John Dean – Crime Writer

Analysis by Google has added to the growing perception that 2025 has been a very good year for crime fiction sales both in the UK and globally.

A number of pieces of market research released through the year have already supported the contention that the genre is performing much better than a number of others.

Now, that picture has been further confirmed by the Google analysis of sales figures which has suggested that, although complete figures for the year are not yet available, preliminary date suggests that UK fiction generally has been a standout category, with sales up and particularly strong performances in the crime, thrillers, science fiction and fantasy categories.

Google says that the warm weather in the UK in the summer caused a slight revenue dip of -0.4% but the strong performance by the four categories ensured that the dip was only slight.

Hardback sales for some crime titles have shown significant increases and digital formats, including audiobooks and ebooks, remain popular, says Google. 

New releases by established, bestselling authors have continued to drive sales, including Richard Osman, Ann Cleeves, Anthony Horowitz, Val McDermid, Lee Child, and James Patterson.

According to the analysis, fiction, mystery and thrillers collectively account for a significant portion of all fiction book sales in the Western world, estimated at between 25% and 40%.