A self-published crime writer has beaten some of 2011’s most popular authors by coming top of the Kindle charts for the final quarter of last year.

Coming ahead of novelists like Steig Larsson, unknown writer Kerry Wilkinson saw his debut book Locked In take the top spot of the Amazon.co.uk chart, despite having written and published the title in less than a year.

With more than 250,000 downloads recorded since its release six months ago, the savvy author has accumulated £50,000 so far, boosted by an initial 35 per cent share of the book’s original 98 pence price tag.

Wilkinson has remained modest about his sudden success, putting it down to his love for writing and achievement, rather than a desire to create a bestseller.

He told the Daily Telegraph: “I wrote it more as a test for myself as opposed to anything else. I hadn’t put any thought into publishing - either traditionally or by myself - let alone any success it could possibly have.”

Sales of the novel really began to soar when the writer published its sequel Vigilante, the second instalment in the Jessica Daniel series.

Meanwhile, Amazon.com is reportedly setting up its first physical retail outlet in Seattle later this year to determine whether it would be a profitable way forward.

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