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Best Sellers

Hardcover Fiction

Week of May 9, 2021

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1
NEW
A GAMBLING MAN
David Baldacci
Cover of A GAMBLING MAN

A GAMBLING MAN

by David Baldacci · Grand Central

1 wks at #1 · 1 on list

Aloysius Archer, the straight-talking World War II veteran fresh out of prison, returns in this riveting #1 New York Times bestselling thriller from David Baldacci. The 1950s are on the horizon, and Archer is in dire need of a fresh start after a nearly fatal detour in Poca City. So Archer hops on a bus and begins the long journey out west to California, where rumor has it there is money to be made if you’re hard-working, lucky, criminal—or all three. Along the way, Archer stops in Reno, where a stroke of fortune delivers him a wad of cash and an eye-popping blood-red 1939 Delahaye convertible—plus a companion for the final leg of the journey, an aspiring actress named Liberty Callahan who is planning to try her luck in Hollywood. But when the two arrive in Bay Town, California, Archer quickly discovers that the hordes of people who flocked there seeking fame and fortune landed in a false paradise that instead caters to their worst addictions and fears. Archer’s first stop is a P.I. office where he is hoping to apprentice with a legendary private eye and former FBI agent named Willie Dash. He lands the job, and immediately finds himself in the thick of a potential scandal: a blackmail case involving a wealthy well-connected politician running for mayor that soon spins into something even more sinister. As bodies begin falling, Archer and Dash must infiltrate the world of brothels, gambling dens, drug operations, and long-hidden secrets, descending into the rotten bones of a corrupt town that is selling itself as the promised land—but might actually be the road to perdition, and Archer’s final resting place.

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THE HILL WE CLIMB
Amanda Gorman
Cover of THE HILL WE CLIMB

THE HILL WE CLIMB

by Amanda Gorman · Viking Press

4 wks on list

The instant #1 New York Times bestseller and #1 USA Today bestseller Amanda Gorman’s electrifying and historic poem “The Hill We Climb,” read at President Joe Biden’s inauguration. “Stunning.” —CNN “Dynamic.” —NPR “Deeply rousing and uplifting.” —Vogue On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. Taking the stage after the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden, Gorman captivated the nation and brought hope to viewers around the globe with her call for unity and healing. Her poem “The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country” can now be cherished in this special gift edition, perfect for any reader looking for some inspiration. Including an enduring foreword by Oprah Winfrey, this remarkable keepsake celebrates the promise of America and affirms the power of poetry.

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OCEAN PREY
John Sandford
Cover of OCEAN PREY

OCEAN PREY

by John Sandford · Putnam

2 wks on list

Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers join forces on a deadly maritime case like no other . . . An off-duty Coast Guardsman is fishing with his family when he calls in some suspicious behaviour from a nearby boat. The slick craft has stopped to pick up a surfaced diver, who was apparently alone, without his own boat, in the middle of the ocean. None of it makes sense, and his hunch is proved right when all three Guardsmen who come out to investigate are shot and killed. They're federal officers killed on the job, which means the case is the FBI's turf. And when the FBI's investigation stalls out, they call in Lucas Davenport. But when the case turns lethal, Davenport will need to bring in every asset he can claim, including a detective with a fundamentally criminal mind: Virgil Flowers. With sinister motives running deep, Flowers and Davenport will need to work together to catch the killers – before they become targets themselves. ***WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OCEAN PREY*** 'John Sandford is my benchmark for thriller writers... Ocean Prey is Sandford at the peak of his game... if you have never read Sandford, give yourself a treat, get this book – but when you open it, make sure you have some reading time, because once started you won't want to stop' 5 star review 'Wow, how can you keep getting better. Top 5 all time from JS. Most series get stale. Not this one. Blown away. Really' 5 star review 'So good I have to pace myself because I don’t want it to end!' 5 star review 'One of his best books to date. And I love his writing. Read them all' 5 star review 'The latest in the Lucas Davenport series and certainly as good as all the others... I would recommend the whole series to anyone' 5 star review ***READERS LOVE THE PREY SERIES*** ‘One of the great novelists of all time’ Stephen King ‘A series writer who reads like a breath of fresh air’ Daily Mirror ‘John Sandford knows all there is to know about detonating the gut-level shocks of a good thriller’ New York Times Book Review ‘John Sandford has the Midas touch’ Huffington Post ‘Delivers twists to the very last sentence’ Daily Mail ‘Crime writer John Sandford is one of the best around’ Sun

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THE FOUR WINDS
Kristin Hannah
Cover of THE FOUR WINDS

THE FOUR WINDS

by Kristin Hannah · St. Martin's

12 wks on list

"The Bestselling Hardcover Novel of the Year."--Publishers Weekly From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them. “My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.” Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows. By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive. In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family. The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it—the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

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THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY
Matt Haig
Cover of THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY

THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY

by Matt Haig · Viking Press

21 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 INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE
V.E. Schwab
Cover of THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE

THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE

by V.E. Schwab · Tor/Forge

26 wks on list

For someone damned to be forgettable, Addie LaRue is a most delightfully unforgettable character, and her story is the most joyous evocation of unlikely immortality. Neil Gaiman A Sunday Times-bestselling, award-nominated genre-defying tour-de-force of Faustian bargains, for fans of The Time Traveler's Wife and Life After Life, and The Sudden Appearance of Hope. When Addie La Rue makes a pact with the devil, she trades her soul for immortality. But there's always a price - the devil takes away her place in the world, cursing her to be forgotten by everyone. Addie flees her tiny home town in 18th-Century France, beginning a journey that takes her across the world, learning to live a life where no one remembers her and everything she owns is lost and broken. Existing only as a muse for artists throughout history, she learns to fall in love anew every single day. Her only companion on this journey is her dark devil with hypnotic green eyes, who visits her each year on the anniversary of their deal. Alone in the world, Addie has no choice but to confront him, to understand him, maybe to beat him. Until one day, in a second hand bookshop in Manhattan, Addie meets someone who remembers her. Suddenly thrust back into a real, normal life, Addie realises she can't escape her fate forever.

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KLARA AND THE SUN
Kazuo Ishiguro
Cover of KLARA AND THE SUN

KLARA AND THE SUN

by Kazuo Ishiguro · Knopf

8 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes our view of the world. This magnificent novel from the Nobel laureate and author of Never Let Me Go is “an intriguing take on how artificial intelligence might play a role in our futures ... a poignant meditation on love and loneliness” (The Associated Press). • A GOOD MORNING AMERICA Book Club Pick! “What stays with you in ‘Klara and the Sun’ is the haunting narrative voice—a genuinely innocent, egoless perspective on the strange behavior of humans obsessed and wounded by power, status and fear.” —Booker Prize committee Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

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LOVER UNVEILED
J.R. Ward
Cover of LOVER UNVEILED

LOVER UNVEILED

by J.R. Ward · Gallery

1 wks on list

'Utterly absorbing and deliciously erotic' Angela Knight 'Hot, sexy, unique, intriguingly wicked' Christine Feehan Meet Sahvage: a powerful MMA fighter with a buried secret that could change the world of Caldwell forever... Sahvage has been living under the radar for centuries-and he has every intention of staying 'dead and buried.' But when a civilian female sucks him into her dangerous battle with an evil as ancient as time, his protective side overrides his common sense. Mae has lost everything, and desperation sets her on a collision course with fate. Determined to reverse a tragedy, she goes where mortals should fear to tread- and comes face to face with the Brotherhood's new enemy. She also discovers a love she never expected to find with Sahvage, but there can be no future for them. Knowing they will part, the two band together to fight against what Mae unknowingly unleashed- as the Brotherhood closes in to reclaim one of their damned, and the evil vows to destroy them all... _______________ Find out why readers are OBSESSED with the Black Dagger Brotherhood... 'It's not easy to find a new twist on the vampire myth, but Ward succeeds beautifully. This dark and compelling world is filled with enticing romance as well as perilous adventure. With myriad possibilities to choose from, the Black Dagger Brotherhood series promises tons of thrills and chills' Romantic Times 'Insanely good! . . . Intensely romantic and straight up flipping steamy, violent and gruesome, heartbreaking and deep. Her addictive writing tells a story like none other' Goodreads reviewer 'I can't get enough of these sexy, tough, intriguing vampires' Amazon reviewer 'Emotional by epic proportions' Kobo reviewer 'The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a twisting, often surprising, but always awesome read' Amazon reviewer 'A must read' Goodreads reviewer 'The story had me captivated the whole way' Kobo reviewer 'Each and every character is compelling' Amazon reviewer

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THE RED BOOK
James Patterson and David Ellis
Cover of THE RED BOOK

THE RED BOOK

by James Patterson and David Ellis · Little, Brown

4 wks on list

The highly-anticipated sequel to Sunday Times bestseller The Black Book ___________________________ Detective Billy Harney exposes an evil lurking deep within his city - but it also brings his own past demons to light... To Billy Harney, the newest member of Chicago PD's elite strike force, getting shot in the head, stalked by a state's attorney, and accused of murder by his fellow cops is all part of breaking a case. So, when a drive-by shooting on the Chicago's West Side turns political, he doesn't shy away from leading the investigation. As the easy answers prove to be the wrong ones, Harney's quest to expose the evil that's rotting the city from the inside out takes him to the one place he vowed never to return to: his own troubled past. ___________________________ Readers think The Red Book is one of James Patterson's best ever thrillers: 'One of the best books by James Patterson that I have read, and I've read them all.' 'It kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn't actually want this one to end.' 'The perfect police detective novel.' 'The Red Book is everything you expect from a James Patterson book: fast-paced, gripping, twists and turns at every corner.' 'A definite page-turner which I guarantee you won't want to put down, another gem from Patterson.' 'Fans will love it, and if you're not yet a fan then you will be after reading.' 'To say this book is intense is an understatement. It is one of the most enjoyable reads I have had in a long time.'

