Winner: Fiction Crime & Thriller Book of the Year
Our House
Simon & Schuster
Louise Candlish brought her 12th book to Simon & Schuster with a very modest track record, but by the end of 2018 Our House had sold 165,000 copies in all editions.
It was a remarkable turnaround—though not as shocking a twist as the final line of Our House. The promise of a shocking finale was the focal point of Simon & Schuster’s marketing campaign for the book, which began with a slew of proofs and the gathering of big-name endorsements. An eye-catching cover, heavy author promotion and retail support, especially from Tesco and Waterstones, were other factors in its success.
The book also benefited from S&S’ flexibility. Spotting a similar title on the horizon, it pulled hardback publication forward from June to April. Then, when an opportunity in Waterstones’ Thriller of the Month slot came up, it shifted the paperback too. An increased advertising budget kept sales rolling on until Christmas and into 2019, nicely teeing up Candlish’s next book, due in July.
Shortlist
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The Woman in the WindowA.J. Finn(HarperFiction) Last year’s successor to The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl, from the alter ego of editor Dan Mallory -
Our HouseLouise Candlish(Simon & Schuster) Our House tapped into middle-class fears, this time about property. The British Book Awards judges liked its new take on the now very competitive psychological thriller genre -
The Wife Between UsGreer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen(Pan) Team-written thriller that built a buzz in e-book before selling well -
Close to HomeCara HunterRichard and Judy Book Club pick that topped 100,000 in the TCM and established Hunter as a major crime fiction brand -
MacbethJo Nesbo(Hogarth) Reimagining of the tragedy that was the bestselling title in the Hogarth series to mark 400 years since Shakespeare's death -
In a House of LiesIan RankinThree decades in and still selling in huge numbers, Rankin's 22nd Rebus novel brought Scotland's top cop out of retirement