Sourcebooks hails first adult Sunday Times hit

Jun 19, 2024by The Bookseller Editorial Team

Dominique Raccah, c.e.o. Sourcebooks

Sourcebooks has hailed its first ever adult Sunday Times hit, after The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden hit the top of the charts on release. McFadden’s latest, published by Poisoned Pen, narrowly missed out on the number one spot after the author achieved her best first-week result for one of her books.

Dominique Raccah, Sourcebooks publisher and c.e.o., said: "We are thrilled to celebrate Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid is Watching debuting at number two on the Sunday Times bestseller list in the UK. This remarkable achievement highlights both Freida’s exceptional talent for writing compulsively readable thrillers, the support of her dedicated fans, and the new audiences she’s drawing throughout the world."

McFadden has been published by Bookouture globally, with print book sales handled by Little, Brown in the UK, but US publisher Sourcebooks acquired the world English print rights to several of McFadden’s titles last year, including the third book in this series. Five have gone on to hit the New York Times bestseller list in the US, with The Teacher debuting at number one in February.

Frieda McFadden

Sourcebooks said it supported the release with a "blockbuster marketing campaign in the UK, including advertising across the London Underground network, a gift with purchase incentive at The Works driving consumers to stores in the first week, in-store promotions at Waterstones, strategic digital advertising and more".

It was also a notable success for DK, in its 50th year, which sells and markets the Sourcebooks list in the UK and Europe.

In February, Sourcebooks scored its first UK bestseller when Laura Nowlin’s If Only I Had Told Her debuted at number one on the Sunday Times children’s list. It has gone on to sell over 43,000 copies in the UK since its publication.

The Housemaid Is Watching also hit number one in the Bookstat E-Book charts; that edition published by Bookouture, sold an estimated 16,919 editions.