![]() | |
Author | Jens Lapidus |
---|---|
Language | Swedish |
Genre | Crime fiction, hardboiled |
Publisher | Wahlström & Widstrand |
Publication date | 2006 |
Publication place | Sweden |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
Pages | 474 pp |
Easy Money (Swedish title: Snabba cash) is a 2006 novel by Jens Lapidus. The paperback was the fourth bestselling Swedish novel of 2007.[ citation needed ]
The first book in the Stockholm Noir trilogy, it was adapted into a film in 2010 and a Netflix TV series in 2021 and a second season in 2022. [1]
JW is a young man originally from the countryside who now lives in Stockholm. JW feigns the appearance of a stekare (in Swedish parlance, a lifestyle based on flaunting one's apparent wealth; a jetsetter or yuppie), actually leading a double life driving taxi illegally to finance his expensive life on Stureplan. Abdulkarim, who runs the taxi business, offers JW a job selling cocaine instead. JW accepts the offer and enters the criminal underground of Stockholm. Jorge Salinas Barrio is a Latino who has gone to prison after taking the blame for drug business in which the Yugoslav mafia was involved. He escapes from Österåker Prison with plans to flee the country. Mrado Slovovic is a Serbian henchman who runs errands for the Yugoslav mafia, but secretly he dreams of a normal life with his daughter Lovisa.
The three characters unite in the book through their dreams about quick earnings. Once JW and Abdulkarim have the cocaine sales going they want to expand. Abdulkarim has heard of Jorge, the recent escapee. The word on the street is that Jorge got very knowledgeable about the cocaine trade while he was in prison and thus JW gets an assignment to hire him. Simultaneously Jorge has tried to blackmail the Yugoslav mafia boss. The hitman Mrado has been contracted to dissuade him. When JW finally finds Jorge he is laying beaten-up in a forest, courtesy of Mrado.
Meyer Lansky, known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate in the United States.
Fares Fares is a Swedish actor, producer, and director. He is known for his collaborations with Swedish director Tarik Saleh in The Nile Hilton Incident (2017) and Boy from Heaven (2022). He has received various accolades, including a Guldbagge Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and two Robert Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
The Black Mafia Family (BMF) is a drug trafficking and money laundering organization in the United States. It was founded in 1985, in Southwest Detroit by brothers Demetrius Edward "Big Meech" Flenory and Terry Lee "Southwest Tee" Flenory. By 2000 it had established cocaine distribution sales throughout the United States through its Los Angeles-based drug source and direct links to Mexican drug cartels. The Black Mafia Family operated from two main hubs: one in Atlanta for distribution run by Demetrius Flenory and one in Los Angeles to handle incoming shipments from Mexico run by Terry Flenory.
The Serbian mafia, or Serbian organized crime, are various criminal organizations based in Serbia or composed of ethnic Serbs in the former Yugoslavia and Serbian diaspora. The organizations are primarily involved in smuggling, arms trafficking, drug trafficking, human trafficking, assassinations, heists, assault, protection rackets, murder, money laundering and illegal gambling. Ethnic Serb organized crime groups are organized horizontally; higher-ranked members are not necessarily coordinated by any leader. According to criminologists and law enforcement authorities, the Serbian mafia is the most powerful in Europe.
Albanian mafia or Albanian organized crime are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians. Albanian organized crime is active in Europe, North America, South America, and various other parts of the world including the Middle East and Asia. The Albanian mafia participates in a diverse range of criminal enterprises including trafficking in drugs, arms, and humans. Due to their close ties with the 'Ndrangheta of Calabria, they control a large part of the billion dollar wholesale cocaine market in Europe and appear to be the primary distributors of cocaine in various European drug hubs including London. Albanian organized crime is characterized by diversified criminal enterprises which, in their complexity, demonstrate a very high criminal capacity. In Albania, there are over 15 mafia families that control organized crime.
Jorge Luis Ochoa Vásquez is a Colombian former drug trafficker who was one of the founding members of the Medellín Cartel in the late 1970s. The cartel's key members were Pablo Escobar, Carlos Lehder, José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, Gustavo Gaviria, Jorge Ochoa, and his brothers Juan David and Fabio.
Francisco Hélmer Herrera Buitrago, also known as "Pacho" and "H7", was a Colombian drug trafficker, fourth in command in the Cali Cartel, and believed to be the son of Benjamín Herrera Zuleta.
