Fiction's Triple Play

by Daisy Maryles -- Publishers Weekly, 7/26/2004

Three new novels by veteran writers hit the hardcover charts, with Sue Grafton's R Is for Ricochet knocking The Da Vinci Code off the #1 spot. Putnam launched her latest alphabet megaseller with a first printing of nearly 652,000 copies and a 15-city tour hitting popular summer resorts nationwide. Stops include the Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino in Uncasville, Conn.; Martha's Vineyard; Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, Colo.; as well as bookstores in Raleigh, N.C., Denver, and in San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, Calif. Carl Hiaasen's 10th satirical thriller, Skinny Dip, hit PW's list in the #3 spot; Knopf reports 330,000 copies in print after four trips to press. He is finishing a six-city tour and will do many stops in his home state of Florida. Jane Howard's romantic thriller, Kiss Me While I Sleep, lands in the #14 spot with a 150,000-copy first printing from Ballantine. She has had 11 previous titles on the national charts.