A Man Named Doll, Jonathan Ames
A Man Named Doll, Jonathan Ames
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A Man Named Doll

Author: Jonathan Ames

Narrator: Jonathan Ames

Unabridged: 5 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/20/2021

Synopsis

In this deliciously noir novel from the creator of HBO's Bored to Death, idiosyncratic private detective Happy Doll embarks on a quest to help a dying friend in a sun-blinded Los Angeles  as "quirky, edgy, charming, funny and serious" as its protagonist (Lee Child).  Happy Doll is a charming, if occasionally inexpert, private detective living just one sheer cliff drop beneath the Hollywood sign with his beloved half-Chihuahua half-Terrier, George. A veteran of both the Navy and LAPD, Doll supplements his meager income as a P.I. by working through the night at a local Thai spa that offers its clients a number of special services. Armed with his sixteen-inch steel telescopic baton, biting dry humor, and just a bit of a hero complex, the ex-cop sets out to protect the women who work there from clients who have trouble understanding the word "no."
 
Doll gets by just fine following his two basic rules: bark loudly and act first. But when things get out-of-hand with one particularly violent patron, even he finds himself wildly out of his depth, and then things take an even more dangerous twist when an old friend from his days as a cop shows up at his door with a bullet in his gut.
 
A Man Named Doll is more than just a fascinating introduction to one truly singular character, it is a highly addictive and completely unpredictable joyride through the sensuous and violent streets of LA.

About Jonathan Ames

Jonathan Ames is the author of I Pass Like Night; The Extra Man; What’s Not to Love?; My Less Than Secret Life; Wake Up, Sir!; I Love You More Than You Know; The Alcoholic; and The Double Life Is Twice As Good. He’s the creator of the HBO® Original Series Bored to Death and has had two amateur boxing matches, fighting as “The Herring Wonder.” His most recent work is the detective novel A Man Named Doll.

Reviews

Goodreads review by David on April 23, 2021

Oh, this one had so much potential for me, I loved the character, the story, especially the way it unfolded. But I have said many times the Fictive Dream is everything to this reader and I kept getting tossed out of the story with writing ticks (evil little blood sucking beasts). The over use of the......more

Goodreads review by Sam on December 29, 2022

An old friend from the force visits LA private investigator Happy “Hank” Doll with a proposition: a big payday in exchange for his kidney. And then his friend is shot dead with some shady characters sniffing around for the money. As more dead people start inconveniently popping up in Doll’s life, ma......more

Goodreads review by Irena on February 17, 2024

Didn't expect I'd like this quirky noir so much. I usually remember all the books I ever bought, but this time I had no idea how this book came to be in my audible library. A quick investigation showed that I bought it when it was on a huge discount as their "daily sale", so I grabbed it because I l......more

Goodreads review by Tom on April 08, 2021

The first two-thirds of this read like a classy homage to the great LA noir of the past. It screams at various times of Cain, Chandler and Hammett - some elements feels literally torn from their playbooks. It's funny, full of wisecracks and set in the pantheon of grotesque wealth, the Hollywood Hill......more

Goodreads review by Jason on May 04, 2021

Relentless, funny, sharp, and unexpectedly dark. An absolutely thrilling read.......more

Quotes

"While the macabre seriousness of the crimes and the narrator’s good-nature and sardonic humor might seem to be at odds, Ames makes it work through assured plotting, superb local color, and excellent prose. Readers will happily root for Doll, a good detective and a decent human, in this often funny and grisly outing."—Publishers Weekly

"I loved this book - it's quirky, edgy, charming, funny and serious, all in one. Very highly recommended."
 —Lee Child, #1 bestselling author of Blue Moon

“A MAN NAMED DOLL is so fun and propulsive I didn’t just read it in one sitting, I read it in what felt like a single breath. Happy Doll is a tremendously likable main character, and the Los Angeles he inhabits is vibrantly alive in every detail. I hope Jonathan Ames has many more adventures planned for the newest P.I. in town.”
 —Lou Berney, author of the New York Times-bestselling NOVEMBER ROAD

“If Elliott Gould’s Philip Marlowe landed in the middle of Uncut Gems, you’d have something like Jonathan Ames’s A MAN NAMED DOLL, which expertly mines the dark humor, mordant wit and dreamy fatalism of great LA noir. And at its center is a detective with a battered heart and bruised conscience. I’d follow him, and his dog George, anywhere.”
 —Megan Abbott, Edgar Award-winning author of DARE ME

“A Man Named Doll is a smart, sharp, and stylish noir for the modern day. In his cinematic tour of Los Angeles that is both gritty and gorgeous, Ames has delivered a novel that is both current and timeless and has introduced a sleuth who fits all the old traditions while creating his own. Crime at its finest!” 
 —Ivy Pochoda, author of These Women and Wonder Valley

“A MAN NAMED DOLL: a singular read about the peril of having a body. Gallows humor in overdrive on Dilaudid, crashing merrily downhill.”
 —Bill Beverly, author of Gold Dagger Award-winning DODGERS

"A MAN NAMED DOLL infuses the private eye concept with an unpredictable, vibrant energy, while losing none of the genre’s core, noir elements. Ames is a master of blending humor, pathos, and grit - and A MAN NAMED DOLL is no exception. A truly modern L.A. noir that still manages to feel timeless and steeped in the classics that came before.”
 —Alex Segura, Anthony Award-winning author of BLACKOUT

"A stiff shot of timeless Hollywood noir, spiked with black humour and leaving a warm glow as it goes down."—Christopher Brookmyre, author of Quite Ugly One Morning

"A combination of dry wit, a satisfyingly high body count, and a nerve-tingling sense of pace make for a terrific seat-of-the-pants read."—Simon Brett, author of the Charles Paris mysteries

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