FictionHORNET’S NEST by Patricia D. Cornwell. (Putnam:...

Fiction

HORNET’S NEST by Patricia D. Cornwell. (Putnam: $25.95) (1). Southern California ranking: 1; Last Weeks: 2; Week on List: 2

TOTAL CONTROL by David Baldacci. (Warner: $24) A successful lawyer learns that her husband may have faked his own death in a fiery plane crash (7). Southern California ranking: 2; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 1

TRUNK MUSIC by Michael Connelly. (Little, Brown: $23.95) Odd clues from a Mafia hit send Harry Bosch to Las Vegas and into the middle of a deadly scheme. Southern California ranking: 3; Last Weeks: 4; Week on List: 3

LOVE INVENTS US by Amy Bloom. (Random House: $21) The love history of a woman, from shy young girl to middle-aged single mother. Southern California ranking: 4; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 1

AIRFRAME by Michael Crichton (Alfred A. Knopf: $26) A mysterious glitch threatens the production of a profitable jetliner (2). Southern California ranking: 5; Last Weeks: 7; Week on List: 8

THE CLINIC by Jonathan Kellerman. (Bantam: $24.95) Alex Delaware must unlock the secrets of a murdered psychology professor before he can catch her killer (5). Southern California ranking: 6; Last Weeks: 3; Week on List: 4

LE DIVORCE by Diane Johnson. (Dutton: $23.95) Americans abroad struggle with the barbs and mores of French society. Southern California ranking: 7; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 1

SILENT WITNESS by Richard North Patterson. (Knopf: $25.95) A student’s murder brings attorney Tony Lord back to his hometown to face the killer and old memories of his first love’s death (3). Southern California ranking: 8; Last Weeks: 1; Week on List: 3

THE LAWS OF OUR FATHERS by Scott Turow. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $26.95) (12)*. Southern California ranking: 9; Last Weeks: 8; Week on List: 14

SILENT HONOR by Danielle Steel. (Delacorte: $24.95) A successful Japanese family’s world is overturned by World War II and confinement in a relocation center. Southern California ranking: 10; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 8

Nonfiction

MASTERING THE ZONE: The Art of Achieving SuperHealth by Barry Sears with Mary Goodbody. (ReganBooks: $24) (5). Southern California ranking: 1; Last Weeks: 1; Week on List: 3

ANGELA’S ASHES by Frank McCourt. (Scribner: $24) A memoir of childhood in a gloomy Irish city (6). Southern California ranking: 2; Last Weeks: 3; Week on List: 14

AN UNSEEMLY MAN: My Life as Pornographer, Pundit and Social Outcast by Larry Flynt. (Dove: $22.95). Southern California ranking: 3; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 2

SIMPLE ABUNDANCE: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. (Warner: $17.95) A collection of meditations to take women through a year of self-discovery (1). Southern California ranking: 4; Last Weeks: 4; Week on List: 24

THE ZONE by Barry Sears with Bill Lawren. (HarperCollins/ReganBooks: $22) (7)*. Southern California ranking: 5; Last Weeks: 2; Week on List: 46

BEHIND THE OVAL OFFICE: Winning the Presidency in the Nineties by Dick Morris. (Random House: $25.95) Confidential conversations from the Clinton campaigns by his former strategist. Southern California ranking: 6; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 1

THE MORAL INTELLIGENCE OF CHILDREN: How to Raise a Moral Child by Robert Coles. (Random House: $21) See review on Page 8. Southern California ranking: 7; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 1

THE PATH TO LOVE: Renewing the Power of Spirit in Your Life by Deepak Chopra. (Harmony/Crown: $24) (9). Southern California ranking: 8; Last Weeks: 9; Week on List: 5

A REPORTER’S LIFE by Walter Cronkite. (Alfred A. Knopf: $26.95) (2)*. Southern California ranking: 9; Last Weeks: 5; Week on List: 7

CONVERSATIONS WITH MY AGENT by Rob Long. (Dutton: $15.95) Mirth and misadventure in the entertainment industry. Southern California ranking: 10; Last Weeks: --; Week on List: 2

Paperbacks: FICTION

1. THE ENGLISH PATIENT by Michael Ondaatje. (Vintage: $11)

2. SHE’S COME UNDONE by Wally Lamb. (Pocket: $5.99)

3. THE BOOK OF RUTH by Jane Hamilton. (Anchor: $11.95)

4. ABSOLUTE POWER by David Baldacci. (Warner: $7.50)

5. THE POET by Michael Connelly. (Warner: $6.99)

Paperbacks: NONFICTION

1. ZAGAT SURVEY 1997 LOS ANGELES/SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT GUIDE edited by Merrill Shindler and Karen Berk. (Zagat Survey: $10.95)

2. THE RULES: Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right by Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider. (Warner: $14.95)

3. THE COLOR OF WATER: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride. (Riverhead: $12)

4. VIEW WITH A GRAIN OF SAND by Wislawa Szymborska. (Harcourt Brace and Company: $12)

5. THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron. (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam: $13.95)*

Rankings based on Times’ poll of local bookstores. National hardcover rankings (in parentheses) are those of Publishers Weekly. Asterisk (*) indicates book also available on audio (source: Sound Audio Books Distributing, Agoura Hills). For early information on Times bestsellers, call (213) 237-4336 after 11 a.m. Wednesdays.