Michael Connelly, a former Sun Sentinel reporter, stands at No. 2 on the hardcover list.

At South Florida Adventures we love thrillers and mysteries that get our hearts pumping fast. Here are the December best sellers at Murder on the Beach, a Delray Beach bookstore specializing in the genre.

 Hardcovers

 1. U Is For Undertow by Sue Grafton (Putnam, $28)

2. 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown, $280)

3. Stuff To Spy For by Don Bruns (Oceanview, $26)

4. Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James (Knopf, $22)

5. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Murder by Jeff Markowitz (Five Star, $26)

6. The Professional by Robert B. Parker (Putnam, $27)

7. Double Exposure by Michael Lister (Tyrus, $25)

8. The Paris Vendetta by Steve Berry (Ballantine, $26)

9. London Boulevard by Ken Bruen (Minotaur, $25)

10. Ford County by John Grisham (Doubleday, $22)

Mass Market

1. The Fashion Hound Murders by Elaine Viets (Signet, $7)

2. Expose! by Hannah Dennison (Berkley, $7)

3. A Deadly Silver Sea by Bob Morris (St. Martin’s, $8)

4. Dance With the Dragon by David Hagberg (Forge, $8)

5. Mrs. Malory And Any Man’s Death by Hazel Holt (Berkley, $7)

6. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Scroll of the Dead by David Stuart Davies (Titan, $10)

7. Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein (Doubleday, $8)

8. Boca Knights by Steven M. Forman (Forge, $8)

9. Warning At One by Ann Purser (Berkley, $8)

10. Exit Music by Ian Rankin (Little, Brown, $8)