NY Times bestseller fiction-nonfiction 2012

Lists of The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers, Top 5

COMBINED PRINT & E-BOOK NONFICTION

    NO EASY DAY, by Mark Owen with Kevin Maurer
    WAGING HEAVY PEACE, by Neil Young
    MUGGED, by Ann Coulter
    INTO THE FIRE, by Dakota Meyer and Bing West
    THE PRICE OF POLITICS, by Bob Woodward


HARDCOVER FICTION

    THE CASUAL VACANCY, by J. K. Rowling
    WINTER OF THE WORLD, by Ken Follett
    GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn
    A WANTED MAN, by Lee Child
    THE TIME KEEPER, by Mitch Albom


HARDCOVER NONFICTION

    NO EASY DAY, by Mark Owen with Kevin Maurer
    WAGING HEAVY PEACE, by Neil Young
    JOSEPH ANTON, by Salman Rushdie
    THE PRICE OF POLITICS, by Bob Woodward
    HOW CHILDREN SUCCEED, by Paul Tough


PAPERBACK TRADE FICTION

    FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, by E. L. James
    FIFTY SHADES DARKER, by E. L. James
    FIFTY SHADES FREED, by E. L. James
    BARED TO YOU, by Sylvia Day
    CLOUD ATLAS, by David Mitchell

J.K. Rowling's Casual Vacancy bumps Fifty Shades from top of bestseller list

The Casual Vacancy is a novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The book was published on 27 September 2012 by Little, Brown and Company.

As J.K.Rowling's new novel hits the bookstores, its pre-order sales have already reached the 2.5million mark.

J.K. Rowling likes to describe her new book as a comic tragedy, yet there are few laughs to pierce the blanket of gloom in this bleak and rather one-sided vision of life in modern England.

In "The Casual Vacancy," the fictional town of Pagford's daily life is shaken at the start of the book with the death of Barry Fairbrother, a local council member, coach of the local girls' rowing team and a supporter of local and civic responsibility on behalf of the residents of The Fields, the local housing project where Fairbrother grew up.

His death provides his enemies on the council, headed by local deli owner Howard Mollison, an opportunity to elect a friendly replacement whose arrival would break the council's voting deadlock, and allow them to push The Fields out of Pagford through careful redistricting. This, along with closing the local methadone clinic, would in their eyes help restore Pagford to an idyllic, middle-class, poverty-free existence.

BONES ARE FOREVER

 
Bones Are Forever by Kathy Reichs, Kindle Edition

 The is a very easy ,fast thriller, It kept my interest read in 3 days, Love the suspense and what the next move would be...

Kathy Reichs, #1 New York Times bestselling author and producer of the FOX televison hit Bones, is at her brilliant best in a riveting novel featuring forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan—a story of infanticide, murder, and corruption, set in the high-stakes, high-danger world of diamond mining.

A woman calling herself Amy Roberts checks into a Montreal hospital complaining of uncontrolled bleeding. Doctors see evidence of a recent birth, but before they can act, Roberts disappears. Dispatched to the address she gave at the hospital, police discover bloody towels outside in a Dumpster. Fearing the worst, they call Temperance Brennan to investigate.

In a run-down apartment Tempe makes a ghastly discovery: the decomposing bodies of three infants. According to the landlord, a woman named Alma Rogers lives there. Then a man shows up looking for Alva Rodriguez. Are Amy Roberts, Alma Rogers, and Alva Rodriguez the same person? Did she kill her own babies? And where is she now?

Heading up the investigation is Tempe’s old flame, homicide detective Andrew Ryan. His counterpart from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is sergeant Ollie Hasty, who happens to have a little history with Tempe himself, which she regrets. This unlikely trio follows the woman’s trail, first to Edmonton and then to Yellowknife, a remote diamond-mining city deep in the Northwest Territories. What they find in Yellowknife is more sinister than they ever could have imagined.

Gone Girl A Novel by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl A Novel by Gillian Flynn, PDF Download

Let me start out by saying that I do not generally read mystery books. I"m not a fan of gum shoe, who-dunits. But something about the description of this book pulled me in.

