Life Deluxe: A Novel

by Jens Lapidus Narrated by Bruce Turk

Overview

The final chapter in the electrifying Stockholm Noir Trilogy, which has been translated into more than thirty languages worldwide: here is the no-holds-barred, rapid-fire tale of a supreme struggle for the legacy of the Swedish underworld, as the power, honor, and respect commanded by Stockholm's largest criminal organization are passed from father to daughter.

"A good old-fashioned gangster story about the godfathers of Sweden's criminal underworld."-The New York Times
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Jorge was making a living as a drug dealer until he was caught and thrown into prison. Recently released and warned to keep out of trouble, he's already bored with his new existence: selling lattes and cappuccinos at a café. Who wouldn't be? But Jorge has a plan, and big money looms on the horizon if he can pull off one final audacious heist and flee the country before the police close in.
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Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector Martin Hägerström-entrusted with a secret mission, code name Operation Tide-has gone deep undercover as a disgraced cop turned corrections officer. He's slowly earning the trust of Stockholm's imprisoned expert money launderer, Johan Westlund. A career criminal with a taste for the jet-setting lifestyle, JW is a dangerous man to befriend, one who may demand more loyalty than Hägerström had planned on offering.
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Natalie is the twenty-two-year-old daughter of Radovan Kranjic, the Serbian crime boss who rules Sweden's underworld. When an assassin threatens Radovan's life, Natalie is hurled into a chaotic struggle for control of her father's empire-and the competition is fierce. Who will rise to power in the voracious hunt for money, prestige, and luxury to become Stockholm's new king-or queen-of crime?

Editorial Reviews

The New York Times Book Review - Marilyn Stasio

…a good old-fashioned gangster story…

Publishers Weekly

07/07/2014
Lapidus takes a fascinating look at moral ambiguity and ruthless ambition in the compelling conclusion to his Stockholm Noir trilogy, which follows the power struggle between members of Stockholm’s underworld and the police. Radovan Kranjic—the “godfather of godfathers” who controls the Yugo mafia—has built a massive criminal enterprise that his 22-year-old daughter, Natalie, a law student, may inherit. Ex-convict Jorge Salinas Barrio, who despises his job as a restaurateur, longs to find the perfect heist with his band of mismatched crooks. Deputy Insp. Martin Hägerström, a brilliant cop with personal demons, goes undercover to infiltrate drug dealer Johan “JW” Westlund’s gang. Despite the book’s expansive length and, at times, dense prose, Lapidus keeps the storylines straight, including the large cast of supporting characters, some of whom were the major focus in the series’s first two installments, Never Fuck Up and Easy Money. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

Praise for Jens Lapidus and Never Fuck Up
 
“Lapidus sheds light on a rarely seen Stockholm—a city that is a ‘Mecca of thieves, drug dealers, and gangs,’ buzzing with ethnic tensions and social unrest.” —The New Yorker
 
 
“A world whose vocabulary is shaped by American gangsta rap but whose greed and ambition is familiar to anybody who ever cracked open a Mario Puzo crime novel.” —The Wall Street Journal
 
“A grand-scale portrait of Stockholm’s criminal world that shares James Ellroy’s hyperrealism and Richard Price’s blend of atmosphere and sociology.” —Booklist
 
 
Praise for Easy Money
 
“Raw and dark, with crisp dialogue that shouts authenticity . . .  A five-punch, five-head-butt read.” —The Washington Times
 
“An intelligent and original thriller that displays as much wit as it does muscle . . . Lapidus is a fantastic writer of action, but he also knows when to leave the guns holstered and build suspense.” —The Daily Beast

