Top 15 New York Times Bestsellers

New York Times - Bestsellers, Fiction (print and e-books between May 26, 2013 and June 09, 2013)
1. Title: Inferno
Author: Dan Brown
Publisher: Doubleday
Synopsis: Dan Brown has till date delivered nothing but international blockbusters. All his three novels – Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and The Lost Symbol have so far gripped readers with riveting plots and thriller endings.He now returns with yet another masterpiece, this time inspired by Dante’s epic dark poem, Inferno. And with it returns his classic hero Robert Langdon, the Harvard University professor of Symbology. Hence begins another thrilling chase down history amidst perplexing art, codes and symbols. Set in Italy, Langdon finds himself deciphering landscapes of classic art, lost in secret passageways and probing futuristic science.
2. Title: The Hit
Author: David Baldacci
Publisher: Grand Central
Synopsis: The U.S. government summons Will Robie, a master assassin to nab state enemies and criminals who are threats to innocent lives and society's well-being in general. There's an interesting twist in the story once we are introduced to another equally skilled hitman in the character Jessica Reel whose talents are unmatched. Dangerous and lethal as Robie, the government now tells Robie to pursue Reel and bring her back dead or alive. It is, however, during his search that Robie discovers hidden secrets about Reel. Will Robie hand her over to the government as instructed or take his own decision in the case?
3. Title: Eyes Wide Open
Author: Raine Miller
Publisher: Atria
Synopsis: Eyes Wide Open is the third book in The Blackstone Affair series by Raine Miller. Ethan and Brynne have settled into a new home but their differences remain. More so because the demons of the past are still lurking, threatening to ruin their happiness. Their love is strengthened by promises they’ve made to each other and the passionate bond seems unbreakable but a stalker is on the prowl, planning to haunt them when the world will be busy enjoying the Olympic Games of 2012 in London. But Ethan and Brynne’s love for each other will brave any danger or adversity. Eyes Wide Open is a fine example of how pure love endures all hardships.
4. Title: 12th of Never
Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Publisher: Little, Brown
Synopsis: Detective Lindsay Boxer is on her way to solving the two most crucial cases of her career. It is a difficult decision for Lindsay to report to work just after a week of spending time with her newborn daughter. Work's calling and Lindsay finds herself back in the muck of criminal acts and murder mysteries. A football player is the suspect in a murder and an English professor's dream of a murder turns out to be real. Will Lindsay be able to avert this heinous act of killing before it unfolds or is she risking her life?
5. Title: Dead Ever After
Author: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Ace
Synopsis: Waitress Sookie Stackhouse has been offered her job back at Merlotte’s by none other than barmaid Arlene who had once tried to kill her, so turning down the offer was easy. But Sookie’s relationship with Eric Northman has reached a complex stage because he and the other vampires are for some reason keeping away for a while, maintaining cold, unpredictable silence. Sookie is devastated when she learns what the group of vampires are up to, but even before she’s able to come to terms with the reality, she gets arrested for a murder in the town that she is in no way responsible for.
6. Title: Silken Prey
Author: John Sandford
Publisher: Putnam
Synopsis: The latest by the bestselling author John Sandford of the Davenport series, Silken Prey is another display of Sandford’s razor-sharp story telling that involves murder, scandal, and political espionage. In this one, Lucas Davenport is investigating a Minnesota political scandal, and its connection with the mysterious disappearance of an operative. The investigations very troublingly lead to the Minneapolis police department, and most intriguingly, to a woman. She has certain ideas about the money, the way things should work, and her fiery resolve to make things happen. And she won’t let anybody get in her way.
7. Title: Whiskey Beach
Author: Nora Roberts
Publisher: Putnam
Synopsis: Eli Landon, a former Boston-based criminal attorney, has found sanctuary in Bluff House, his family estate standing sentinel over Whiskey Beach, after being acquitted of his soon-to-be-ex wife's murder. He retreats to this new address despite his beloved grandmother recuperating from a nasty fall back in Boston. During his stay, he comes in contact with Abra Walsh, the housekeeper of Bluff House who is also a woman of many talents. She little by little takes steady control of his life and helps him overcome his misery. As the two get fully involved with each other, they become unmindful of the lurking danger that can destroy Landon's life and reputation forever.
8. Title: Don’t Say A Word
Author: Barbara Freethy
Publisher: Barbara Freethy
Synopsis: Everything Julie De Marco knew about her past is one big lie, and this she uncovers in San Francisco while planning her perfect wedding. She stumbles upon a famous photograph of a little girl behind an iron gate of a foreign orphanage, a girl who is her spitting image. Julie is startled as she isn’t an orphan, is not an adopted child, and has never been out of the country. Or has she? As she sets out in quest for truth about her true identify, her sole ally is the bold and risqué photographer Alex Manning. Suddenly, all the people Julie loved, from her mother, sister to her fiancé, seem to be drifting apart. As she gets closer to the past that has the power to threaten her life, Alex emerges as the only person she can trust - who too has his own secrets.
