New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers December 5, 2021 1. The Judge's List by John Grisham The second book in the Whistler series. Investigator Lacy Stoltz goes after a serial killer and closes in on a sitting judge. 2. Mercy by David Baldacci The fourth book in the Atlee Pine series. Atlee discovers her twin sister survived an abduction at the age of 6. 3. The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom After a ship explodes, 10 people struggling to survive pull a man who claims to be the Lord out of the sea. 4. The Wish by Nicholas Sparks Maggie Dawes, a renowned travel photographer, struggles with a medical diagnosis over Christmas. 5. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles Two friends who escaped from a juvenile work farm take Emmett Watson on an unexpected journey to New York City in 1954. 6. The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly A death on New Year's Eve, an unsolved murder and a hunt for serial rapists bring Bosch and Ballard back together. 7. Better Off Dead by Lee Child and Andrew Child The 26th book in the Jack Reacher series. Reacher helps an F.B.I. agent look for her missing brother and takes on a foe named Dendoncker. 8. Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight by Janet Evanovich The 28th book in the Stephanie Plum series. Diesel and Stephanie track the international computer hacker Oswald Wednesday 9. The Devil's Sea by Dirk Cussler Dirk Pitt's latest adventure involves a missing Buddhist artifact, a failed hypersonic missle and a hijacked ship. 10. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr An interconnected cast of dreamers and outsiders are in dangerous and disparate settings past, present and future. 11. Never by Ken Follett Tensions escalate around the globe as President Pauline Green works to prevent a world war. 12. Billy Summers by Stephen King A killer for hire who only takes out bad guys seeks redemption as he does one final job. 13. Tom Clancy: Chain of Command by Marc Cameron The 21st book in the Jack Ryan series. A shadowy billionaire plans to kidnap the first lady to get President Jack Ryan out of his way. . 14. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig Nora Seed finds a library beyond the edge of the universe that contains books with multiple possibilities of the lives one could have lived. 15. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave Hannah Hall discovers truths about her missing husband and bonds with his daughter from a previous relationship. © 2021 All rights reserved by New York Times Syndication Sales Corp. This material may not be published, broadcast or redistributed in any manner.   A version of this list appears in the December 5, 2021 issue of The New York Times Book Review. Rankings reflect sales for the week ending November 20, 2021. Atlantic County Library System | 40 Farragut Avenue, Mays Landing, NJ 08330 Phone: (609) 625-2776 | www.atlanticlibrary.org        Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson Atlantic County Board of Commissioners, Maureen Kern, Chairwoman