NaiRobbery Cocktail, a novel by celebrated author Empress Ciku Kimani-Mwaniki, is now a bestseller.
The fast-paced East African crime fiction has sold a total of over 3,000 copies.
It is Ciku's fifth novel, and is one of Kenya’s best-selling contemporary crime novels.
While there isn’t a definite threshold for a book to be considered a bestseller in Kenya or Africa due to varying markets, 3,000-5,000 copies are generally regarded as a bestseller in many African markets.
Kimani-Mwaniki says that the novel’s bestseller mark and first anniversary are a milestone and proof that Kenyans are reading local literature.
"It feels really good. More than 95 per cent of the copies have been sold in Kenya, and that is a demonstration that Kenyans are reading. It is very encouraging for us as authors because it shows that it is possible to make money from books," she says.
The novel's success, she believes, also shows that there’s a growing appetite for Kenyan crime fiction seeped in real street names and real places.
She says that her readers tell her that NaiRobbery Cocktail feels like a modern-day Down River Road by Meja Mwangi.
Even though the book has received an overwhelmingly positive response, Kimani-Mwaniki says she was not surprised by its success, with people highly recommending the book to other readers. This is her first book that has also been picked by a traditional publisher, eKitabu.
"I felt rewarded because I have been writing for a long time. It is something I have been building towards. I could see repeat customers, and some readers kept asking for more books," she expresses.
The commercial success of NaiRobbery Cocktail has also made her take authorship more seriously and shown her that she can tell a compelling story.
The crime thriller takes readers into Nairobi’s criminal underworld and explores the themes of exploitation, desire, power, betrayal, loyalty, violence, morality, and the difficult choices people make to survive.
It follows Naliaka, an orphaned teenager forced into sex work after the loss of her parents. Groomed by a high-end brothel operator, she is entangled in the lives of a Catholic priest, an undercover police officer, corrupt police officers, and a flamboyant crime boss.
It also explores the connections between criminal networks, brothel owners, corrupt police officers, undercover units and influential figures operating behind the scenes in Nairobi.
Kimani-Mwaniki uses the story to examine sex work as a social equaliser, portraying how people from different backgrounds and positions of power get into the same hidden world.
NaiRobbery Cocktail has been acclaimed for its exploration of taboo subjects, its nuanced portrayal of characters living on society's margins and its vivid depiction of Nairobi's darker experiences.