In fact, it's at the top of my list of best books of 2012 (behind The Fault in Our Stars). Gillian Flynn created a taut thriller, full of so many twists and turns, the reader could get whiplash. But I think what made it particularly engaging, for me, was the underlying study of a marriage. I've been married for over two decades, and a divorce attorney for almost 20 years. I've been in a position to be an observer the the marriage relationship.

 I think Gillian Flynn understands marriage - very well. Though she's writing about people that, it turns out, are pretty darn unbalanced (an understatement), Flynn's exploration of the cat and mouse game of marriage rings very true. I've read the 1 star reviews for this book and almost universally, the one-star raters hated the ending. And I can see their point. But I think such readers are, perhaps, missing the author's point. I see her ending as a commentary on marriage.

About this author

Gillian Flynn is an American author and television critic for Entertainment Weekly. She has so far written two novels, Sharp Objects, for which she won the 2007 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for the best thriller; and her second book, Dark Places.

I can say no more without giving away the ending. If you are the type of reader that wants her thriller or mystery read to conform to the genre norms, than this book may not be for you. The ending is clever and in my view, the most plausible way to end all that came before. Giving it a pat ending would have felt wrong after all that came before. I enjoy a story that offers substance and Flynn delivers. She goes deeper than just looking at marriage. Gillian Flynn also deftly weaves into her story an indictment of our modern, media-driven justice system - and our media-driven culture.

The book leaves the reader considering the question of persona. Where is the line between the real us - the real spouse - the real friend -- and the persona that people use when interacting publicly. All of us are, to some extent or another, in this age of social media, an "Amazing Amy." As a mystery, the book rocks. I usually figure it out right away. So I was happy that Flynn will keep me guessing up until the very end. And the end is haunting.

 My only criticism of the book is that, at times, there were just too many words. Each of the characters could go on, and on. I started to wax over. Especially when I got into Part II of the book, there just seemed to be a lot that could have been cut. Unessential character blabbering. Once again (my worn out refrain these days), a really good editor could have helped Flynn make this story so much tighter.

 Sigh, where have all the editors gone? Even if you, like me, are not a mystery reader, try this book. Gillian Flynn has earned a new fan.

CALICO JOE, by John Grisham, PDF

CALICO JOE, by John Grisham, PDF Download

I'm not really a baseball fan but this book was a "homerun" for me! Anytime I can't put a book down, I know it's a good one!

A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball.

Calico Joe had every kid's baseball fantasy - lightening start in his big league debut, the lifting of a sad-sack team (the Cubs) to contender status, broken records, the adulatiojunen of his teammates and fans - and then he didn't. John Grisham has written a very good and captivating story - more than a baseball story, though America's game is the canvass upon which this tragedy is painted.

Warren Tracey was also a big leaguer - a pitcher - with the kind of stats that define most careers in the bigs: occasionally good, usually mediocre and sometimes awful. He was destined to never be remembered except by trivia hounds once his career reached its uncelebrated end - until his involvement in a baseball drama that ensured his name would be written in baseball lore, though not in any manner he would have desired.

Best Seller The New York Times, HARDCOVER FICTION,  25 June 2012

John Grisham

John Grisham born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn’t have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.

THE AMATEUR, by Edward Klein, PDF Download

June 15, 2012. The New York Times® Bestsellers
STOLEN PREY, by John Sandford PDF Download. Follow the Download Link 


I downloaded the book to my Kindle within hours of its release, and read it over a day and a half period, only pausing to sleep. Probably the two most enjoyable-to-read revelations are that 1. Bill Clinton urged Hillary to challenge Obama in 2012. 2. The Kennedy clan despise Obama, despite deceased Ted Kennedy's tireless support of the Community Organizer-in-Chief.

Think you know the real Barack Obama? You don’t not until you’ve read The Amateur

In this stunning exposé, bestselling author Edward Klein a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, former foreign editor of Newsweek, and former editor-in-chief of the New York Times Magazine pulls back the curtain on one of the most secretive White Houses in history. He reveals a callow, thin-skinned, arrogant president with messianic dreams of grandeur supported by a cast of true-believers, all of them united by leftist politics and an amateurish understanding of executive leadership.

