Perfect for lovers of organized crime, mafia books usually centre around a dark, broody, criminal protagonist with a heart of gold. This protagonist usually has ties with the Italian (or in some cases, Japanese, Sicilian or Russian) mafia, but has a heart of gold. With a lot of gory, crime, blood but also great romance, style and family bonds, mafia books are a treat. With both fiction and non-fiction, this list is your ultimate guide to top books about mafia that will blow your mind.
Top Books About Mafia | Best Mafia Books Ever Written –
Godfather: Mario Puzo
This mafia classic has at its centre the charismatic Vito Corleone right from his childhood to his coming of age and adulthood in the mafia family. The best part about this book is the wisdom it encompasses. The dialogues, especially Vito’s, are disarmingly full of sagacity, which is quite unexpected too. The descriptions of violence and family ties are great too.
Gomorrah: Roberto Saviano
This true crime book is a genuine tale of bloodlust and organized crime. It tells the story of the decline of Naples under the reign of the Camorra. This cartel of organized crime, which through its ventures as practically usurped the economy of the Neapolitan Coast, has led ti the deterioration of stability. This book is a dramatic yet authentic expose of the same.
Out: Natsuo Kirino
In this gripping story featuring the Japanese mafia, yakuza, we follow a young mother who murders her husband. And she doesn’t stop there – she goes on to recruit other people to cover up for the crime. The quest for the murderer leads the police through the dark and seedy underbelly of Japan. This book is grisly and dark, but also fast-paced and enigmatic.
The Cartel: Ashley Antoinette and Jaquavis Coleman
The death of the leader if a celebrated mafia cult in Miami leads to the mafia version of ‘game of thrones’. Here, Carter Diamond’s widow, his twin sons and a daughter try to come to terms with his loss and what it means for the mafia community. But the sudden arrival of an illegitimate son to demand his birth right wreaks even more havoc.
Destino: Sienna Mynx
In this wonderful mafia romance, a successful Black fashion designer in Italy meets an impeccably dressed businessman. Suddenly, she’s thrown off track, wondering if romance might just be good for her. But the man’s connections with the Battaglia mafia makes her re-question everything in her life all over again.
Midnight in Sicily: Peter Robb
Blending Sicilian culture and coastal geography with its rich network of mafia, Robb creates a crime travelogue of sorts. Examining the historical roots of the mafia and the place they hold in contemporary politics, he distils his ethnographical research of fourteen years into one groundbreakingly insightful book.
The Day of the Owl: Leonardo Sciascia
In this Italian crime fiction, a detective called Bellodi attempts to solve the mystery of the murder of a man shot while catching a bus. Bellodi’s qest leads him into the dark underworld of Sicily, where corruption, crime, power games and bloodlust run rife. But his investigation has some people monitoring it – for they don’t want the cat out of the bag.
Wiseguy: Nicholas Pileggi
This crime non-fiction is the portrait of the formidable crime lord Henry Hill. Pileggi presents to us, in graphic detail, the story of a man with an impeccable code of honour. However, he immerses himself in violence, extravagance and affairs. What emerges is a classic caricature of the mafia world. Except, this is all the more real even as it sounds fictitious.
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