Thomas Harris's new Hannibal novel, Hannibal Rising, is the month's major addition to already well-stocked store shelves. Now it remains to be seen if the season's many blockbusters will simply cannibalize one other.
| December 1 |The Crimson Portrait by Jody Shields (Little, Brown, $23.99). 100,000 copies.| December 5 |
Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris (Delacorte, $27.95). 1.5 million copies.
*The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone, $25.95). 200,000 copies.
| December 12 |
Mistral's Kiss by Laurell K. Hamilton (Ballantine, $24.95). 165,000 copies.
* Valentine Princess by Meg Cabot (HarperCollins, $8.99). 150,000 copies.
True Evil by Greg Iles (Scribner, $25.95).
| December 26 |
Stalemate by Iris Johansen (Bantam, $26). 350,000 copies.
The Ravenscar Dynasty by Barbara Taylor Bradford (St. Martin's, $25.95). 350,000 copies.
| December 28 |
The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery (Riverhead, $24.95).
— Compiled by Charlotte Abbott, with reporting by Raya Kuzyk
* = starred review; * = children's title