In The Amateur you’ll discover:

• Why the so-called “centrist” Obama is actually in revolt against the values of the society he was elected to lead
• Why Bill Clinton loathes Barack Obama and tried to get Hillary to run against him in 2012
• The spiteful rivalry between Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey
• How Obama split the Kennedy family
• How Obama has taken more of a personal role in making foreign policy than any president since Richard Nixon with disastrous results
• How Michelle Obama and Valerie Jarrett are the real powers behind the White House throne

The Amateur is a reporter’s book, buttressed by nearly 200 interviews, many of them with the insiders who know Obama best. The result is the most important political book of the year. You will never look at Barack Obama the same way again.

weekly economic calendar

STOLEN PREY, by John Sandford, PDF download

June 10, 2012. The New York Times® Bestsellers
STOLEN PREY, by John Sandford PDF Download. Follow the Download Link 

There hasn't been that much that Lucas Davenport has not witnessed in horrifying murder scenes, but this one seems to be the icing on the cake, one of the worst and hopefully, the last with haunting memories. An entire family in a small town has been killed. What kind of evil mind would murder a husband, a wife, two daughters, and their dogs?

What was the motive for these brutal murders, and where does Lucas begin his investigation? Was this a Mexican gang hit, and was any of the family members involved? What do the Mexican Feds find, does Lucas break the rules, and will the pieces to the puzzle fit? What information were the killers looking for, and did they get it? Was a software company involved, and were the killers drug dealers?

 I highly recommend "STOLEN PREY" to all thriller lovers. John Sandford is a Master storyteller, who delivers an incredible chilling murder-mystery, made for the movie screen. The plot is packed with explosive action as the unique characters come to life in a suspenseful, nail-biting thriller that has you craving for more! Lucas Davenport has seen many terrible murder scenes.

This is one of the worst. In the small Minnesota town of Deephaven, an entire family has been killed—husband, wife, two daughters, dogs. There’s something about the scene that pokes at Lucas’s cop instincts—it looks an awful lot like the kind of scorched-earth retribution he’s seen in drug killings sometimes. But this is a seriously upscale town, and the husband was an executive vice president at a big bank.

 It just doesn’t seem to fit. Until it does. And where it leads Lucas will take him into the darkest nightmare of his life.

Biography of John Sandford  
John Sandford was born John Camp on February 23, 1944, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended the public schools in Cedar Rapids, graduating from Washington High School in 1962. He then spent four years at the University of Iowa, graduating with a bachelor's degree in American Studies in 1966.

In 1966, he married Susan Lee Jones of Cedar Rapids, a fellow student at the University of Iowa. He was in the U.S. Army from 1966-68, worked as a reporter for the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian from 1968-1970, and went back to the University of Iowa from 1970-1971, where he received a master's degree in journalism. He was a reporter for The Miami Herald from 1971-78, and then a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press from 1978-1990; in 1980, he was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, and he won the Pulitzer in 1986 for a series of stories about a midwestern farm crisis. From 1990 to the present he has written thriller novels.

He's also the author of two non-fiction books, one on plastic surgery and one on art. He is the principal financial backer of a major archaeological project in the Jordan Valley of Israel, with a website at www.rehov.org. In addition to archaeology, he is deeply interested in art (painting) and photography. He both hunts and fishes. He has two children, Roswell and Emily, and one grandson, Benjamin. His wife, Susan, died of metastasized breast cancer in May, 2007, and is greatly missed.

THE PASSAGE OF POWER, by Robert A. Caro. PDF download

THE PASSAGE OF POWER PDF Download. Follow the Download Link


Caro's series on Johnson is the best biography I've ever read because Caro knows his man, captures him in all his complexity, and uses his subject to explore the larger issue of how political power is wielded in the U.S.

Some critics have claimed that Caro oscillates between portraying the "good" Johnson and the "bad" Johnson -- and that in the current volume the "good" Johnson takes over. This is not a fair reading of the book. Caro is simply willing to give Johnson his due when he uses power for worthy causes. Johnson's self control and consolidation of power after the Kennedy assassination and his skill in passing Kennedy's tax cut and civil rights act -- which Kennedy probably would not have been able to pass -- are admirable. Johnson's motivation is explained in part by self interest -- the man loves power, and doing great things makes one even more powerful. The whole idea of separation of powers and checks and balances is to let ambitious men make their mark without consolidating too much power. The public can benefit from such ambitious leaders. Part of Johnson's motives were personal and moral -- he identified with the dispossessed given his upbringing and history. These very different kinds of motivations can and do coexist in the same individual.

