Simon Beckett - Britain's top writer in Europe

In the Times, Richard Brooks reports on new figures revealing that the best-selling British author in Europe last year was crime writer Simon Beckett who is relatively unknown in this country.

Simon Beckett, 49, did not find literary success until his mid-forties, but he is now mobbed at book readings in Germany and recognised at airports in Scandinavia.

In 2009, Whispers of the Dead, his latest book, sold 300,000 copies in hardback alone in Germany and about 200,000 more copies elsewhere. It also reached No 2 in Poland and was a bestseller in Sweden and Italy.