy Collins
Cover of AIMLESS LOVE

AIMLESS LOVE

by Billy Collins · Random House

3 wks on list

Aimless Love combines more than fifty new poems with selections from four previous books - Nine Horses, The Trouble with Poetry, Ballistics, and Horoscopes for the Dead. Collins's unmistakable voice, which brings together plain speech with imaginative surprise, is clearly heard on every page, reminding us how he has managed to enrich the tapestry of contemporary poetry and greatly expand its audience. His work is featured in top literary magazines such as the New Yorker, Poetry, and the Atlantic, and he is a strong draw at reading venues across the country. Appearing regularly in The Best American Poetry series, his poems appeal to readers and live audiences far and wide and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. By turns playful, ironic, and serious, Collins's poetry captures the nuances of everyday life while leading the reader into zones of inspired wonder. In the poet's own words, he hopes that his poems 'begin in Kansas and end in Oz'. Touching on the themes of love, loss, joy, and poetry itself, these poems showcase the best work of this 'poet of plenitude, irony, and Augustan grace' (New Yorker).

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ACCUSED
Lisa Scottoline
Cover of ACCUSED

ACCUSED

by Lisa Scottoline · St. Martin's

2 wks on list

When a thirteen-year-old genius and member of the most powerful family in the country believes that the man imprisoned for killing her sister six years earlier is innocent, the law firm of Rosato & Associates agree to reopen the case.

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INFERNO
Dan Brown
Cover of INFERNO

INFERNO

by Dan Brown · Doubleday

Dans ses best-sellers internationaux, Da Vinci Code, Anges et Démons et Le Symbole perdu, Dan Brown mêle avec brio l’histoire, l’art, les codes et les symboles. En retrouvant ses thèmes favoris, Dan Brown a certainement construit l’un de ses romans les plus stupéfiants, au cœur des grands enjeux de notre époque. C’est l’une des plus grandioses œuvres de la littérature italienne, L’Enfer de Dante, qui est le fil conducteur de cette nouvelle aventure. En Italie, plongé dans une atmosphère aussi opaque que mystérieuse, le héros de Dan Brown, Robert Langdon, professeur de symbologie à Harvard va devoir affronter un adversaire diabolique sorti des limbes de l’Enfer et déchiffrer l’énigme la plus complexe de sa carrière. Elle le fait plonger dans un monde où l’art et la science de pointe tissent un écheveau qui exige de sa part toute son érudition et son courage pour le démêler. S’inspirant du poème épique de Dante, Langdon se lance dans une course contre la montre pour trouver des réponses et découvrir en traversant les Cercles de l’Enfer ceux qui détiennent la vérité... avant que le monde ne soit irrévocablement changé. Traduit l’anglais par Dominique Defert et Carole Delporte

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