New York Times
Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers
October 5, 2025

1. The Secret of Secrets
by Dan Brown

As he searches for the missing noetic scientist he has been seeing, Robert Langdon discovers something regarding a secret project.
2. The Academy
by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham

Harmful rumors cause trouble for the students and staff at a New England boarding school.
3. The Last Letter
by Rebecca Yarros

Ryan asks his friend Beckett to help his sister, who is caring for her twin children in Telluride.
4. Among the Burning Flowers
by Samantha Shannon

In this installment of the Roots of Chaos series, Marosa Vetalda and her betrothed seek to give rise to a better world.
5. Katabasis
by R.F. Kuang

A pair of rival graduate students descend into the underworld to save their late professor and secure his recommendation.
6. Assistant to the Villain
by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Evie Sage gets a job doing unspecified office duties for the most infamous villain in the kingdom of Rennedawn.
7. Buckeye
by Patrick Ryan

Consequences created by a secret forged between members of two families in a small Ohio town affect a new generation.
8. Onyx Storm
by Rebecca Yarros

The third book in the Empyrean series. As enemies gain traction, Violet Sorrengail goes beyond the Aretian wards in search of allies.
9. Atmosphere
by Taylor Jenkins Reid

In the summer of 1980, Joan Goodwin begins training with a group of candidates for NASA's space shuttle program. 
10. My Friends
by Fredrik Backman

A young woman looks into the story behind a painting that was made 25 years ago and a small group of teens depicted in it; translated by Neil Smith.
11. Broken Country
by Clare Leslie Hall

Beth must confront her past when the man she once loved as a teenager returns to the village with his son. 
12. The Correspondent
by Virginia Evans

Letters from someone she used to know push Sybil Van Antwerp toward revisiting her past and finding a way to forgive.
13. The Color of Death
by Trey Gowdy with Christopher Greyson

After a tragedy strikes his family, an assistant district attorney investigates the murder of a young woman.
14. Framed in Death
by J.D. Robb

The 61st book of the In Death series. Eve Dallas investigates the murder of a woman found in the doorway of two gallery owners' home.
15. Quicksilver
by Callie Hart

Saeris is transported to a dangerous land of ice and snow, where she must contend with a Fae warrior who has suspect agendas.
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A version of this list appears in the October 5, 2025 issue of The New York Times Book Review. Rankings reflect sales for the week ending September 20, 2025.