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Which books became literary sensations in 2024, setting social media alight and topping the charts?
Last year brought us eagerly anticipated new titles by a slew of famous authors – from Sally Rooney and Julia Donaldson – who once again captured hearts and minds with their evocative words and compelling storytelling. It’s time to look back at the bestselling books of 2024.
A Wild Animal
Joël Dicker, author of the multi-award winning novel The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, returned with a new psychological thriller, A Wild Animal. Set in Geneva, it tells the story of two couples from different social backgrounds who are neighbours and send their children to the same school. The families become friends, but in both households a feeling of admiration mixed with envy soon grows. A robbery at a jeweller’s reveals each family’s secrets – and police officer Greg’s obsession with the beautiful Sophie. With his magnetic writing and twisting plot, Dicker has produced another hit that has already sold hundreds of thousands of copies around the world.
Intermezzo
In her keenly awaited fourth novel, Sally Rooney explores the relationship between two very different brothers as they struggle to come to terms with the death of their father. Grief pushes Peter and Ivan to question their lives, bringing feelings of despair but also longings for love. With her ability to analyse relationships and flesh out lifelike characters, Rooney has surprised fans once more with a book about the infinite potential that every life holds.
Kairos
Winner of the International Booker Prize, Kairos by German novelist Jenny Erpenbeck is the love story of Katharina and Hans that begins with a chance encounter on the bus. There is an instant spark between the 19-year-old student and the married fifty-something writer with a wife and son, kindling an intense love affair. Set in East Berlin at the end of the eighties, the story unfolds against the backdrop of the fall of the wall and the collapse of communism, the characters treading a fine line between truth and lies, hope and hate, joy and pain.
The Housemaid
Originally published in 2022 and since translated into 40 languages, Freida McFadden’s psychological thriller was Amazon’s bestselling book in 2024, and confirmed the huge talent of this American writer. It’s the tale of Millie, a young woman down on her luck who, hoping to turn her life around, accepts a job as a maid in the Winchester family’s opulent mansion, only to discover that the inhabitants harbour dark secrets. Written in page-turning prose packed with plot twists, this novel will keep you hooked until the very end.
It Ends with Us
First published in 2016, Colleen Hoover’s romance novel found international success thanks to BookTok, and was subsequently turned into a film directed by Justin Baldoni and released in 2024. It follows the fortunes of Lily, a woman who falls for the charms of an attractive neurosurgeon but ends up trapped in a toxic and violent relationship. The sequel, It Starts With Us, also features on the bestseller list. In it, we learn how Lily manages to get back on her feet and rekindle her relationship with ex-husband Ryle for the good of their daughter. Both tackle universal themes of love, trauma and resilience with a realism and intensity that suck the reader into a vortex of emotions.
The Women
This historical romance spent 10 weeks at the top of The New York Times bestseller list in 2024. It’s about a young American woman from a well-to-do family who decides to follow her solider brother to Vietnam by enrolling as a nurse for the US Army. Kristin Hannah shows us how this war changed the face of America and shines a light on the role of women in all conflicts, one often overlooked by literature and cinema. She also explores the power of female friendship and the importance of fighting for ideals, even if it means going against other people’s expectations. The book is now being adapted for the screen by Warner Bros.
We Solve Murders
Hitting shelves in September 2024, Richard Osman’s murder mystery quickly shot up bestseller lists, no doubt helped by the imminent TV adaptation for his hugely popular The Thursday Murder Club series. We Solve Murders tells of the adventures of an unconventional detective duo in the form of Amy, a security guard protecting a famous writer, and her father-in-law, Steve, a retired copper. After a string of clients of Amy’s firm are murdered, the pair set out to find the killer, a hunt that takes them all over the world. Like his previous books, Osman’s cosy mystery is populated with eccentric characters and suffused with very British humour.
Verity
Best known for her romance novels, Colleen Hoover shows her versatility with this psychological thriller. Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer who receives an unusual offer: complete a series of crime novels left unfinished by Verity Crawford, a bestselling author left in a coma after a car crash. Accepting the assignment, Ashleigh heads over to the Crawford family home to gather the material she needs. There she finds Verity’s hidden autobiography, which reveals shocking secrets about the writer’s personal life.
A Court of Thorns and Roses
A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first volume in the titular fantasy saga created by American author Sarah J. Maas. Published in 2015, it follows the fortunes of Feyre Archeron, a young woman living in grinding poverty who is forced to hunt to feed her family. Feyre’s life is turned upside down when she slays a wolf in the forest, only to discover that the animal was in fact a magical creature from the land of the faerie, a world inhabited by immortal beings with extraordinary powers. As punishment, Feyre is taken to the land of Prythian where, after initially resisting his charms, she finds herself seduced by the enigmatic charisma of Tamlin, High Lord of the Spring Court. But the Kingdom of Prythian is bedevilled by a mysterious curse and Feyre must make perilous choices to save its people.
Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results
One of the biggest-selling non-fiction titles of 2024, Atomic Habits shows readers how small day-to-day changes can transform their lives. In this highly readable book packed with practical examples and exercises, self-development expert and coach James Clear explains how it isn’t huge efforts or sudden transformations that make our lives better, but a series of modest and constant improvements. To achieve our personal and professional goals, we must change atomic habits, those tiny but powerful behaviours that shape our daily lives.
The Lost Bookshop
Switching between two narrative threads set in two different eras in three different cities (London, Dublin and Paris), this book tells the stories of three different characters – Opaline, Martha and Henry – whose paths cross when a lost bookshop appears in their lives. Evie Woods skilfully blends literary genres (fantasy, magic realism, historical fiction and romance) and tackles topical themes such as misogyny and self-discovery. Published in 2023, The Lost Bookshop has sold over a million copies worldwide and was a finalist in the Pageturner Book of the Year category at the British Book Awards 2024.
The Baddies
Thanks to this entertaining children’s book, The Gruffalo co-creator Julia Donaldson held on to her title as the UK’s bestselling author for the fifth year running. First published in 2022, The Baddies instantly delighted readers of all ages, and ranked 81st in the general chart in 2024. It’s about a troll, a ghost and a witch who, stumbling across a kind and generous little girl, compete with one another to steal her treasured hanky. But things don’t go to plan… This rhyming tale of altruism, friendship and bravery is superbly illustrated by Alex Scheffler.
Dog Man: Big Jim Begins
Dog Man: Big Jim Begins is the latest instalment in the bestselling graphic novel series by multi-award-winning author and illustrator Dav Pilkey. In this origin story for Dog Man, the titular hero with the body of a police man and head of a police dog, the usual cast of characters must join forces to defeat the Space Cuties, dastardly aliens bent on destroying the city. The Washington Post has called Pilkey a “rockstar” because of the huge success of his graphic novels in which he tackles universal themes like courage, teamwork and forgiveness.
Our round-up of the bestsellers of 2024 ends here: happy reading!