Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending August 26th, 2011

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending August 26th, 2011 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

Very little change among the top tier of the bestseller list, with Portrait of a Spy by Daniel Silva retaining the top spot. Two new titles debut.

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Entering the list at number 9 is Flash and Bones the 14th mystery to feature forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan by Kathy Reichs.

Just as 200,000 fans are pouring into town for Race Week, a body is found in a barrel of asphalt next to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The next day, a NASCAR crew member comes to Temperance Brennan’s office at the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner to share a devastating story. Twelve years earlier, Wayne Gamble’s sister, Cindi, then a high school senior and aspiring racer, disappeared along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette. Lovette kept company with a group of right-wing extremists known as the Patriot Posse. Could the body be Cindi’s? Or Cale’s?

At the time of their disappearance, the FBI joined the investigation, only to terminate it weeks later. Was there a cover-up? As Tempe juggles multiple theories, the discovery of a strange, deadly substance in the barrel alongside the body throws everything into question. Then an employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention goes missing during Race Week. Tempe can’t overlook the coincidence. Was this man using his lab chemicals for murder? Or is the explanation even more sinister? What other secrets lurk behind the festive veneer of Race Week?

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New at number 14 is the latest stand-alone thriller by Laura Lippman, The Most Dangerous Thing.

Years ago, they were all the best of friends. But as time passed and circumstances changed, they grew apart, became adults with families of their own, and began to forget about the past — and the terrible lie they all shared.

But now Gordon, the youngest and wildest of the five, has died and the others are thrown together for the first time in years.

And then the revelations start.

Could their long-ago lie be the reason for their troubles today? Each one of these old friends has to wonder if their secret has been discovered — and if someone within the circle is out to destroy them.

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