Thirty years have passed sine the publication of The Path to Power, the first of what Robert Caro had envisioned would be a three-volume biography of America's 36th president. This, his fourth volume, ends in the first months of Johnson's presidency, and Caro's assertion that this is the penultimate volume is a little hard to swallow given the thoroughness he has covered his subject's life even before reaching his time in the White House (with a third of this book's 700+ pages chronicling just the first four months as president). Yet Caro has sacrificed brevity for a detailed portrait of irony in his depiction of a master of political power who suddenly found himself deprived of it.

Caro begins with Johnson at the height of his success in the Senate. Still only in his second term, he had taken the weak position of Senate Majority Leader and turned it into the second most powerful office in national politics, thanks largely to his enormous personal and legislative abilities. But Johnson had his eye on an even larger prize: the presidency itself, an office he had aspired to for decades and which in 1960 seemed to many to be his for the taking. Yet Johnson hesitated to commit himself to the race, fearing the humiliation of a defeat. This created an opening that John F. Kennedy eagerly exploited. With his brother Robert collecting commitments in the west - a region critical to Johnson's chances - Kennedy outmaneuvered the Texas senator and won the nomination, demonstrating just how completely Johnson had misjudged his opponent.

11TH HOUR, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro PDF Download

James Patterson and Maxine Paetro 11TH HOUR  PDF Download. Follow the Download Link 

If you love the Women's Murder Club you will love this book. Two great story lines woven in with Lindsay and Joes' marriage, Yuki, Cindy and Claire and of course Marino.


THE 11th HOUR by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro may be the best Women's Murder Club novel to date. The four long-time friends --- Lindsay Boxer, a San Francisco homicide investigator; Dr. Claire Washburn, an SFPD medical examiner; Cindy Thomas, a newspaper reporter; and prosecuting attorney Yuki Castellano bring their different, overlapping and occasionally conflicting disciplines together to solve crimes. The result is part police procedural, part detective, part murder mystery, and yes, part romance.

So what makes THE 11th HOUR my favorite in the series? It would have to be the mystery elements. The book begins with a cold-blooded killing at a school during a music recital. The killer, known as Revenge, has been targeting drug dealers throughout San Francisco, seemingly killing with impunity. Boxer, who with husband Joe Molinari is pregnant with their first child, is experiencing the ups and downs of pre-natal motherhood when she is assigned to the case. The Revenge killings are barely on Boxer's radar before she and partner Rich Conklin answer a 911 call. A horrifying tableau awaits them: two heads have been arranged in the garden of a house belonging to one of San Francisco's most famous residents.

Boxer's boss wants her working full time on the Revenge murders for two very important reasons: he suspects that the murderer is a cop, and Revenge's latest victim is a cop, too, working undercover in the drug trade. But Boxer doesn't want to let go of the head case. And when more heads turn up in the garden, a forensic investigation courtesy of Dr. Washburn indicates that the decapitation and burial have been occurring for quite a while.

Thus Boxer has two very different and very separate cases, both of which are totally unrelated. She acquires quite a list of suspects in the Revenge murders, and one of the names on the list is her former partner's. As far as the buried head case is concerned, Boxer and Conklin use good old-fashioned police work, including knocking on and down doors literally to get the answers they need. By the time the book ends, they've found a very insane murderer, and one who, when all things are considered, is quite sympathetic.

None of this sounds very romantic, does it? If you're looking for romance, THE 11th HOUR has that as well. Castellano is dating Boxer's boss, and Thomas is seeing Boxer's partner. And Boxer's husband? Well, let's just say that he gets in the biggest trouble that a husband can get into. Oh, and another thing: You never know with a Women's Murder Club book if everyone is going to make it to the end intact. People get hurt in this one, though it's nothing to lose your head over.

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris PDF Download

Charlaine Harris Deadlocked PDF Download. Follow the Download Link Below

Prepare to say a fond farewell to Sookie Stackhouse, because "Deadlocked" is the penultimate volume of the Southern Vampire series.

