1. 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.
2. 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.
3. The 5th Horseman, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown: $27.95) A cop investigates the mysterious death of a young mother in a San Francisco emergency room.
4. The Fallen, by T. Jefferson Parker (William Morrow: $24.95) San Diego homicide Det. Robbie Brownlaw tries to find a killer and uncover a corruption scandal.
5. The Last Templar, by Raymond Khoury (Dutton: $24.95) Four horsemen dressed like the Knights Templar crash a Vatican artifacts exhibit at a New York museum and steal a code cracker.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Veronica, by Mary Gaitskill (Pantheon: $23) A former fashion model who faces some of life’s ugly realities recalls a friendship with a woman who was an early casualty of AIDS.
9. Cell, by Stephen King (Scribner: $26.95) Low-tech people fight for survival against zombies who’ve been stripped of all but the most destructive urges by a pulse sent from their cellular phones.
10. Sea Change, by Robert B. Parker (Putnam: $24.95) The murder of a woman aboard a sailboat leads a Massachusetts police chief into a universe of drugs, pornography and rape.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert (Viking: $24.95) A newly single woman travels the globe and discovers much about herself as she tries to balance pleasure and discipline.
6. Manhunt, by James L. Swanson (William Morrow: $26.95) The search for President Lincoln’s killer, actor John Wilkes Booth, and how he eluded capture for 12 days.
7. Self-Made Man, by Norah Vincent (Viking: $24.95) The columnist spends 18 months disguised as a man to discover how men behave and interact with one another and with women.
8. PostSecret, by Frank Warren (ReganBooks: $24.95) A collection of extraordinary confessions written on postcards by ordinary people from all walks of life.
9. Jim Cramer’s Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World, by James J. Cramer (Simon &Schuster: $26) The TV host and co-founder of TheStreet.com explains the basics.
10. Inspiration, by Wayne W. Dyer (Hay House: $24.95) Instead of seeking motivation from an outside source, Dyer argues that we should connect with an internal spirit for inspiration.
Los Angeles Times
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