Crime tops romance on libraries list

Crime tales and thrillers appear to have killed off romantic novels from the likes of Catherine Cookson, as they dominate the list of most-borrowed titles from libraries.

New figures show that authors such as James Patterson and Lee Child have pushed period tales of love out of the top ten they once ruled.

The league of most-borrowed titles, compiled by Public Lending Right (PLR), gives a snapshot of changing tastes. Topped by Dan Brown’s thriller The Lost Symbol, the rest of the top ten is made up entirely of crime titles, with Patterson having a hand in five of them.

United States-based British writer Lee Child is in second place with 61 Hours and has another book, Worth Dying For, ranked at number ten.

A decade ago, Cookson and her historical romantic dramas took five of the top six places.

Patterson was also the most borrowed author from UK libraries for the fifth year running, according to PLR figures for 2010/11.