Top 10 Kobo books - 2015

They're all authored by women, and they're all excellent. These are the top 10 bestselling Kobo books of 2015 (all available in other formats). Kobo or no, take a look! 

10.   My Sister’s Secret – Tracy Buchanan

"Everything you’ve built your life on is a lie" is provides the ultimate blank canvas for Tracy Buchanan in this thriller. Buchanan though covers that canvas with expert storytelling and a familial web of lies and mis-memories. We follow Willow as she seeks the truth about her family - and its untold history - through 339 pages of twists and turns. 

9.     The Ballroom Café – Ann O’Loughlin

A deep and powerful story awaits in Ann O'Loughlin's story of warring sisters, an Irish family home in disrepair, the titular ball-room café and the arrival of an American seeking knowledge of her mother. "Deftly written, moving and courageous", was the verdict of The Sunday. Rumour has it one heck of a plot-twist awaits...

8.     The Accident – C.L. Taylor

When her teenage daughter deliberately steps into the path of an oncoming bus, mother Sue Jackson needs answers. Will she find them, what is the meaning of a 'horrifying' entry into her comatose daughter's diary...and ultimately, who can she trust as a seemingly perfect family life unravels? This gripping, paranoia-inducing story sounds sensational.

7.     The Miniaturist – Jessie Burton

A study in excellent literary and historical fiction, The Miniaturist has delighted and dazzled readers, and is - according to Before I Go To Sleep author, S.J Watson, "The kind of book that reminds you why you fell in love with reading" (those kinds of books are awesome!). Set in 17th century Amsterdam, The Miniaturist tells of eighteen year-old Nella Oortman, the model miniature house her new husband presents her, and the unusual way it affects their own.

6.     Elizabeth is Missing – Emma Healey

A detective story dealing in black comedy, mental health, and a character named Maud. Elizabeth is Missing follows a lead character who keeps forgetting on a trail to find out where her friend Elizabeth has gone, and what links the disappearance to just after the Second World War. Author Jonathan Coe calls the book "a semi-mythical beast you cannot put down". Sounds like a challenge worth failing, eh?

5.     Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

If you've managed to avoid Gone Girl then you're either culturally agile beyond compare, or simply wilfully independent. Both are good, but so is Flynn's superb story of Nick and Amy Dunne - celebrating their fifth anniversary before intelligent and beautiful Amy is gone. What follows is a tale or two stories as Nick questions himself, under attack from all sides. Where did Amy go? What has happened? There's only one way to know!

4.     Silent Scream – Angela Marsons

One of three titles featuring D.I Kim Stones (Evil Games, Lost Girls) Silent Scream currently holds number one spots for both Sociology and Serial Killers in Amazon's book rankings. That's unsurprising, given the skill with which Marsons unearths Silent Scream's 'buried' secrets, and a decades-long spree of murders. D.I Stones is on a mission to catch the killer, but may find more than one twisted mind. 

3.     The Lie  – C.L. Taylor

'Jane Hughes has a loving partner, a job in an animal sanctuary and a tiny cottage in rural Wales. She’s happier than she’s ever been but her life is a lie. Jane Hughes does not really exist.' Intriguing and beguiling, The Lie unfolds the details of Jane's story, including the death of friends on a holiday years past, and a certain someone who wants to destroy her life. But who and why? 

2.     The Girl on the Train  – Paula Hawkins

WH Smith Book of the Year, it's little surprise that Hawkins' title features here. "You don't know her, but she knows you" - With this tagline, The Girl on The Train has continually captured imaginations. A Crime and Fiction bestseller, described as Rear Window meets Gone Girl. Three first-person narratives, one divorced, alcoholic heroine. It's a must-read. 

1.     Grey – E.L James

Despite mixed responses upon launch, E.L James' Grey tops this particular list by virtue of the fact it's the most read Kobo book of the year. It's one of the biggest titles in the book world too, breaking a three days sales record held by Dan Brown's the Lost Symbol (selling 647,401 copies in all formats). What's the story? Christian Grey tells his side of the intense relationship depicted in Fifty Shades of Grey. The chances are, if you already knew detail then you've already made up your mind on this one!