FICTION

Never Fuck Up

by Jens Lapidus
Pantheon. Jun. 2013. 512p. tr. from Swedish by Astri von Arbin Ahlander. ISBN 9780307377494. $26.95; ebk. ISBN 9780307908506. F
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The second entry in Lapidus's "Stockholm Noir" trilogy (after Easy Money), this ambitious, bleak novel is set in a sordid, dysfunctional Sweden, awash in both corrupt police and ruthless indigenous and immigrant criminals. Lapidus is a criminal defense attorney, and his narrative demonstrates authentic criminal argot and mind-sets. Trafficking, narcotics, PTSD, and loan sharking inform part of the story. The other main element is the reinvestigation of the 1986 assassination of Prime Minister Olaf Palme. Thomas, a police officer, is quickly forced off the case by higher-ups in the force. Like all true noir protagonists, he takes on the cops and uses illegal measures to purse the truth. The other main players are Niklas, an ex-mercenary, and a low-level thug named Mahmud.
VERDICT The stories of the three disparate men intersect in a convincing fashion for the most part, while the Palme conspiracy is a weighty subject meriting a full novel. The retribution that Niklas wants to exact for violence against women in Swedish society is gripping and convincing. Marked by harsh and brash writing, authentic voices, and convincing scenarios full of thugs and thug talk, this engaging novel will appeal to readers who like their crime fiction gritty and dark.
Reviewed by Seamus Scanlon, Ctr. for Worker Education, CUNY , Jun 15, 2013
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