1. THE APPEAL, by John Grisham. (Doubleday, $27.95.) Political and legal intrigue ensue when a Mississippi court decides against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste.

2. DUMA KEY, by Stephen King. (Scribner, $28.) A Minnesota contractor moves to Florida to recover from an injury and begins to create paintings with mysterious power.

3. PLUM LUCKY, by Janet Evanovich. (St. Martin†™s, $17.95.) Stephanie†™s grandmother finds a bag of cash and goes gambling in Atlantic City, pursued by the money†™s owner.

4. SIZZLE AND BURN, by Jayne Ann Krentz. (Putnam, $24.95.) A member of the Arcane Society, dedicated to paranormal research, helps a woman with psychic powers.

5. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, by Khaled Hosseini. (Riverhead, $25.95.) A friendship between two women in Afghanistan against the backdrop of 30 years of war.

6. WORLD WITHOUT END, by Ken Follett. (Dutton, $35.) Love and intrigue in Kingsbridge, the medieval English cathedral town at the center of Follett†™s †œPillars of the Earth.†

7. PEOPLE OF THE BOOK, by Geraldine Brooks. (Viking, $25.95.) A rare-book expert unlocks the secrets of a medieval manuscript.

8. THE SENATOR†™S WIFE, by Sue Miller. (Knopf, $24.95.) A woman lives with her husband†™s persistent infidelity.

9. BEVERLY HILLS DEAD, by Stuart Woods. (Putnam, $25.95.) Murder and political intrigue during the Hollywood Red scare of the 1940s.

10. SWORD SONG, by Bernard Cornwell. (Harper, $25.95.) In this fourth volume of the Saxon Tales, set in the late ninth century, Viking raiders have taken over London.