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 (legal), defense of individuals and companies charged with Criminal law, criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while other ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

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, Sweden. The name Gröndal means Green Dale or Green Valley. Gröndal developed as a working class and industria ...

, 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 Town square, public square in central Stockholm, between Norrmalm (proper), Norrmalm and Östermalm. The square connects the major streets Kungsgatan, Stockholm, Kungsgatan, Birger Jarlsgatan and Sturegatan. The buildings around ...

party scene, which plays a role in his novels. He made his writing debut in August 2006 with ''

Easy Money A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return for a small investment. Most schemes create an impression that participants can obtain this high rate of return with little risk, skill, effort, or time. The term "get rich qui ...

'', an account of the Stockholm underworld, and the first of his ''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 self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

with illustrator

Peter Bergting Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

( 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 and screenwriter. 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''. Four of hi ...

's. The third part ''Top Dog'' in the new series was published in 2017 (in English in 2018). Other books are the dystopia ''Paradis city'' and ''Mr Ett'' fourth book about Emelie and Teddy (Top Dogg trilogy)

Films and TV-series

The ''Stockholm Noir'' trilogy has been adapted into a Swedish trilogy of films: ''

'' (2010), '' Easy Money II: Hard to Kill'' (2012), and '' Easy Money III: Life Deluxe'' (2013). And in 2021 into a Netflix series, ''

Snabba Cash ''Easy Money'' (Swedish title: ''Snabba cash'') is a 2006 novel by Jens Lapidus. The paperback was the fourth bestselling Swedish novel of 2007. The first book in the ''Stockholm Noir'' trilogy, it was adapted into a film in 2010 starring Joe ...

'' which takes place ten years after the film trilogy. Together with two others Lapidus has written the TV-series ''Advokaten''. Another TV-adaptation is ''Top dog'' in two seasons. ''Lex Lapidus'' is a series of TV-programs in Swedish television about the judicial system in different countries. 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 issuses. 2025, the legal series Rättegången, ''The trial'' ", is sent by the Swedish broadcasting company SVT.

Bibliography

Novels

The ''Stockholm Noir'' trilogy

*''

Snabba cash ''Easy Money'' (Swedish title: ''Snabba cash'') is a 2006 novel by Jens Lapidus. The paperback was the fourth bestselling Swedish novel of 2007. The first book in the ''Stockholm Noir'' trilogy, it was adapted into a film in 2010 starring Joe ...

'' (2006) (English publication: "Easy Money") *'' Aldrig fucka upp'' (2008) (English publication: "Never Fuck Up"/ "Never Screw Up") *''

Livet deluxe Livet () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. Livet is also: * , founder of the institution Livet, now lycée Eugène-Livet (in Nantes, France). * Several former towns in France were named Livet. See also *Communes ...

'' (2011) (English publication: "Life Deluxe")

''New series''

*'' VIP-rummet'' (2014) (English Translation: "VIP-room") *''

STHLM Delete Stockholm (; ) is the capital and most populous city of Sweden, as well as the largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately 1 million people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.5 milli ...

'' (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 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