Crime tops audiobook preferences across Europe, Storytel report finds

Crime and thrillers are the most popular audiobook genres in four out of five European markets, according to The 2026 Story Report by Storytel Group.

The report, commissioned by Storytel and conducted by the Stockholm-based research agency Trackit Insight, surveyed 5,077 respondents aged 18–79 across Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland, and Bulgaria. Data were collected through online panel interviews in April 2026, with samples representative of each national population. The findings place crime and thrillers at the centre of audiobook consumption in the surveyed markets, showing that suspense-driven genres are not a niche category but one of the main ways listeners engage with books in audio format.

The trend fits into a broader rise of audio formats in international publishing. In the report from the London Book Fair 2025, Olha Mukha noted a significant increase in the presence of audio formats at the fair, which brought together 30,000 visitors and more than 1,000 exhibitors. The report also said that LBF had expanded its Audio Alley into an Audio Village to showcase audiobooks as a format whose popularity continues to grow. Spotify’s presence at the fair also underscored this shift: by early 2025, the platform had expanded its audiobook catalogue to more than 400,000 titles in English-language markets.

According to the report, Crime/Thriller ranked as the leading audiobook genre in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Poland. Bulgaria was the only surveyed market where Fiction came first, while Crime/Thriller still ranked second. Norway showed the strongest preference for the genre: 54% of audiobook listeners there named Crime/Thriller among the genres they listen to most often. In Poland, the figure was 49%, while in Sweden and Finland it stood at 47% each. In Bulgaria, 37% of audiobook listeners chose Crime/Thriller, compared with 46% who selected Fiction.

In several markets, Crime/Thriller led other major genres by a clear margin. In Sweden, it ranked ahead of Fiction at 36% and Feel-good at 28%. In Norway, it outpaced Fiction at 39% and Non-fiction at 28%. In Poland, Crime/Thriller was also ahead of Fantasy/Sci-Fi at 37% and Non-fiction at 33%. In Finland, the genre ranked first at 47%, followed closely by Biography/Memoir at 43%.

Crime-related listening is not limited to fictional detective stories and thrillers. True Crime appeared among the top five audiobook genres in Sweden and Finland, named by 24% and 26% of listeners respectively. In both countries, this means that crime content appeared twice in the top five — through Crime/Thriller and True Crime.

Storytel connects this genre preference with a broader pattern identified in the report: people who read or listen to books more often tend to report higher levels of self-rated wellbeing. Crime listeners consistently reported high wellbeing scores across all five surveyed markets. However, the report points to correlation rather than causation: it does not prove that crime fiction itself improves wellbeing.

Listeners often turn to books to relax and unwind, escape into another world, or disconnect from a busy world. “To feel suspense and adrenaline” was also listed among the reasons for reading or listening, even though it was not one of the leading motivations across the five markets.

The popularity of crime and thrillers in Storytel’s report reflects a broader trend already visible in European publishing. As reported earlier, in France, literature was one of the few publishing segments to grow in 2025: it increased by 4.7%, with growth driven mainly by crime fiction, spy novels, police fiction, and thrillers, according to the Syndicat national de l’édition.

Chytomo’s London Book Fair 2025 report also pointed to a visible trend towards fantasy, detective stories and mysticism across major publishers’ stands. Commercial fiction, including thrillers and mysteries, was described as being in high demand because of its mass-market appeal.

A similar pattern was noted in coverage of NielsenIQ BookData’s 2025 market overview. Genre fiction — particularly crime novels, science fiction, fantasy, and romance boosted by BookTok — continued to dominate charts and remained one of the main drivers of growth in international book markets.

Crime and mystery formats also remain commercially attractive at the rights and publishing level. Commercial fiction, including thrillers and mysteries, is in high demand because of its mass-market appeal. There is also a strong interest in psychological thrillers, mystery novels, horror, romantasy, and other high-concept genre fiction.

For Ukrainian readers, the trend is also familiar. According to the “Reading in Ukraine” study, modern detective stories were the most popular genre among Ukrainian readers: 34% of readers said they had read books in this genre during the previous year. Among male readers, the figure reached 40%. Thrillers, mysteries, and horror were read by 12% of Ukrainian readers overall and 17% of male readers. This placed modern detective stories ahead of classics at 32%, science fiction and fantasy at 24%, psychology and self-development books at 23%, romances at 21%, modern novels at 21%, and scientific or popular science publications at 21%. Male readers also read modern detective stories more often, ahead of science fiction and fantasy at 33%, classics at 28%, and scientific or popular science books at 28%.

In conformity with research by Gradus Research and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, detective stories, thrillers, romance, and fantasy should not be treated as “less serious” reading. They contribute to attracting readers and should be perceived as important entry points for people who are returning to books or building a reading habit.

RELATED: The London Book Fair 2025: ‘Romantasy,’ AI, audiobooks, ‘new reader’ and reading for pleasure

Images: Storytel, The 2026 Story Report.