it's raining.

new york times current hardcover fiction bestsellers
1- tick tock, james patterson
2- a discovery of witches, deborah harkness
3- the girl who kicked the hornet's nest, stieg larsson
4- the help, kathryn stockett
5- dead or alive, tom clancy
6- the secret soldier, alex berenson
7- the inner circle, brad meltzer
8- the confession, john grisham
9- a red herring without mustard, alan bradley
10- room, emma donoghue

1 - professional spies
2 - archivist library mystery
3 - amatuer spies
4 - period piece character study
5 - professional spies
6 - professional spies
7 - archivist library mystery
8 - law & order
9 - murder mystery
10 - mental illness character study

3 professional spies, 1 amatuer spies, 2 library mysteries, 1 murder mystery, 2 character studies, 1 law & order

spy novels are actually a type of mystery, so 7 of the top 10 are mysteries. our fascination with mystery is really a fascination with solution.