Newcomers to the lists this week include a new thriller by a Toronto-based crime-fiction writer and a debut memoir by a Toronto-based writer and broadcaster.
“Take Your Breath Away” is Linwood Barclay’s 25th crime fiction outing — his first five were written while he was a columnist at The Star. It debuts at No. 4 on the Original Fiction list and No. 1 on the Canadian Fiction list.
Elamin Abdelmahmoud’s “Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces” (read the Star’s review here) is an essay collection that charts his arrival in Canada from Sudan at the age of 12 and his emotional and intellectual passage to where he is today, as a cultural commentator for BuzzFeed News and CBC’s “Pop Chat.” His book debuts at No. 5 on the Original Non-Fiction list and No. 3 on the Canadian Non-Fiction list.
-Sarah Murdoch
The bestseller lists are compiled by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited from information provided by BookNet Canada’s national sales tracking service, BNC SalesData.
ORIGINAL FICTION
1. It Ends with Us, Colleen Hoover, Atria (38)*
2. Book Lovers, Emily Henry, Berkley (3)
3. Ugly Love, Colleen Hoover, Atria (11)
4. Take Your Breath Away, Linwood Barclay, William Morrow (1)
5. The Summer Place, Jennifer Weiner, Atria (2)
6. Something Wilder, Christina Lauren, Gallery (1)
7. The Diamond Eye, Kate Quinn, William Morrow (9)
8. Watch Out for Her, Samantha M. Bailey, Simon & Schuster (4)
9. The Paris Apartment, Lucy Foley, William Morrow (13)
10. Verity, Colleen Hoover, Grand Central (20)
ORIGINAL NON-FICTION
1. The Boy in the Woods, Maxwell Smart, HarperCollins (4)
2. Atlas of the Heart, Brené Brown, Random House (23)
3. We Were Dreamers, Simu Liu, HarperCollins Canada (2)
4. Freezing Order, Bill Browder, Simon & Schuster (7)
5. Son of Elsewhere, Elamin Abdelmahmoud, McClelland & Stewart (1)
6. The Palace Papers, Tina Brown, Doubleday Canada (5)
7. 1972: The Series that Changed Hockey Forever, Scott Morrison, Simon & Schuster (3)
8. 22 Murders, Paul Palango, Random House Canada (7)
9. Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed (72)
10. Finding Me, Viola Davis, HarperOne (3)
CANADIAN FICTION
1. Take Your Breath Away, Linwood Barclay, William Morrow
2. Watch Out for Her, Samantha M. Bailey, Simon & Schuster
3. Every Summer After, Carley Fortune, Viking
4. Five Little Indians, Michelle Good, Harper Perennial
5. The Embroidered Book, Kate Heartfield, Harper Voyager
6. Looking for Jane, Heather Marshall, Simon & Schuster
7. Bloomsbury Girls, Natalie Jenner, St. Martin’s
8. Bluebird, Genevieve Graham, Simon & Schuster
9. Scarborough, Catherine Hernandez, Arsenal Pulp
10. Sea of Tranquility, Emily St. John Mandel, HarperCollins Canada
CANADIAN NON-FICTION
1. The Boy in the Woods, Maxwell Smart, HarperCollins Canada
2. We Were Dreamers, Simu Liu, HarperCollins Canada
3. Son of Elsewhere, Elamin Abdelmahmoud, McClelland & Stewart
4. 1972: The Series that Changed Hockey Forever, Scott Morrison, Simon & Schuster
5. 22 Murders, Paul Palango, Random House Canada
6. Run Towards the Danger, Sarah Polley, Hamish Hamilton
7. From Showing Off to Showing Up, Nancy Regan, Nimbus
8. 12 Rules for Life, Jordan B. Peterson, Random House Canada
9. This Is Assisted Dying, Stefanie Green, Scribner
10. 21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act, Bob Joseph, Indigenous Relations
CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT.
1. Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose (Cat Kid Comic Club #3), Dav Pilkey, Graphix
2. Heartstopper (Vol. 4), Alice Oseman, Graphix
3. Remarkably Ruby, Terri Libenson, HarperCollins
4. Heartstopper (Vol. 1), Alice Oseman, Graphix
5. Heartstopper (Vol. 2), Alice Oseman, Graphix
6. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Holly Jackson, Ember
7. National Geographic Kids Almanac 2023 (Canadian edition), National Geographic, National Geographic Society
8. InvestiGators: Braver and Boulder (InvestiGators #4), John Patrick Green, First Second
9. Heartstopper (Vol. 3), Alice Oseman, Graphix
10. Bloom of the Flower Dragon (Dragon Masters #20), Tracey West, Graham Howells, Scholastic
MYSTERY
1. Better off Dead, Lee Child, Andrew Child, Dell
2. Take Your Breath Away, Linwood Barclay, William Morrow
3. Watch Out for Her, Samantha M. Bailey, Simon & Schuster
4. The Paris Apartment, Lucy Foley, William Morrow
5. Verity, Colleen Hoover, Grand Central
6. The Shadow, James Patterson, Brian Sitts, Grand Central
7. The Island, Adrian McKinty, Little Brown
8. 22 Seconds, James Patterson, Maxine Paetro, Little Brown
9. Dream Town, David Baldacci, Grand Central
10. Death of the Black Widow, James Patterson, J.D. Barker, Grand Central
* Number of weeks on list
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