Dan Brown’s Inferno not only topped the American charts in May but was also #1 in the month in a wide range of international markets. In addition to being the top-seller in the three countries listed here, Inferno was also #1 in Spain, France, and the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, the Dutch translation of Inferno was #1, while the English-language edition took the fourth spot.
In the fight for second place, Donna Leon’s Beastly Things hit #2 in Germany in May. The crime thriller is part of Leon’s Commissario Brunetti series, set in the New Jersey–born author’s- adopted home town of Venice. Atlantic Monthly Press has been Leon’s longtime U.S. publisher and released Beastly Things last year. In second place in Sweden in May was the latest in the Swedish novelist Mari Jungstedt’s Anders Knutas Mysteries line, You Will Never Walk Alone. Jungstedt has been published in the U.S. by St. Martin’s, but Swedish startup Stockholm Text will publish her Killer Art in the States this fall.
Debuting at #4 in Italy in May was Donato Carrisi’s The Hypothesis of Evil, the newest in his Mila Vasquez thrillers, which have been big bestsellers in Italy. Mulholland Books published Carrisi’s The Whisperer in January 2012 in hardcover and followed up with the trade paperback this past January.
There are a couple of intriguing titles on the Swedish nonfiction list. At #2 is I Just Want to Be Free, a biography of the Swedish actress and comedian Lena Nyman, whose credits include appearing in the “Swedish-sin” movies I Am Curious (Yellow) and I Am Curious (Blue). And at #8 is Texas BBQ, which is described as “a Swedish step-by-step guide to barbequing the Texan way.”
International Bestsellers
| Germany | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | Inferno Inferno Dan Brown Bastei Lübbe | Die grosse Volksverarsche The Great Public Parody Hannes Jaenicke Gütersloher Verlagshaus |
| 2 | Tierische profite Beastly Things Donna Leon Diogenes | 1913 1913 Florian Illes S. Fischer |
| 3 | Er is wieder da He’s Back Timur Vermes Eichborn | Das Geheimnis des perfekten Tages The Secret of Having a Perfect Day Dieter Nuhr Bastei Lübbe |
Used by arrangement with Buchreport
| Sweden | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fiction | Nonfiction | |
| 1 | Inferno Inferno Dan Brown Albert Bonniers | I kroppen min In My Body Kristian Gidlund Bokförlaget Forum |
| 2 | Du går inte ensam You Will Never Walk Alone Mari Jungstedt Albert Bonniers | Jag vill ju vara fri I Just Want to Be Free Annika Persson Norstedts |
| 3 | Femtio nyanser av frihet Fifty Shades Freed E.L. James Norstedts | Tina: hur du enkelt lagar min allra godaste mat Tina: How to Cook My Very Best Food Easily Tina Nordström Bonnier Fakta |
Used by arrangement with Svensk Bokhandel.
| Italy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Combined | |||
| 1 | Inferno Inferno Dan Brown Mondadori | 4 | L’ipotesi del male The Hypothesis of Evil Donato Carrisi Longanesi |
| 2 | ZeroZeroZero ZeroZeroZero Roberto Saviano Feltrinelli | 5 | Il bambino segreto The Hidden Child Camilla Läckberg Marsilio |
| 3 | Il mio diario, Violetta My Diary, Violetta Walt Disney Co. Italia | 6 | Un covo di vipere A Nest of Vipers Andrea Camilleri Sellerio Editore Palermo |
Used by arrangement with Informazioni Editoriali.
