Freida McFadden reigns supreme in summer sales, beating out summer workbooks

The holidays haven't disrupted the habits of French readers: revision workbooks still dominate the summer bestseller lists, but this year they must once again contend with a queen of the thriller genre. American author Freida McFadden retains her top spot with "The Dinner," while her other novels confirm the public's enthusiasm for her psychological thrillers. According to Edistat data for the week of July 6-12, 2026, textbooks, however, account for more than half of the top 30 bestsellers.

Summer workbooks are taking over the top spots

No sooner is school over than revision workbooks are flooding the shelves. Of the 30 best-selling books and other publications during the first full week of summer vacation, 17 are summer workbooks, according to figures published by Edistat. Their presence is even stronger at the top of the charts: eight titles are among the top ten bestsellers.

Collections for primary and secondary school students benefit from a well-established market. Hachette Éducation's "Passport" workbooks and Nathan's books remain essential for families preparing for the start of the school year. As Capital magazine points out, this market represents approximately 5 million copies sold each year, confirming the strength of a sector that withstands the changing landscape of the book industry.

This dominance of notebooks, however, is not enough to erase the summer novels. Readers continue to favor paperback formats and thrillers that are easy to take to the beach, allowing several authors to remain visible in the rankings.

Freida McFadden confirms her status as an editorial phenomenon

The big winner in the rankings remains Freida McFadden. Her novel "The Dinner," released directly in paperback in early July, takes first place with 42,080 copies sold during the period studied, according to Edistat. Behind it, "The Teacher," another success by the American novelist published by J'ai lu in paperback, climbs to second place with 11,013 sales.

The 46-year-old New York author even achieved a rare feat by placing two other titles in the top 30: "The Intruder" appeared at number 25 and "The Cleaning Woman" at number 30. Her world, blending suspense, family secrets, and plot twists, continues to captivate a wide audience in France.

After this duo dominated by McFadden, the other novels have to fight to exist in the face of school notebooks. "Les heures fragiles" by Virginie Grimaldi comes in twelfth position, while Valérie Perrin with "Tata", David Foenkinos with "Tout le monde aime Clara", Guillaume Musso with "Quelqu'un d'autre" and Franck Thilliez with "À retardement" also manage to enter the ranking.

A few more unexpected choices also appear in this summer's bestseller list, notably Plato's "The Republic" and Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own." As the fall literary season approaches, however, the balance could shift with the arrival of highly anticipated new releases. For now, summer 2026 remains marked by an unexpected duel between thrillers and summer reading.