Strike and co hit a home run for crime novels as sales soar

CRIME novels and psychological thrillers are outselling other types of fiction for the first time, after a glut of TV dramas boosted interest in the books.

In 2017, 18.7 million crime and thriller books were sold, up 19 per cent since 2015. General and literary fiction titles, which have led the market for the past 20 years, sold 18.1 million copies.

Women are driving the boom, accounting for 53 per cent of sales. The market last year was worth £117 million, according to figures unveiled at the London Book Fair by Nielsen Bookscan.

Among the books topping the bestseller lists last year were Louise Doughty’s Apple Tree Yard, first published in 2013 but re-issued to tie in with a BBC adaptation starring Emily Watson.

The BBC also adapted JK Rowling’s Cormoran Strike novels, written under the pen name of Robert Galbraith.

Jacks Thomas, London Book Fair director, said: “Television adaptations bring in new audiences. If you turn on your TV, there are so many crime dramas and thrillers, and lots of them are based on books. Netflix is a great enabler, and these days there are whole channels dedicated to crime.”

Others had different theories on why crime novels are having a moment. “We have seen a surge in the popularity of psychological suspense brought about by a melding of the women’s relationship and detective genres,” said Selina Walker, publisher of the Century and Arrow imprints at Penguin Random House. “We are getting strong female characters, often written by women, and that seems to have hit a note.”

Best-selling crime author David Baldacci said the genre fits the turbulent political times.

“People inherently don’t like folks who do bad to get away with it. In real life they do. But in novels, evil is punished and the good guys mostly win,” he said.