1. “In the Company of the Courtesan,” by Sarah Dunant (Random House: $23.95) A cunning dwarf and a celebrated courtesan remake themselves in Venice after fleeing conflict in Rome in 1527.
2. “The Da Vinci Code,” by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $24.95) A Louvre curator’s killing leads to clues hidden in Leonardo’s paintings and a secret society with something to hide.
3. “The Fallen,” by T. Jefferson Parker (William Morrow: $24.95) San Diego homicide Detective Robbie Brownlaw tries to find a killer and uncover a corruption scandal.
4. “The Two Minute Rule,” by Robert Crais (Simon &Schuster: $24.95) A paroled bank robber tries to find out who killed his police officer son and why.
5. “Nightlife,” by Thomas Perry (Random House: $24.95) A female serial killer with a penchant for changing identities plays cat-and-mouse with those on her trail.
6. “The Templar Legacy,” by Steve Berry (Ballantine: $24.95) Intrigue swirls around a medieval monastic order and its long-lost archive that purports to disprove central Christian dogma.
7. “The Tenth Circle,” by Jodi Picoult (Atria: $26) The seemingly bucolic life of a Maine family unravels as the past and present converge with haunting consequences.
8. “Dirty Blonde,” by Lisa Scottoline (HarperCollins: $22.95) A newly appointed federal judge is enmeshed in a deadly battle between a former prosecutor and a Hollywood producer.
9. “Labyrinth,” by Kate Mosse (Putnam: $25.95) The tale of two women, a teenager in 1209 and an archeologist in 2005, on a quest for the Holy Grail in southwestern France.
10. “Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes,” by T. Cooper (Dutton: $24.95) The stories of a Russian woman who loses her son at Ellis Island and that of her rapper-wannabe descendant.
1. “Cobra II,” by Michael R. Gordon and Bernard E. Trainor (Pantheon: $27.95) A military expert and the New York Times’ Pentagon reporter chronicle America’s invasion and occupation of Iraq.
2. “Marley &Me,” by John Grogan (William Morrow: $21.95) A columnist recalls how Marley, an incorrigible Labrador retriever, flunked obedience school, terrorized a pet sitter and won over his family.
3. “The Year of Magical Thinking,” by Joan Didion (Knopf: $23.95) The author explores the nature of grief and survival in the months after her writer-husband’s sudden death.
4. “The World Is Flat,” by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus &Giroux: $27.50) How technology and the forces of globalization are connecting – and changing – the world.
5. “Inspiration,” by Wayne W. Dyer (Hay House: $24.95) The therapist and self-help guru argues for finding inspiration from within rather than seeking it from others.
6. “Wilshire Boulevard,” by Kevin Roderick (Angel City Press: $40) An illustrated history of the storied thoroughfare that runs from downtown Los Angeles to the ocean.
7. “A Year in the World,” by Frances Mayes (Broadway Books: $26) The woman famed for restoring a villa indulges her wanderlust in travels to Morocco, Turkey and out-of-the-way places in Europe.
8. “Freakonomics,” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (William Morrow: $25.95) An economist deconstructs statistics and uses numbers to help explain human behavior.
9. “Team of Rivals,” by Doris Kearns Goodwin (Simon &Schuster: $35) How country lawyer and one-term Congressman Abraham Lincoln used his savvy to bring political rivals into his Cabinet.
10. “PostSecret,” by Frank Warren (ReganBooks: $24.95) A collection of extraordinary confessions written on postcards by ordinary people from all walks of life.
Los Angeles Times
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