But even if there's only one more book, the twelfth book about the telepathic waitress and her vampire and/or were connections is a pretty solid one. It's a rather sad book in places, since Sookie's relationship to Eric seems to be cracking into pieces, but it has that lovable balance of unpretentious Southernness mixed with vampire/were stuff.

A conference between Felipe and Eric goes horribly awry when a young woman (whom Eric had taken blood from) is found dead outside Eric's home. Unsurprisingly, Sookie and Eric are both suspects, and Sookie suspects that Eric is keeping something from her. Even odder, her death is linked to the fae -- and Sookie is sure that she was hired to lure Eric.

As she juggles family matters, a nosy were, a birth and a forthcoming wedding, Sookie also starts investigating the girl's death. She also has some other problems to deal with, like a stranger's interest in the cluviel dor and the arrival of a vampire queen who wants Eric. But unraveling these conspiracies will reveal some of the nastiest betrayals Sookie has ever encountered.

As always, Charlaine Harris' writing is like slipping into a soft, well-worn sweater that smells vaguely of magnolia trees. There's just something very pleasant and homey about her prose, and this novel is somewhat smoother than the last few book -- the narrative can switch fluidly from descriptions of the fairy world to "House Hunters International." Trippy.

However, "Deadlocked" has a sharply bittersweet flavor as well, with Sookie finding out the hard way that lots of people can leave you heartbroken (not just lovers!). A few parts of the book are depressing, particularly since Sookie's relationship with Eric is clearly crumbling -- she even admits that while the sex is great (not that we see any), they're not doing so well emotionally.

It also has the feeling of a transition book -- lots of people are getting engaged and producing babies, and a few actually leave. Harris seems to be wrapping up various ongoing subplots, including a massive one close to Sookie's own heart.

So unsurprisingly this is a wrenching novel for Sookie. She's still a tough, confident woman, but she also has to grapple with the semi-conscious knowledge that her romance with Eric is under attack, and that people may be trying to get to the cluviel dor. Eric is strangely distant in this story even when he appears; Sam seems to have taken a more central role. I call romance!

"Deadlocked" is a solid penultimate chapter to the Southern Vampire series -- and while the mood is sadder than in the last few books, Charlaine Harris injects plenty of charm into her story. 

Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James

Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy

New York Times Best Seller , April, 2012

 

The Fifty Shades of Grey book is a powerful, moving book that will have you wanting more. I was shocked at first with all the adult content in the book, seemed like the first encounter between the 2 of them I needed to smoke a cigarette for them and then as the book continued I felt like a 6 pk of beer would be better.

Through out the book I was amazed and at awe with the relationship between Ana and Christian. I was astonished at the end of the first book

The writing will astound you and make you want more, not more in the way of their sexual relationship, but their personal relationship with each other. I believe that the writing is just amazing, it leaves you wanting more, but also makes you longing for a happy ending.

I would recommend this book to a person who can look past the sex and into the real heart of this book.

 

 

E L James is a former TV executive, wife and mother of two based in West London. Since early childhood she dreamed of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold to focus on her family and her career. She finally plucked up the courage to put pen to paper with her first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey. 

Mary Higgins Clark newest book The Lost Years

In The Lost Years, Mary Higgins Clark, America’s Queen of Suspense, has written her most astonishing novel to date. At its center is a discovery that, if authenticated, may be the most revered document in human history “the holiest of the holy” and certainly the most coveted and valuable object in the world.

As usual, Mary Higgins Clark delivers! I couldn't put this book down. The main character is grieving the loss of her father while trying to save her mother from prosecution. I'm always pleased with Clark's character development and the strong females she creates. The plot was well developed and kept the reader guessing. My only regret reading this book is now that I'm finished I'll have to wait another year to read her next book! 

