He's baaaaack. Actually, they're both back: bestseller-list veteran author James Patterson and his immensely popular detective and psychologist Alex Cross, who's made quite a name for himself in topsellers Roses Are Red, Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls. (Warner Vision's mass market edition of Roses, with 1.8 million in print, currently marks its eighth week on PW's chart; the hardcover enjoyed a 12-week run last year, four of those in the top spot.) Violets Are Blue, published by Little, Brown on November 19, jumps onto our list in the #2 spot; it wasn't quite able to unseat Grisham, although Patterson's previous three books did snag the #1 position in their first week out. After two trips back to press, the in-print total stands at 900,000.
With reporting by Dick Donahue
