Karma Doll

Detective Happy Doll, star of Jonathan Ames' previous novels, A Man Named Doll (2021) and The Wheel of Doll (2022), returns for another delightful adventure. Framed for murder (it's complicated), Happy must find his way from Mexico, where he's been trying to recuperate from a recent almost-successful attempt on his life, to Los Angeles, so he can track down the real killer. Ames fans know what to expect: a plot that never quite goes where they expect it to, characters who are a lot of fun to hang out with, and a prose style that somehow manages to be whimsical and noir at the same time (no small feat). Ames seems clearly to enjoy the act of writing, and it shows on every page: a laugh here, a turn of phrase there, an unexpected character revelation over there. His novels are gifts to readers who want a rich and satisfying story, and this one is wonderful.

Idiosyncratic PI Happy Doll returns for another violent, darkly funny adventure in Ames's outstanding sequel to The Wheel Doll. After killing members of the Jalisco cartel and fleeing Mexico with $60,000 and a gunshot wound, Doll finds a sketchy doctor to fix him up--and give him an entirely new face, in hopes it will help him escape the cartel's vengeance. Doll plans to recuperate, return to Los Angeles, sell his house, and retire to Mexico; his Buddhist learning has convinced him that killing people, even in self-defense, is not a path to enlightenment. Those convictions get put to the test, however, when Doll is set up to take the fall for the murder of a tourist in Mexico, then pursued by murderous bounty hunters who gradually come to realize he's on the run from the cartel. The need for self-preservation and desire for vengeance ultimately win out over Doll's quest for nirvana, moving him to knock heads before he returns to L.A. for a cleverly orchestrated, deeply satisfying denouement. Ames delivers lurid action, sterling prose, and a top-shelf cliff-hanger in one deliriously entertaining package. The next installment can't come soon enough. Agent: Eric Simonoff, WME. (Jan.)