Once again Mary Higgins Clark affirms why she is the "Queen of Suspense" with this exciting biblical archeological thriller. The evidence points increasingly towards her mom as the murderer, but with help from friends Wiley and Alvirah, the dispirited heroine starts to find other viable suspects as she seeks someone filled with pride and avarice; but even then Mariah still lacks proof. Ms. Clark has another winner for her readers to enjoy getting us there with this entertaining taut tale in which the suspense spins from family violence to biblical archeological violence.

www.maryhigginsclark.com

Jonah Lehrer's Imagine: How Creativity Works

Imagine: How Creativity Works book description: http://www.jonahlehrer.com/

Did you know that the most creative companies have centralized bathrooms? That brainstorming meetings are a terrible idea? That the color blue can help you double your creative output? From the New York Times best-selling author of How We Decide comes a sparkling and revelatory look at the new science of creativity.

Shattering the myth of muses, higher powers, even creative “types,” Jonah Lehrer demonstrates that creativity is not a single gift possessed by the lucky few. It’s a variety of distinct thought processes that we can all learn to use more effectively. Lehrer reveals the importance of embracing the rut, thinking like a child, daydreaming productively, and adopting an outsider’s perspective (travel helps). He unveils the optimal mix of old and new partners in any creative collaboration, and explains why criticism is essential to the process. Then he zooms out to show how we can make our neighborhoods more vibrant, our companies more productive, and our schools more effective.

You’ll learn about Bob Dylan’s writing habits and the drug addictions of poets. You’ll meet a Manhattan bartender who thinks like a chemist, and an autistic surfer who invented an entirely new surfing move. You’ll see why Elizabethan England experienced a creative explosion, and how Pixar’s office space is designed to spark the next big leap in animation. Collapsing the layers separating the neuron from the finished symphony, Imagine reveals the deep inventiveness of the human mind, and its essential role in our increasingly complex world.

The Imagine: How Creativity Works book is an excellent treatise on creativity and the brain. It is filled with fascinating anecdotes, just enough neuroscience to keep it interesting for the layperson, and enough everyday application to make it worth your time. I am the first to admit that I have a weakness for applied psychology books that are heavy on stories, but this is one of the best. What separates this book from other books on creativity is the carefully examined science behind the creative magic. There are other books that focus on creativity and you can learn more techniques from them, but if you want to learn why they really work then this book is a great place to start. The author is a great writer (he could put most modern fiction writers to shame), but the real value is the story and the science behind the imagination.

From Wikipedia  
Jonah Lehrer is a Contributing Editor at Wired and the author of How We Decide and Proust Was a Neuroscientist. He graduated from Columbia University and studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He's written for The New Yorker, Nature, Seed, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. He's also a Contributing Editor at Scientific American Mind and National Public Radio's Radio Lab.

This biography was provided by the author or their representative.

Stay Close by Harlan Coben Reviews

 Book review

I've pretty much read most of Harlan Coben's thrillers and I have to rank this one as just average.

 It didn't seem to pull me in as quick as some of his previous novels and it also seemed to be not so original, but once I got settled in I was quite entertained. I liked the characters as well as the plotting and think most Harlan Coben fans will still enjoy the story. 

Harlan Coben follows four consecutive #1 New York Times bestsellers with a stand-alone thriller in the vein of his beloved breakout novels Caught and Hold Tight.

Megan is a suburban soccer mom who once upon a time walked on the wild side. Now she's got two kids, a perfect husband, a picket fence, and a growing sense of dissatisfaction. Ray used to be a talented documentary photographer, but at age forty he finds himself in a dead- end job posing as a paparazzo pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids. Jack is a detective who can't let go of a cold case-a local husband and father disappeared seventeen years ago, and Jack spends the anniversary every year visiting a house frozen in time, the missing man's family still waiting, his slippers left by the recliner as if he might show up any moment to step into them.

Three people living lives they never wanted, hiding secrets that even those closest to them would never suspect, will find that the past doesn't recede. Even as the terrible consequences of long-ago events crash together in the present and threaten to ruin lives, they will come to the startling realization that they may not want to forget the past at all. And as each confronts the dark side of the American Dream- the boredom of a nice suburban life, the excitement of temptation, the desperation and hunger that can lurk behind even the prettiest facades- they will discover the hard truth that the line between one kind of life and another can be as whisper-thin as a heartbeat.

With his trademark combination of page-turning thrills and unrivaled insight into the dark shadows that creep into even the happiest communities, Harlan Coben delivers a thriller that cements his status as the master of domestic suspense.