Kirkus Reviews

2014-08-28
The conclusion to Lapidus' monstrously ambitious Stockholm Noir trilogy (Never Fück Up, 2013, etc.) is every bit as dark, sprawling, rambunctious and volcanic as you'd expect. At the fade-in, Radovan Kranjic is still controlling Sweden's Yugo Mafia, serenely unaware that an assassin has him in his sights and surprisingly unruffled after a hit on him falls through. Long-escaped criminal Jorge Salinas Barrio is still looking for the big score, this time a heist on which he's collaborating with a silent partner named the Finn. Drug dealer Johan "JW" Westlund is still biding his time in the Salberg Penitentiary, waiting for his parole. A complication to their schemes comes when hotshot DI Lennart Torsfjäl recruits Deputy Inspector Martin Hägerström to go undercover as a corrections officer in Salberg in order to worm his way into JW's confidence. A second comes when another assassination attempt against Kranjic leaves his daughter Natalie, 22, holding the reins of her father's criminal empire, battling former Kranjic lieutenant Stefan Stefanovic for control. A third comes when Jorge decides to double-cross the Finn and hold on to his share of the loot. Since Lapidus is as inventive as he is unblinkered, other complications soon follow. A trip to Thailand away from all but one member of the Stockholm County Police throws Jorge together with JW and Hägerström, who seriously compromises his mission when he falls into bed with Jorge's friend "megagangster" Javier Fernández. Natalie, who has little appetite for her father's legacy, finds herself growing into it anyway. Jorge discovers unexpected reserves of nobility under pressure. Through it all, Lapidus wastes no opportunity to explore the labyrinthine affinities between his heroes and villains. Better put aside the whole weekend for this guided tour of his Swedish hell.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171875572
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	09/16/2014
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

Prologue
 
It was the second time in my life that I visited Stockholm for a job.
 
The first time I was here for a wedding, as a bodyguard for one of the guests. That was seventeen years ago, and I was young then. I remember how I looked forward to the day after, when I could party in Stockholm and bed some blondes. The wedding itself was a large affair compared to the ones in my home country. They said it was considered big even for Sweden—there were maybe three hundred guests. And sure, it was grand. The newlyweds emerged from the church dressed in winter furs. They had a small child too, a pretty girl, who was also wearing a fur. The bridal couple were driven from the church in a sled pulled by four white horses. Their little girl stood with her nanny on the church steps and waved. The air was clean, the snow glittered, and the sky was clear. I remember what I thought at the time: that Sweden must be the cleanest country in the world. Then I saw the guests’ faces. Some showed joy and others admiration. But they all expressed one thing: respect.
 
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The man who was married then was the person I was here to take care of now: Radovan Kranjic. Fateful irony, to have seen the beginning of the new life that I was now going to end.
 
I usually don’t let myself feel. No, I kill myself before every mission. I am hired, paid, independent—there is nothing personal about what I do. But to come to Stockholm this time around gave me a sense of completion, somehow.
 
The circle would be closed. A kind of balance would be restored.
 
#
 
And then something happened.
 
I’d been staking out in the Volvo all day. When I returned to my room, I decided to clean my handguns. I’d purchased them in Denmark, where I have connections—after the Americans’ so-called war on terrorism, I don’t pack heat when traveling into the EU anymore.
 
I had an Accuracy International L96AI—a finer-grade sniper rifle—and a Makarov gun. I took them apart and laid them on a cover on the bed, clean and gleaming. I was holding the final weapon, a revolver, in my hand.
 
That was when the door opened.
 
I realized that I’d forgotten to lock it, like I normally always do.
 
It was a housekeeper. I wondered what kind of crap hotel I was staying at, anyway, where the staff didn’t knock before entering.
 
She stared at my weapons for a few seconds. Then she apologized and began to back out into the hallway.
 
But it was too late—she’d already seen too much. I rose, raised the revolver, and asked her to step into the room.
 
She looked terrified. Understandably—that was my intention, after all. I told her to pull the cleaning cart with her into the room as well, and then I closed the door behind her. I kept my weapon aimed at her the entire time. Then I had her clean my room.
 
It took her max ten minutes—it was obvious that she was a pro. She vacuumed the small floor area, wiped off all surfaces, and washed the sink and toilet. It was important to me that it was done thoroughly.
 
Meanwhile I packed my bag.
 
When she was finished, I asked her to look out into the hallway and see if anyone was out there. It was empty. I pushed her in front of me out into the hallway and told her to unlock the door to another room. She chose one that was two doors down.
 
We entered it. The room was messy. The person staying there apparently took pleasure in torturing hotel housekeepers.
 
I closed the door.
 
She looked at me.
 
I held up a pillow.
 
Then I raised the revolver and shot her through the pillow. In the eye.
 
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