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Best Sellers

August 19, 2012

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Inside the List

M. L. Stedman — whose novel “The Light Between Oceans” enters the list at No. 7 — really doesn’t like publicity.

Editors’ Choice

Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

Paperback Row

Paperback books of particular interest.

Browse Past Lists

This Week    Last Week Hardcover Fiction Weeks
on List
1 1 GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn. (Crown, $25.) A woman disappears on her fifth anniversary; is her husband a killer? 9
2 ODD APOCALYPSE, by Dean Koontz. (Bantam, $28.) Odd Thomas, who can communicate with the dead, explores the mysteries of an old estate now owned by a billionaire. 1
3 2 WHERE WE BELONG, by Emily Giffin. (St. Martin's, $27.99.) A woman’s successful life is disrupted by the appearance of an 18-year-old girl with a link to her past. 2
4 3 FRIENDS FOREVER, by Danielle Steel. (Delacorte, $28.) Three boys and two girls who meet in kindergarten maintain their bonds as they grow to adulthood. 2
5 4 BLACK LIST, by Brad Thor. (Emily Bestler/Atria, $27.99.) If the counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath can discover who targeted him for death, he can prevent a terrorist attack. 2
6 5 THE FALLEN ANGEL, by Daniel Silva. (Harper/HarperCollins, $27.99.) Gabriel Allon, an art restorer and occasional spy for the Israeli secret service, discovers a global criminal enterprise behind a murder at the Vatican. 3
7 THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS, by M. L. Stedman. (Scribner, $25.) An Australian lighthouse keeper and his wife decide to keep a baby who has washed ashore. 1
8 7 I, MICHAEL BENNETT, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. (Little, Brown, $27.99.) A New York detective takes refuge with his 10 children in an upstate cabin. 4
9 8 SHADOW OF NIGHT, by Deborah Harkness. (Viking, $28.95.) An Oxford scholar/witch and a vampire geneticist pursue history, secrets and each other in Elizabethan London. 4
10 10 A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, by George R. R. Martin. (Bantam, $35.) Book 5 of "A Song of Ice and Fire." 52
11 6 BROKEN HARBOR, by Tana French. (Viking, $27.95.) A Dublin murder squad detective’s investigation of a crime in a seaside town evokes memories of his hard childhood there. 2
12 9 CREOLE BELLE, by James Lee Burke. (Simon & Schuster, $27.99.) The Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux hunts for a missing Cajun singer. 3
13 HAVEN, by Kay Hooper. (Berkley, $26.95.) The F.B.I. agent Noah Bishop and his special crimes unit help two sisters probe the secrets of a North Carolina town. 1
14 12 BACKFIRE, by Catherine Coulter. (Putnam, $26.95.) The F.B.I. agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock investigate the murder of a judge. 4
15 13 THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS, by Chris Bohjalian. (Doubleday, $25.95.) A woman of Armenian descent pursues her family’s history and explores a World War I romance — and a secret. 3
16 * 11 JUDGMENT CALL, by J. A. Jance. (Morrow/HarperCollins, $25.99.) Joanna Brady, an Arizona sheriff, must function as both a law officer and a mother when her daughter’s high school principal is murdered. 2

Also Selling

  1. THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY, by Rachel Joyce (Random House)
  2. THE NEXT BEST THING, by Jennifer Weiner (Atria)
  3. BEAUTIFUL RUINS, by Jess Walter (Harper/HarperCollins)
  4. WICKED BUSINESS, by Janet Evanovich (Bantam)
  5. CALICO JOE, by John Grisham (Doubleday)
  6. THE AGE OF MIRACLES, by Karen Thompson Walker (Random House)
  7. DEFENDING JACOB, by William Landay (Delacorte)
  8. MISSION TO PARIS, by Alan Furst (Random House)
  9. A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING, by Dave Eggers (McSweeney's)
  10. THE PRISONER OF HEAVEN, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Harper/HarperCollins)
  11. THE INNOCENT, by David Baldacci (Grand Central)
  12. TIGERS IN RED WEATHER, by Liza Klaussmann (Little, Brown)
  13. 11TH HOUR, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown)
  14. BRING UP THE BODIES, by Hilary Mantel (John Macrae/Holt)
  15. THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE, by Stephen King (Scribner)
  16. EARTH UNAWARE, by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston (Tor/Tom Doherty)
  17. CLOSE YOUR EYES, by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen (St. Martin's)
  18. OFF THE GRID, by P. J. Tracy (Putnam)
  19. SUMMERLAND, by Elin Hilderbrand (Reagan Arthur/Little, Brown)
About the Best Sellers

A version of this list appears in the August 19, 2012 issue of The New York Times Book Review. Rankings reflect sales for the week ending August 4, 2012.

An asterisk (*) indicates that a book's sales are barely distinguishable from those of the book above it. A dagger (†) indicates that some retailers report receiving bulk orders.

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