Washington Area Bestsellers
Sunday, February 26, 2006; Page BW11
| Paperback | ||
| Fiction | ||
| 1 | THE CLOSERS(Warner, $7.99). By Michael Connelly After two years of retirement, Harry Bosch returns to the LAPD and joins its new cold-case unit. | 3 |
| 2 | THE BROKER(Dell, $7.99). By John Grisham The CIA finagles the release of an attorney from federal prison to gain access to a satellite surveillance system. | 12 |
| 3 | MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA(Vintage, $14.95) By Arthur Golden.The celebrated geisha, Sayuri, tells of her rise to fame and fortune in 1930s imperial Japan. | 14 |
| 4 | HONEYMOON(Warner, $13.95). By James Patterson & Howard Roughan.An FBI agent suspects the alluring fianc?e in a wealthy banker's death. | 7 |
| 5 | SKELETON MAN(HarperTorch, $7.99) By Tony Hillerman.Leaphorn & Chee hunt for diamonds lost in a 1956 plane collision over the Grand Canyon. | 3 |
| 6 | GILEAD(Picador USA, $14). By Marilynne Robinson An elderly minister, in failing health, reflects on his enduring faith and a lifetime spent in the same Iowa town. | 5 |
| 7 | THE THIRD SECRET(Ballantine, $7.99). By Steve Berry The final mystery of Fatima--which Pope John Paul II revealed in 2000--may be more than it seems. | 3 |
| 8 | THE KITE RUNNER(Riverhead, $14) By Khaled Hosseini.An Afghan immigrant returns to his Taliban-ruled country to atone for a childhood betrayal. | 71 |
| 9 | IMPOSSIBLE(Dell, $7.99). By Danielle Steel The owner of an influential gallery begins a tempestuous affair with a younger, somewhat Bohemian artist. | 3 |
| 10 | ROBERT LUDLUM'S THE MOSCOW VECTOR (St. Martin's, $7.99). By Patrick Larkin.A toxin targeting DNA aids Russia's bid to regain lost territory. | 1 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | NIGHT(FSG, $9). By Elie Wiesel The Nobel laureate's terrifying account of his experience in a concentration camp during World War II. | 13 |
| 2 | A MILLION LITTLE PIECES(Anchor, $14.95) By James Frey.Billed as a memoir of addiction recovery, the author now admits to embellishing his tale. | 21 |
| 3 | IN COLD BLOOD(Vintage, $14). By Truman Capote Its blend of crime reportage and fictional techniques made this account of a grisly murder an instant classic. | 17 |
| 4 | THE TIPPING POINT: HOW LITTLE THINGS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE(Back Bay, $14.95) By Malcolm Gladwell.A look at fads and their origins. | 59 |
| 5 | COLLAPSE: HOW SOCIETIES CHOOSE TO FAIL OR SUCCEED(Penguin, $17). By Jared Diamond The fatal consequences of ecological mismanagement. | 8 |
| 6 | CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN (Plume, $15). By John Perkins.Charges of financial malfeasance at the expense of developing nations. | 8 |
| 7 | ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION: USING THE MYSTERIESOF AUTISM TO DECODE ANIMAL BEHAVIOR(Harvest, $15) By Temple Grandin & Catherine Johnson | 3 |
| 8 | FLYBOYS: A TRUE STORY OF COURAGE (Little, Brown, $7.99). By James Bradley.The brutal captivity of eight American POWs held by Japanese forces. | 1 |
| 9 | THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY(Vintage, $14.95) By Erik Larson.Serial killer H.H. Holmes preys on Chicago residents amid the bustle of the 1893 World's Fair. | 100 |
| 10 | GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL(Norton, $16.95) By Jared Diamond.The impact of geography and the environment on the course of civilization. | 60 |
| Hardcover | ||
| Fiction | ||
| 1 | 5TH HORSEMAN(Little, Brown, $27.95) By James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.Patients' puzzling deaths at a hospital suggest a ruthless murderer. | 1 |
| 2 | CELL(Scribner, $26.95). By Stephen King A mind-altering pulse sent simultaneously via all mobile phones in America turns its recipients into zombies. | 4 |
| 3 | THE DA VINCI CODE(Doubleday, $24.95) By Dan Brown.Ciphers and riddles impede a symbologist's quest for the Holy Grail and a murderer. | 99 |
| 4 | IN THE COMPANY OF THE COURTESAN (Random House, $23.95). By Sarah Dunant A woman's troubles and triumphs inRenaissance Venice. | 1 |
| 5 | THE LAST TEMPLAR(Dutton, $24.95) By Raymond Khoury.Modern-day zealots fromthe Knights Templar hunt for a treasure not seen since 1291. | 4 |
| 6 | SEA CHANGE(Putnam, $24.95). By Robert B. Parker Small-town sheriff probes the murder of a visiting Florida heiress who had some kinky sexual whims. | 2 |
| 7 | MEMORY IN DEATH(Putnam, $24.95). By J.D. Robb Cop Eve Dallas rebuffs her cruel foster mother's attempt at blackmail--and finds her murdered the next day. | 4 |
| 8 | LOVERS & PLAYERS(St. Martin's, $24.95) By Jackie Collins.A billionaire patriarch summons his three sons (each struggling with personal drama) to NYC. | 2 |
| 9 | THE HOSTAGE(Putnam, $26.95). By W.E.B. Griffin A diplomat's murder, a family held captive and the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal meld in this Charley Castillo thriller. | 7 |
| 10 | MARY, MARY(Little, Brown, $27.95) By James Patterson.Hollywood's A-list stars look to Alex Cross to protect them from a vicious serial killer. | 13 |
| Nonfiction/General | ||
| 1 | MARLEY & ME: LIFE AND LOVE WITH THE WORLD'S WORST DOG(Morrow, $21.95) By John Grogan.For the love of an unruly Labrador. | 10 |
| 2 | THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY(FSG, $27.50) By Thomas L. Friedman.Globalism's colossal impact. | 45 |
| 3 | MANHUNT: THE 12-DAY CHASE FOR LINCOLN'S KILLER (Morrow, $26.95). By James L. Swanson.John Wilkes Booth's sensational, elusive flight from Washington, D.C. | 2 |
| 4 | FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING(Morrow, $25.95) By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner | 44 |
| 5 | YOU'RE WEARING THAT? UNDERSTANDING MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS IN CONVERSATION (Random House, $25.95). By Deborah Tannen | 4 |
| 6 | THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING(Knopf, $23.95) By Joan Didion.A memoir of mourning; winner of the 2005 National Book Award for nonfiction. | 19 |
| 7 | AT CANAAN'S EDGE: AMERICA IN THE KING YEARS, 1965-68(Simon & Schuster, $35). By Taylor Branch The third and final volume of a civil rights history. | 5 |
| 8 | TEAM OF RIVALS: THE POLITICAL GENIUS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN(Simon & Schuster, $35) By Doris Kearns Goodwin.Presidential finesse. | 12 |
| 9 | BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT THINKING (Little, Brown, $25.95). By Malcolm Gladwell The complex psychology behind our snap decisions. | 44 |
| 10 | LIGHTING THE WAY: NINE WOMEN WHO CHANGED MODERN AMERICA(Miramax, $25.95) By Karenna Gore Schiff.20th-century pioneers. | 1 |
Rankings reflect sales for the week ended Feb. 19, 2006. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from Nielsen BookScan. Copyright ? 20YY by Nielsen BookScan. (Right-hand column of italicized numbers reflects weeks on this list, which premiered in Book World on Jan. 11, 2004. Advice, reference and self-help books appear on a separate, monthly list.)
