HOW MRS HINCH IS CLEANING UP

NEWS that ‘cleanfluencer’ Mrs Hinch’s third book, ‘The Little Book Of Lists,’ received twice as many orders as double-Booker winner Hilary Mantel’s latest acclaimed publication, ‘The Mirror and the Light,’ maybe isn’t so surprising. What is surprising is that Mrs Hinch’s tome isn’t available until April 2!

With 3.2 million Instagram followers and her last two books coining in £5 million combined, Mrs Hinch is the nom de plume of former Essex hairdresser Sophie Hinchliffe.

As for Hilary Mantel, some critics have suggested her new novel which is longer than the two preceding books (nearly 900 pages) is just too huge. Ominously prefaced by a five-and-a-half-page list of characters and two five-generation royal family trees, it’s been described as overpopulated and overloaded.

One critic declared ‘bloat has set in,’ another that it came ‘clogged with research data’ that one reader compared to wading through a Sargasso Sea of Tudor haberdashery, 16th-century foodstuffs, aristocratic genealogies and dynastic matrimonial entanglements.

Well, I bet Dame Hilary’s gutted at this news: someone may even lose their head over it! So if Mrs Hinch is going to clean up, maybe she should add some tips on how to get blood stains off the chopping block?

Seriously though, what is the point of comparing two entirely different books aimed at entirely different fanbases? Does ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ outsell ‘The Unabridged History of North Korean Dictatorship’? Similarly, does The Financial Times outsell The Sun, or does University Challenge have more viewers than Love Island (though maybe if the Love Island teams appeared on University Challenge…?)

Frankly, neither type of book grabs me. What I like reading is exactly what I like writing – psychological, suspense and crime thrillers – the grittier the better. And what makes me happy? Seeing them sell well around the world (as you know, all profits to Costa del Sol Cudeca cancer charity).

Finally, on a really positive note, I’d like to thank all those readers who’ve left comments about my latest audiobooks on my website and on EWN’s ‘Columnist’ link! Happy reading!

Nora Johnson’s psychological crime thrillers ‘Betrayal,’ ‘The Girl in the Woods,’ ‘The Girl in the Red Dress,’ ‘No Way Back,’ ‘Landscape of Lies,’ ‘Retribution,’ ‘Soul Stealer,’ ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.nora-johnson.net) available online as ebook (€0.99;£0.99), ibook, paperback & audiobook. All profits to Costa del Sol Cudeca cancer charity.