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THE VANISHING HALF
Brit Bennett
Cover of THE VANISHING HALF

THE VANISHING HALF

by Brit Bennett · Riverhead

47 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES • THE WASHINGTON POST • NPR • PEOPLE • TIME MAGAZINE • VANITY FAIR • GLAMOUR New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century 2021 WOMEN'S PRIZE FINALIST “Bennett’s tone and style recalls James Baldwin and Jacqueline Woodson, but it’s especially reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s 1970 debut novel, The Bluest Eye.” —Kiley Reid, Wall Street Journal “A story of absolute, universal timelessness . . . For any era, it's an accomplished, affecting novel. For this moment, it’s piercing, subtly wending its way toward questions about who we are and who we want to be….” – Entertainment Weekly From The New York Times-bestselling author of The Mothers, a stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white. The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect? Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins. As with her New York Times-bestselling debut The Mothers, Brit Bennett offers an engrossing page-turner about family and relationships that is immersive and provocative, compassionate and wise.

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THE GOOD SISTER
Sally Hepworth
Cover of THE GOOD SISTER

THE GOOD SISTER

by Sally Hepworth · St. Martin's

2 wks on list

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "A stunningly clever thriller made doubly suspenseful by not one, but two unreliable narrators." — People Sally Hepworth, the author of The Mother-In-Law delivers a knock-out of a novel about the lies that bind two sisters in The Good Sister. There's only been one time that Rose couldn't stop me from doing the wrong thing and that was a mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life. Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. And she avoids crowds, bright lights and loud noises as much as possible. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be...dangerous. When Rose discovers that she cannot get pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father. Simple. Fern's mission will shake the foundations of the life she has carefully built for herself and stir up dark secrets from the past, in this quirky, rich and shocking story of what families keep hidden.

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THE MAN WHO LIVED UNDERGROUND
Richard Wright
Cover of THE MAN WHO LIVED UNDERGROUND

THE MAN WHO LIVED UNDERGROUND

by Richard Wright · Library of America

1 wks on list

NAACP IMAGE AWARD FINALIST NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER ONE OF TIME'S 100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2021 ONE OF OPRAH'S 15 FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021 ONE OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF 2021 A BOSTON GLOBE BEST BOOK OF 2021 STEPH CURRY'S "UNDERRRATED" BOOK CLUB PICK A major literary event: an explosive, previously unpublished novel about race and police violence by the legendary author of Native Son and Black Boy Fred Daniels, a Black man, is picked up by the police after a brutal double murder and tortured until he confesses to a crime he did not commit. After signing a confession, he escapes from custody and flees into the city’s sewer system. This is the devastating premise of this scorching novel, a masterpiece that Richard Wright was unable to publish in his lifetime. Written between his landmark books Native Son (1940) and Black Boy (1945), at the height of his creative powers, it would eventually see publication only in drastically condensed and truncated form in the posthumous collection Eight Men (1961). Now, for the first time, by special arrangement with the author's estate, the full text of this incendiary novel about race and violence in America, the work that meant more to Wright than any other (“I have never written anything in my life that stemmed more from sheer inspiration”), is published in the form that he intended, complete with his companion essay, “Memories of My Grandmother.” Malcolm Wright, the author’s grandson, contributes an afterword.

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THE LOST APOTHECARY
Sarah Penner
Cover of THE LOST APOTHECARY

THE LOST APOTHECARY

by Sarah Penner · Park Row

7 wks on list

Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientèle. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary's fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries. Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary's in a stunning twist of fate, and not everyone will survive.

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GOOD COMPANY
Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
Cover of GOOD COMPANY

GOOD COMPANY

by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney · Ecco

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! "Plumbs the depths of marriage, motherhood and friendship with warmth and wit. I devoured it in one gulp!” —Maria Semple A warm, incisive new novel about the enduring bonds of marriage and friendship from Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, author of the instant New York Times bestseller The Nest Flora Mancini has been happily married for more than twenty years. But everything she thought she knew about herself, her marriage, and her relationship with her best friend, Margot, is upended when she stumbles upon an envelope containing her husband’s wedding ring—the one he claimed he lost one summer when their daughter, Ruby, was five. Flora and Julian struggled for years, scraping together just enough acting work to raise Ruby in Manhattan and keep Julian’s small theater company—Good Company—afloat. A move to Los Angeles brought their first real career successes, a chance to breathe easier, and a reunion with Margot, now a bona fide television star. But has their new life been built on lies? What happened that summer all those years ago? And what happens now? With Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s signature tenderness, humor, and insight, Good Company tells a bighearted story of the lifelong relationships that both wound and heal us. A Most Anticipated Book From: OprahMag.com * Refinery29 * Houston Chronicle * The Millions * Elle * Buzzfeed

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