Bookouture thriller racks up one million digital sales in a year

Robert Bryndza’s thriller The Girl in the Ice has hit one million sales in less than a year, according to digital publisher Bookouture.

The Girl in the Ice, a digital-only release, follows police detective Erika Foster on the trail of a killer who has murdered three prostitutes.

Since its digital release in February 2016, The Girl in the Ice has been a number one Kindle bestseller in the US, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands, a number two bestseller in the UK as well as a top 100 bestseller in France, Spain and India, the publisher said.

The rights to The Girl in the Ice have now sold in 24 countries, including a “major” six figure deal in Germany. The Girl in the Ice is the first book in the Erika Foster crime series which has sold 1.4m copies to date.

Claire Bord, publisher at Bookouture, said: “This is an extraordinary milestone for both Bookouture and Robert. To reach one million copies on one book alone in little under a year is a triumph of epic proportions. Robert has established a huge global audience for the Erika Foster series and in Erika, created a character that readers are completely hooked on.”

Bryndza said: “For The Girl in the Ice to sell a million copies in just under a year is both mind-boggling and a dream come true! Thank you to all my incredible readers, thank you to the amazing community of book bloggers who have introduced my work to so many people, and a massive thank you to the brilliant team at Bookouture, who have given me so much support and creative freedom to write the books I want to write.”

Meanwhile, Bookouture has signed two new books from Kathryn Croft.

Keshini Naidoo, associate publisher at Bookouture secured world English language rights for the two books from Madeleine Milburn at the Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency.

Naidoo said: “Since the publication of The Girl With No Past in 2015, Kathryn has quickly established herself as one of the foremost writers of psychological thrillers in the UK, with each book subsequently launching to huge success. Kathryn’s particular brand of twisting, dark, utterly gripping fiction has gained her an army of fans worldwide, and we are delighted to be continuing our very successful partnership with this incredibly talented author.”

Croft said: “I'm absolutely thrilled to sign a new book deal with Bookouture and look forward to what the year ahead brings!”

Milburn said: “Croft’s psychological thrillers dominate the digital charts – her sales figures are phenomenal and it’s so exciting to see Bookouture grow them exponentially with each book.”