Richard Osman’s latest Thursday Murder Club book among UK’s most-sold for year

The fourth instalment of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club series is among the UK’s most purchased books of the past 12 months, according to sales data from Amazon Books.

The company has examined the top 100 most sold books on Amazon in 10 cities between June 1 2023 and June 1 2024 and found that The Last Devil To Die is the highest selling in seven of them.

The book series, which follows a group of friends who attempt to investigate murders in their sleepy English village, is set to be made into a Netflix movie with stars including Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Richard E Grant and Sir Ben Kingsley.

Lauren Roberts’ debut fantasy romance novel Powerless is another book that has proved popular over the past 12 months.

Amazon Book’s regional breakdown of the sales trends shows that Londoners purchased the most non-fiction in the country and are especially big on books related to business and the mind.

Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food… and Why Can’t We Stop? by Dr Chris van Tulleken, How to Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith are all popular reads in the nation’s capital.

In Manchester, fantasy series A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J Maas and Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros dominates the list.

Books that have recently been adapted for the screen, including One Day by David Nicholls, Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, and Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben, make up 17% of Amazon Book’s top 100 titles.

Glaswegians are the greatest champions of independent authors in the UK, according to the company, with books from three self-published authors making the city’s top 100 most sold books.

According to Amazon Books, Belfast proved to be the most romantic city with romance fiction reflected in 16% of their top 100 most purchased books over the last year.

Meanwhile, Bristol favours popular podcasters and bought more books by Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett and The Rest Is Politics podcaster Rory Stewart than any other city.

The data also shows that the residents of Leeds buy more biographies and autobiographies than any other city, with 7% of the genre making up their top 100 most purchased books.

Liverpool residents like their memoirs and biographies as well – among the most popular ones is the autobiography of former Leeds Rhinos star Rob Burrow, who died following a lengthy battle with motor neurone disease (MND) in June.

Cardiff readers tie with Leeds on the most food and drink books purchased, with the genre featuring in over 10% of their top 100 list.

Jen Barrett, UK KDP lead at Amazon said: “It’s incredible to see the variety of the most loved books, authors and popular genres throughout the UK.

“The data highlights the love Brits have for a good story, regardless of whether it’s a ‘booktok’ favourite or an up-and-coming writer; traditionally published or self-published; fiction or non-fiction.”

Submissions for Amazon Book’s Kindle Storyteller Award close on August 31.