9. Title: Gone Girl
Author: Gillian Flynn
Publisher: Crown Publishing
Synopsis: On her fifth wedding anniversary Amy Dunne suddenly goes missing without a trace from her rented home in North Carthage, Missouri. Under pressure from the police, media and Amy's doting parents, Husband-of-the Year, Nick grapples with a never-ending chain of lies, deceits, and his own oddly evasive behaviour. As events get murkier, the needle of suspicion points at Nick as the killer of his beautiful wife. With his sister Margo by his side, Nick pleads innocence. Then what was in that silver gift box in the back of Amy's bedroom closet?
10. Title: The Bet
Author: Rachel Van Dyken
Publisher: Rachel Van Dyken
Synopsis: Popular for her romances, Rachel Van Dyken weaves yet another romantic tale in her latest titled 'The Bet'. Jake and Travis are brothers (and Seattle millionaires) and Kacey is a childhood friend and also the woman who's more like a sweet trouble between these siblings. Kacey was in college when her parents were killed and it was the same night that Kacey lost her virginity to Jake. Jake is obviously the playboy girls are adviced to keep away from, and Travis (the elder brother) is the good boy who likes solitude and spends most of his time on a farm or a ranch. After a few years, Jake comes up with a proposition for Kacey, more like a deal she agrees to. He wants Kacey to pretend to be his fiancee so as to correct his 'tainted' image to his family and board members. Will Travis approve of this farce of an engagement? Has Kacey done the right thing to believe Jake?
11. Title: The Arrangement 7
Author: H.M. Ward
Publisher: Laree Bailey
Synopsis: With Volume 7 in the 'Arrangement Series', author H. M. Ward does not disappoint the readers who have been eagerly waiting for the release of this book. Avery and Sean's love story takes another turn as we see both of them trying to get over an unpleasant past and move towards a better future. Avery always knew that Sean has a hidden history but when she finally learns of it, she feels devastated. Will her love be a powerful force to overcome the darkness of Sean's past or are there chances of her heart surrendering to its dangers?
12. Title: The Silver Linings Playbook
Author: Matthew Quick
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Synopsis: American author Matthew Quick's debut novel released in 2008 is back on the Bestseller List thanks to David O. Russell's film adaptation by the same name (starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence) that now has eight nominations to its credit for Academy Awards 2013. It is a heartwarming story about a history teacher named Pat Peoples, who after spending years in a neurology hospital struggles to reconcile with his lost and scattered memories. Wishing to reunite with his estranged wife Nikki, Pat continues to visit his therapist to resume a life he had left behind and forgotten about as a mental patient. Soon Pat is introduced to Tiffany who he befriends and agrees to train for a dance contest. As Pat yearns to meet Nikki, Tiffany falls in love with him. Will Pat Peoples ever get back with his wife or will he welcome a new love?
13. Title: Ender's Game
Author: Orson Scott Card
Publisher: Tor/Tom Doherty
Synopsis: Winner of the 1986 Hugo Award for 'Best novel', Oscar Scott's Ender's Game is a captivating military science fiction novel that centres on the battle between mankind and the 'Buggers', an alien race which is growing invincible by the years. Worried government agencies soon decide to breed children with the help of genetic experiments and train them as soldiers to fight the Buggers' attack. Young Ender is one such kid who spends his days at mock battles in zero gravity as part of the training and grows up in a community of 'soldiers' in the Battle Room. He suffers acute loneliness being away from his beloved sister and lives in constant fear. Will Ender be the real champion to wash away the 'Buggers' and let the world survive again?
14. Title: Left to Die
Author: Lisa Jackson
Publisher: Zebra
Synopsis: A crazy killer on the run and his cryptic notes are all what detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli have to investigate the serial deaths in the woods of Montana. Victims are subjected to a planned and slow death; the sadistic nature of which unsettles the detectives who are themselves, unknowingly, heading to meet the worse. Jillian Rivers finds herself trapped in a car when a stranger comes to her rescue; but can she be sure of this 'helpful' stranger who crosses her path out of nowhere? There's someone who's waiting to make Jillian the next target. Will the detectives reach Jillian before the murderer does?
15. Title: Fifty Shades of Grey
Author: E.L. James
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing
Synopsis: E.L James, a former TV journalist and mom of two in West London, fulfills her childhood dream of writing a book with Fifty Shades of Grey, the first of the trilogy, and turns into a bestselling author. Serving erotica to the audience with a plot that revolves around a drop-dead-gorgeous billionaire Christian Grey and his dangerous liaison with literature student Anastasia Steele who goes to interview the young tycoon, and ends up falling for him. They embark on a passionate physical affair while Ana unravels Grey's dark desires including her own.
(Compiled by Anwesha Mittra, Arunima Mazumdar and Ipshita Mitra)