The Mafia a Hit in Germany, Sweden

Two books on the Mafia were among the top sellers in Germany and Sweden in September. Roberto Saviano's Gomorrha, an exploration of organized crime in Naples, debuted at #2 in Germany. The book was a bestseller in Italy and will be published in the U.S. later this month by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. There is no American publisher for the top nonfiction title in Sweden, The Swedish Mafia, which examines how the crime gangs are organized in that country. And there is no American house for the new #1 Swedish novel, Liza Marklund's Lifetime. Although Marklund's crime thrillers are popular in Europe, she has had limited success in the U.S.

Germany's bestselling crime novelist in September, Andrea Schenkel, claims the top two spots on the fiction list, but she, too, doesn't have an American publisher.

Both the fiction and nonfiction lists were filled with newcomers in France. The only holdover among the top 10 nonfiction titles was Coloring Book for Adults Who Are Bored in the Office, which has spawned a sequel, Coloring Book for Adults Who Want to Drop Everything. Sitting atop the fiction list was Amelie Nothomb's Not from Eve, nor Adam; several of Nothomb's earlier novels have been released in the U.S., with the most recent, Sulphuric Acid, out in August from Faber and Faber.