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Easy Money

by Jens Lapidus
Pantheon. Nov. 2011. c.480p. tr. from Swedish by Astri von Arbin Ahlander. ISBN 9780307377487. $26.95. F
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A best seller in Sweden, this debut novel—the first in a trilogy—from defense attorney Lapidus follows three criminals in Stockholm's drug underworld. College student JW subsidizes evenings in posh clubs by driving an illegal taxi. Looking for a bigger payoff, he starts selling cocaine. Chilean immigrant Jorge is in prison after taking the fall for a Yugoslav gangster. He escapes, but family obligations and thoughts of revenge keep him in the city. Mrado is the Slavic mafioso's henchman, a tough guy who's also a doting dad. These parallel stories take time to develop, but when they intersect the action erupts in high-octane cinematic grandeur (the book inspired a hit Swedish movie, with a Hollywood remake in development).
VERDICT The violence and slow-building plot are reminiscent of Stieg Larsson and the duo of Anders Roslund and Borge Hellström (Three Seconds), but Lepidus clearly fashions his unsavory protagonists and slangy staccato prose after James Ellroy (who provides a glowing blurb). Accordingly, this latest Swedish import will connect best with those who prefer the grit of noir or street lit. [Three-city tour.]
Reviewed by Annabelle Mortensen, Skokie P.L., IL , Oct 01, 2011
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