Jens Jacob Lapidus (; born 24 May 1974) is a Swedish

criminal defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various j ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

known for his books about the Stockholm underworld.

Life and career

Lapidus was born into a middle class family in the Stockholm suburb

Gröndal Gröndal (''Green Valley'') is a district of the Hägersten-Liljeholmen borough in Söderort, the southern suburban part of Stockholm. The name Gröndal means Green Dale or Green Valley. Gröndal developed as a working class and industrial sub ...

, with a mother who was a social worker. His family is Jewish. As a young man he was active in the

Stureplan Stureplan is a public square in central Stockholm, between Norrmalm and Östermalm. The square connects the major streets Kungsgatan, Birger Jarlsgatan and Sturegatan. The buildings around the square house offices of banks and other financi ...

party scene, which plays a role in his novels. He made his writing debut in August 2006 with '' Easy Money'', an account of the Stockholm underworld, and the first of the ''Stockholm Noir'' trilogy. Two years later the second installment ''Aldrig fucka upp'' was published by

Wahlström & Widstrand Wahlström & Widstrand is a Swedish book publishing company. Wahlström & Widstrand was established in 1885 by two book sellers in Stockholm, Per Karl Wahlström and Wilhelm Widstrand. The company started publishing fiction in the 1890s and late ...

. A

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

with illustrator Peter Bergting ( The Portent) entitled ''Gängkrig 145'' was published in May 2009. While this project does take place in the same universe as the novels, it is not the third part of the ''Stockholm Noir'' trilogy but rather a side story. The third part was published in 2011 with the title ''Livet deluxe''. In 2014 Lapidus published the novel ''VIP-rummet'' which is the start of a new series unrelated to his ''Stockholm Noir'' trilogy. The second part ''STHLM Delete'' was published in 2015. His writing has been compared to

James Ellroy Lee Earle "James" Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, s ...

and

Dennis Lehane Dennis Lehane (born August 4, 1965) is an American author. He has published more than a dozen novels; the first several were a series of mysteries featuring recurring characters, including '' A Drink Before the War''. Of these, four were adapted ...

. The ''Stockholm Noir'' trilogy has also been adapted into a Swedish trilogy of films: '' Easy Money'' (2010), '' Easy Money II: Hard to Kill'' (2012), and '' Easy Money III: Life Deluxe'' (2013). And in 2021 into a Netflix series, '' Snabba Cash'' which takes place ten years after the film trilogy. The third part ''Top Dog'' in the new series was published in 2017 (in English in 2018). Together with two others Lapidus has written the TV-series ''Advokaten''. Lapidus has also together with his wife Hedda published a series of children's books, Dillstaligan. Jens Lapidus lives in Stockholm with his wife, Hedda, one daughter and two sons. Lapidus also does some modelling work and has among others represented

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australi ...

. Lapidus is a legal expert at TV4 TV-channel commenting on crime and legal issues.

Bibliography

Novels

The ''Stockholm Noir'' trilogy

*'' Snabba cash'' (2006) (English publication: "Easy Money") *'' Aldrig fucka upp'' (2008) (English publication: "Never Fuck Up"/ "Never Screw Up") *'' Livet deluxe'' (2011) (English publication: "Life Deluxe")

''New series''

*'' VIP-rummet'' (2014) (English Translation: "VIP-room") *'' STHLM Delete'' (2015) (English Translation: "Stockholm delete") *'' Topp dogg'' (2017) (English Translation: "Top dog")

Other novels

* Paradis City (2021) Set in a dystopian version Scandinavia * Mr Ett (2022) fourth book about Emelie and Teddy (Top Dogg trilogy)

Graphic Novel

*''Gängkrig 145'' (2009) (English Translation: "Gang War 145")

Short story collection

*''Mamma försökte'' (2012) (English Translation: "Mama Tried")

References

External links

Jens Lapidus' Swedish website

Jens Lapidus on Facebook

Jens Lapidus on The Salomonsson Agency (literary agents)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapidus, Jens 1974 births Living people Writers from Stockholm Swedish crime fiction writers 20th-century Swedish lawyers Swedish Jews Swedish male models Nordic Noir writers 21st-century Swedish lawyers