Four of the top five most borrowed books in UK libraries were by crime and thriller authors, according to Public Lending Right, the body that makes sure authors receive a payment 6.3 pence each time one of their books is taken out of a library. At the top of the chart, for the sixth year running, was British author James Patterson with his book 10th Anniversary, co-written by Maxine Paetro.

Lee Child, who yesterday won the CWA Diamond Dagger for the overall excellence of his body of work, was the author of the second most borrowed book, Worth Dying For. In third and fourth were Miracle Cure by Harlan Coben and Private London, another Patterson title. The only non-crime title in the top five was The Help by Kathryn Stockett which deals with racial divisions in the southern United States.

Books by James Patterson were borrowed over 2.4 million times by UK readers in the 2011-12 period. Six other authors also saw their books borrowed over one million times including the crime authors Nora Roberts and MC Beaton. The rest were children’s authors. According to PLR, the adult fiction category was utterly dominated by crime and thriller books, and by US-based authors – 17 of the top 20 adult fiction books were crime/thriller titles by writers based in the United States. Of those 17, nine were written by James Patterson.

PLR is celebrating its 30th anniversary – the body has been representing authors since 1983. In 1982-83, the most borrowed author was Catherine Cookson. Since then, PLR has made sure that £138million has been paid to registered authors. If you’re an author, find out more here.

PLR’s Most borrowed books 2011-12
1. 10th Anniversary by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
2. Worth Dying For by Lee Child
3. Miracle Cure by Harlan Coben
4. Private London by James Patterson
5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

PLR’s Most borrowed authors 2011-12
1. James Patterson
2. Nora Roberts
3. MC Beaton
4. Danielle Steel
5. Clive Cussler
6. Anna Jacobs
7. Lee Child
8. David Baldacci
9. Michael Connelly
10. Harlan Coben
11. Katie Flynn
12. Tess Gerritsen
13. Josephine Cox
14. Alexander McCall Smith
15. John Grisham
16. Jodi Picoult
17. JD Robb
18. Jeffrey Deaver
19. Agatha Christie
20. Ian Rankin