Perhaps it’s because most of us are law-abiding citizens, but tales of criminality capture audiences like nothing else.
Whether romanticising outlaws, marvelling at their nerve or digging into the terrifying psyche of a psychotic mob boss, tales of the underworld are some of the most read around.
While some will always be fascinated by true crime stories, books about organised crime are equally as compelling.
Think of some of the world’s biggest gang bosses and we bet you can roll off a few notorious names off the top of your head: Al Capone, Pablo Escobar, the Kray twins and their rivals the Richardson Gang, for starters.
This is thanks, in no small part, to the films and shows depicting their exploits. Peaky Blinders, one of the BBC’s most successful dramas ever with a staggering 55.6m viewers in 2022 when the show finished, is inspired by a Birmingham street gang of the same name who flourished around the turn of the last century, from the 1880s to 1920s.
What’s more, genre-leading flick The Godfather (1972), often cited as the greatest mobster film of all time, took home three Oscars, while Scorsese-directed Goodfellas, released in 1990, was regarded as so "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" that a decade later, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the U.S Library of Congress. The film serves as a blueprint for many mobster movies that followed.
All three examples are the product of books sold in high volumes and devoured by a public ravenous for tales of the underworld.
They open a window to a bloody, violent world from the safety of a reading nook. While mob, short for mobster, refers largely to Italian and Italian American Mafia, stories on organised crime outfits emanate from practically every corner of the world.
If you’re fascinated by books about the mob, or know someone who is, we’ve drawn up a list of must-reads to get stuck into.
See the best below
Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld, 25th Anniversary Edition by David Kaplan, Alec Dubro
Detailing the reach of Japan's Mafia, Yakuza offers a window into this shady world - one so shadowy it was banned in Japan for five years after publication. This book details the Yakuza's history from medieval outlaws and their tradition of full-body tattoos right up to the modern day and their involvement in construction, art and big business.
Buy now £20.99, Amazon
Age of Vice, Deepti Kapoor
Praised by Stephen King as 'unputdownable', Age of Vice has been widely lauded as India's modern answer to The Godfather. The novel takes readers from dusty Uttar Pradesh villages to the electric energy of the capital Delhi, the lives of three characters set against the backdrop of lavish parties, major business deals and breathtaking corruption. As well as India's criminal underbelly, Kapoor shows the social and economic issues in a country which is fast becoming a global superpower.
Buy now £8.75, Amazon
Peaky Blinders - The Real Story, Prof. Carl Chinn
Social historian, broadcaster and author, Professor Carl Chinn delves into the murky world of the real Peaky Blinders (one of whom the author is related to).
Chinn reveals dire conditions for Birmingham's working class before its sons were packed off to war and how the survivors returned to join the Birmingham Gang, led by a real Billy Kimber. Separating fact from on-screen fiction, the book is filled with images of the 1920s Peaky Blinders and interviews with their relatives, providing a unique social commentary on life in the interwar years.
Buy now £8.99, Waterstones
Five Families: The Rise, Decline, And Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires
From a similar period to Wiseguy (below) comes investigative reporter Selwyn Raab's Five Families. The book focuses on the crime dynasties that ran the Big Apple, from Lucky Luciano to Paul Castellano to John Gotti and other familiar names. The author offers a definitive half-century history right up to today as American law enforcement focuses on homeland security, paving the way for their possible resurgence. Sharp and gripping.
Buy now £20.88, Amazon
Pablo Escobar: My Father
A unique insight into the world's most infamous drug lord, this book on Pablo Escobar comes from the person who arguably knew him best: his son Juan.
While much has been made on the criminal's exploits, this account offers another POV showing Pablo as a fiercely loyal friend and family man, albeit one capable of extreme acts of cruelty and violence.
Internationally acclaimed, it's a searingly honest picture from his son, now known as Sebastián Marroquín, who once vowed to avenge his father, but in the end, chose a different path.
Buy now £10.19, Amazon
Nefarious
From former career criminal Ronnie Field comes this semi-autobiographical tome revealing his dangerous world. From rubbing shoulders with notorious criminals including the Krays to becoming HMP Belmarsh's first inmate, readers are taken on a journey through London's criminal fraternity of the 1970s and 80s from an eyewitness - and perpetrator.
Buy now £12.00, Amazon
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Before Francis Ford Coppola's major motion picture came the book of the same name, penned by Mario Puzo.
Regarded as a masterpiece, it tells the story of a fictitious American crime dynasty that takes their name from their village in the old country: Corleone, Sicily (where today tourists can book into a Godfather tour).
The book shot to the top of the New York Times bestseller list in 1969 and remains a literary classic, unveiling the bloody path to achieving the American Dream, by whatever means possible. It's full of lawless action but is also a portrait of unflinching loyalty and unbreakable family ties.
Find all three books here for £19.99.
Buy now £8.90, Amazon
Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi
Another book to be made into blockbuster Goodfellas, Wiseguy is the vivid real-life account of Henry Hill Junior, the Mafia associate who went into the US's Witness Protection Program after turning informant. Authored by crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi, we learn about it all, from how Hill grew up around the Mafia in his Brooklyn neighbourhood to his journey up the ladder and the lovers, drugs and blood spilt along the way.
Buy now £22.56, Amazon
Our Story: The Krays
There can't be a Londoner alive who hasn't heard of East End's crime twins, the Krays. Raised in Bethnal Green, they went on to helm the capital's underworld for over a decade, as famous as they were feared.
Endless books and movies have been written about the terrible duo, but in this book, the pair speak for themselves through interviews with author and broadcaster Fred Dinenage. From ruling the streets to being locked up in Broadmoor, Our Story is a reflection of Britain's criminal twins, in their own words.
Buy now £8.99, Amazon