David Baldacci New York Times best sellers

David Baldacci was born in Richmond in 1960. He received his Bachelor’s degree in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, after which he practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C.

 

Zero Day by David Balacci

John Puller is a combat veteran and the best military investigator in the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigative Division. His father was an Army fighting legend, and his brother is serving a life sentence for treason in a federal military prison. Puller has an indomitable spirit and an unstoppable drive to find the truth.
Now, Puller is called out on a case in a remote, rural area in West Virginia coal country far from any military outpost. Someone has stumbled onto a brutal crime scene, a family slaughtered. The local homicide detective, a headstrong woman with personal demons of her own, joins forces with Puller in the investigation. As Puller digs through deception after deception, he realizes that absolutely nothing he’s seen in this small town, and no one in it, are what they seem. Facing a potential conspiracy that reaches far beyond the hills of West Virginia, he is one man on the hunt for justice against an overwhelming force.

David has published 23 adult novels, all of which have been national and international bestsellers.
These books have been translated into more than 45 languages and sold in more than 80 countries.

Absolute Power

Total Control, 

The Winner,  

The Simple Truth,  

Saving Faith,  

Wish You Well,  

Last Man Standing,

The Christmas Train,

Split Second,

Hour Game,

The Camel Club,

The Collectors

Simple Genius

 Stone Cold

The Whole Truth

 Divine Justice

 First Family

 True Blue 

Deliver Us From Evil

Hell’s Corner

 The Sixth Man

One Summer

Zero Day.

 David has also published two young adult novels:
Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive! and
Freddy and the French Fries: The Adventures of Silas Finklebean.

In addition, David Baldacci is a contributing editor for Parade magazine.

HARDCOVER FICTION books. LONE WOLF, by Jodi Picoult

HARDCOVER FICTION

LONE WOLF, by Jodi Picoult 

($28.) The children of a man who studies wolves must make difficult decisions when he is seriously injured in an accident. 
Luke Warren has spent his life researching wolves. He has written about them, studied their habits intensively, and even lived with them for extended periods of time. In many ways, Luke understands wolf dynamics better than those of his own family. His wife, Georgie, has left him, finally giving up on their lonely marriage. His son, Edward, twenty-four, fled six years ago, leaving behind a shattered relationship with his father. Edward understands that some things cannot be fixed, though memories of his domineering father still inflict pain. Then comes a frantic phone call: Luke has been gravely injured in a car accident with Edward’s younger sister, Cara.

Suddenly everything changes: Edward must return home to face the father he walked out on at age eighteen. He and Cara have to decide their father’s fate together. Though there’s no easy answer, questions abound: What secrets have Edward and his sister kept from each other? What hidden motives inform their need to let their father die . . . or to try to keep him alive? What would Luke himself want? How can any family member make such a decision in the face of guilt, pain, or both? And most importantly, to what extent have they all forgotten what a wolf never forgets: that each member of a pack needs the others, and that sometimes survival means sacrifice?

Another tour de force by Picoult, Lone Wolf brilliantly describes the nature of a family: the love, protection, and strength it can offer—and the price we might have to pay for those gifts. What happens when the hope that should sustain a family is the very thing tearing it apart?

VICTIMS, by Jonathan Kellerman
KILL SHOT, by Vince Flynn
CELEBRITY IN DEATH, by J. D. Robb
PRIVATE GAMES, by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan

Complete Books List »

An easy-to-read dog magazine articles

Best Sellers STEVE JOBS, by Walter Isaacson

STEVE JOBS, by Walter Isaacson.
A biography of the recently deceased entrepreneur, based on 40 interviews with Steve Jobs conducted over two years. As well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

List of good fiction books to read

 This post is a listing of adult fiction books which have made number one on the New York Times Best Seller List.