Banged Up Abroad is a British documentary/docudrama television series created by Bart Layton that was produced for Channel 5 and that premiered in March 2006. Most episodes feature stories of people who have been arrested while travelling abroad, usually for trying to smuggle illegal drugs, although some episodes feature people who were either kidnapped or captured while they were either travelling or living in other countries. Some episodes have featured real-life stories that first became well known when they were made the subject of a film: films that have been 're-made' in this way include Midnight Express, Goodfellas, The Devil's Double, Argo, Mr Nice and, to a lesser extent, Casino. A few episodes have focused on undercover infiltrations of criminal syndicates by law enforcement agents or individuals recruited by them.
Jens Jacob Lapidus is a Swedish criminal defense lawyer and author known for his books about the Stockholm underworld.
The Mafia Dolls, is a Colombian telenovela created by Andrés López and Juan Camilo Ferrand and that premiered on Caracol Televisión on 28 September 2009, based on the book Las fantásticas written by the same creators of the series.
Joel Boris Spira is a Swedish film, television, and theatre actor.
Easy Money is a Swedish crime thriller film directed by Daniel Espinosa that was released on 15 January 2010. It is based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Jens Lapidus. Joel Kinnaman stars in the lead role of Johan "JW" Westlund, a rather poor man living a double life in the upper class areas of Stockholm. After meeting a wealthy girl, he is enticed into the world of organized crime and begins to sell cocaine to afford his expensive lifestyle. Easy Money was well received by critics and was a hit at the box office.
Lilyhammer is a crime comedy-drama television series starring Steven Van Zandt about a former New York–based gangster named Frank "The Fixer" Tagliano trying to start a new life in isolated Lillehammer, Norway. The first season premiered on Norwegian NRK1 on 25 January 2012 with a record audience of 998,000 viewers, and premiered on Netflix in North America on 6 February 2012, with all eight episodes available in full for streaming on the service. Lilyhammer was promoted as "the first time Netflix offered exclusive content".
The Serbian-Montenegrin mafia in Scandinavia, also known as Juggemaffian is an organized crime group in Sweden and Denmark. The gang began during the mass immigration of Yugoslav guest-workers to Sweden in the 1970s. The gang is based in the cities of Stockholm and Copenhagen, and has territory in Malmö and Gothenburg, among other cities in western Sweden. They received significant media attention in Sweden during the 1990s, thanks to flashy top-ranking members such as Dragan "Jokso" Joksović. The founder and first leader of the gang is believed to be warlord Željko "Arkan" Ražnatović, and the current leader is alleged to be Milan Ševo.
Louis Matias Karl Padin Varela is a Swedish actor.
Narcos is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro. Set and filmed in Colombia, seasons 1 and 2 are based on the story of Colombian narcoterrorist and drug lord Pablo Escobar, leader of the Medellín Cartel and billionaire through the production and distribution of cocaine. The series also focuses on Escobar's interactions with drug lords, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, and various opposition entities. Season 3 picks up after the fall of Escobar and continues to follow the DEA as they try to shut down the rise of the infamous Cali Cartel.
Easy Money II: Hard to Kill is a 2012 Swedish thriller film directed by Babak Najafi and written by Peter Birro and Maria Karlsson. Based on Jens Lapidus's novels Easy Money and Aldrig fucka upp, it is the second installment in the Easy Money film trilogy and a sequel to the 2010 film Easy Money. Joel Kinnaman, Matias Varela, Dragomir Mrsic, and Fares Fares reprise their roles as four criminals of different backgrounds who all become involved in the hunt for money belonging to the Serbian mob. A third film, Easy Money III: Life Deluxe, was released in 2013.
Easy Money III: Life Deluxe is a 2013 Swedish thriller film directed by Jens Jonsson, based on the novel Livet Deluxe by Jens Lapidus. The film is the third installment in the Easy Money film trilogy, following Easy Money and Easy Money II: Hard to Kill. Matias Varela and Joel Kinnaman reprise their roles as career criminal Jorge and business student turned convict JW, respectively, alongside returning cast members Dejan Čukić and Madeleine Martin and series newcomers Martin Wallström and Malin Buska. Set after the events of the second film, Easy Money III: Life Deluxe continues the stories of Jorge, JW, and the Serbian mob as their paths intertwine through their criminal activities.
Snabba Cash is a 2021 Swedish television series written by Jens Lapidus and Oskar Söderlund (screenwriter) and directed by Jesper Ganslandt. It is based on Lapidus' Stockholm Noir novel trilogy, the first of which was adapted into three films: Easy Money (2010), Easy Money II: Hard to Kill (2012), and Easy Money III: Life Deluxe (2013). The series takes place in Stockholm, ten years after the events of the film trilogy.
Evin Ahmad is a Swedish actress and author. She has been nominated twice for Guldbagge Awards.