A new report from the Swiss Booksellers and Publishers Association (SBVV) has revealed which books were the top page-turners for people in Switzerland in 2024. The last year has been a boon for local Swiss authors, with the majority of top titles being from local wordsmiths.

Crime novel from Bernese author the top fiction book in Switzerland

According to the ranking compiled by the association, the crime novel Vermisst - Der Fall Anna (Missing - The Anna Case) by Christine Brand was the best-selling fiction book in Switzerland in 2024. The author from Canton Bern started off her career as a court reporter before turning her hand to crime novels.

The book itself documents the case of a mother who mysteriously disappeared during her son’s fifth birthday. Together with the son, the police begin to investigate the cold case, revealing a wider cascading conspiracy that has readers gripped from the start.

Das kleine Haus am Sonnenhang (The Little House on the Sunny Slope) by French-Swiss author Alex Capus took second place; a personal story detailing a writer weighing up the value of literature and how the pleasure and comfort of the familiar often rub up against the excitement and trepidation of the new. Psychological thriller Das Kalendermädchen (The Calendar Girl) by Sebastian Fitzek took third.

Books about mid and later life the top non-fiction books of 2024

When it comes to non-fiction reads, it seems people in Switzerland were contemplating their own mortality: Altern (Ageing) from German writer Elke Heidenreich was the most popular title in 2024. In a deeply personal tale, Heidenreich reflects on her own ageing, the decisions she made and how she copes with life in old age.

In a similar theme, local author Barbara Bleisch’s book Mitte des Lebens or Midlife was the second most read book. In the piece, Bleisch offers her unvarnished take on adulthood and how to make the most of ageing - without it turning into a midlife crisis.

Speaking to Watson, SBVV spokesperson Tanja Messerli hailed what has been a spectacular year for Swiss authors, with 11 of the top 20 best fiction and non-fiction books being from local writers. "From a Swiss perspective, this is a great result, considering the enormous competition," she concluded.

Most popular books in Switzerland revealed

In all, here are the 10 most popular fiction books in Switzerland as of 2024 (those with an asterisk are available in English):

1. Vermisst – Der Fall Anna (Missing - The Anna Case), Christine Brand
2. Das kleine Haus am Sonnenhang (The Little House on the Sunny Slope), Alex Capus
3. Das Kalendermädchen (The Calendar Girl), Sebastian Fitzek (available in English from October 23)
4. Allmen und Herr Weynfeldt (Allmen and Mr Weynfeldt), Martin Suter
5. Bretonische Sehnsucht (Breton Longing), Jean-Luc Bannalec
6. Alpstein, Silvia Götschi
7. Seinetwegen (Because of Him), Zora del Buono
8. Melody, Martin Suter
9. Die Tote im St. Moritzersee (The Dead Woman of Lake St. Moritz), Phillip Gurt 
10. Icebreaker, Hannah Grace*

Here are the top 10 non-fiction titles:

1. Altern (Ageing), Elke Heidenreich
2. Mitte des Lebens (Midlife), Barbara Bleisch
3. Das Kind in dir muss Heimat finden (The Child in you must find a Home), Stefanie Stahl*
4. Can’t Hurt Me, David Goggins*
5. Power: Die 48 Gesetze der Macht (The 48 Laws of Power), Robert Greene*
6. Nexus, Yuval Noah Harari*
7. Faustregeln (Rules of Thumb), Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschäppeler
8. Life Rebel, Yvonne Eisenring
9. Stop Overthinking: 23 Techniques to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Spirals, Declutter Your Mind, and Focus on the Present, Nick Trenton*
10. Der Glukose-Trick – Das Praxisbuch (The Glucose Trick – The Practical Guide), Jessie Inchauspé (books by the same author on a similar topic are available in English)

For more information about the rankings, check out the SBVV website.

Thumb image credit: Oleksandr Berezko / Shutterstock.com