1. PRIVATE: #1 SUSPECT, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) Jack Morgan, a former Marine and the head of an investigative firm, is accused of murder.
2. DEATH OF KINGS, by Bernard Cornwell. (Harper/HarperCollins, $27.99.) As King Alfred lies near death, the Saxon warrior Uhtred must decide whether to support a united England or reclaim his ancestral lands in the north. 
3. BELIEVING THE LIE, by Elizabeth George. (Dutton, $28.95.) Inspector Thomas Lynley’s investigation of a murder unearths the secrets of a wealthy clan. 
4. DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY, by P. D. James. (Knopf, $25.95.) Elizabeth Bennet and her husband, Darcy, of "Pride and Prejudice," must deal with a murder. 
5. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, by Stieg Larsson. (Knopf, $27.95.) The third volume of the Millennium trilogy, about a Swedish hacker and a journalist. 
6. 11/22/63, by Stephen King. (Scribner, $35.) An English teacher travels back to 1958 by way of a time portal in a Maine diner. His assignment is to stop Lee Harvey Oswald. 
7. RAYLAN, by Elmore Leonard. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $26.99.) A United States marshal sent to Harlan County, Ky., confronts organ trafficking, strip mining, gambling and bank robberies. 
8. SHADOWS IN FLIGHT, by Orson Scott Card. (Tor/Tom Doherty, $21.99.) The latest entry in the “Ender” science fiction series; a sequel to “Shadow of the Giant. 
9. THE ROPE, by Nevada Barr. (Minotaur, $25.99.) In the 17th Anna Pigeon mystery, Barr returns to 1995 to explore the dramatic circumstances that explain why this National Park Service ranger decided to go into law enforcement. 
10. THE LITIGATORS, by John Grisham. (Doubleday, $28.95.) Partners in a small law firm take on a big case. 

Book Review The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson

Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy Bundle: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

 

All across America, readers are talking about Stieg Larsson’s best-selling novels, set in Sweden and featuring Lisbeth Salander—“one of the most original and memorable heroines to surface in a recent thriller” (The New York Times).

 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an international best seller and is set in Sweden. It takes a little effort to get accustomed to all the Swedish names and places but then the story moves with lightening speed. There are two key plots happening simultaneously. In one, a Swedish financial investigative journalist publishes a libelous attack about a powerful industrialist and is sentenced to jail, fined a ruinous sum, and has his career torn to shreds. Another industrialist, Vanger, hires the journalist to investigate the 36 year old disappearnace of his then 14 year old grand niece. There has been no trace of her in all these years and she is assumed dead. Yet, every year on his birthday, he receives a mysterious gift of a pressed flower, mimicking a gift his missing grandniece used to give him when she lived there. Vanger, an old man, is tormented by the flower gifts, and wants one more chance to find out what happened to her and who killed her. What the journalist uncovers about the Vanger family's hitherto unknown secrets and connections to the Nazis, will have you hanging on the edge of your seat.

The book is titled after yet another character, Lisabeth Salander, a societal outcast and social ward of the State, uncivilized without any desire to obey societal norms, and replete with piercings, tattoos, and a goth/biker appearance. In short, at first glance a totally undesirable and unsympathetic person. She is a researcher with a corporate security firm and ends up working with the journalist. In truth, she is a survivor of abuse in all forms with low self esteem, and an inablity to trust. She is a genius with Asberger's Syndrome, a form of autism, who sees patterns in things ordinary mortals miss and uses incredible computer hacking skills to accomplish her goals. She is fascinating: ruthless and tough to a fault, yet internally vulnerable, struggling to comprehend her own feelings. She has an appeal that draws you to her, rooting for her, and wanting to understand her. Lisabeth is unforgettable, unlike most characters that populate mystery thrillers. There is such depth here.

Book Review: Private #1 Suspect (Jack Morgan)

I believe this is one of the best books that James Patterson has written in awhile. I truly enjoyed this one.
He is one of my favorite authors, tho, some of his books lately, I didn't feel that they were that good. This one is a really good book.

Book Description

Unsolvable cases
Since former Marine Jack Morgan started Private, it has become the world's most effective investigation firm--sought out by the famous and the powerful to discreetly handle their most intimate problems. Private's investigators are the smartest, the fastest, and the most technologically advanced in the world--and they always uncover the truth.

Impossible murders

When his former lover is found murdered in Jack Morgan's bed, he is instantly the number one suspect. While Jack is under police investigation, the mob strong-arms him into recovering $30 million in stolen pharmaceuticals for them. And the beautiful manager of a luxury hotel chain persuades him to quietly investigate a string of murders at her properties.