Jonathan Ames

I read the first book in Jonathan Ames's 'Doll' series last year and absolutely loved it. The second book, The Wheel of Doll, has just released - and it delivers another additive read.

For those of you, who, like me, love hardboiled, down on their luck P.I. fiction, you're going to want to introduce yourself to 'Happy Doll'. Uh huh, that's his name.

The case? A beautiful young woman turns up at the office, wanting to hire Hap to find her missing mother. And her mother just happens to be a show more woman Doll once loved. You got it - he takes the case and immerses himself into the search.

The home setting is LA and I immediately get a noir feeling from the settings and characters - Hank's office, his occupation, (which is officially a Security Consultant since he lost his PI license), his home under the lights of the Hollywood sign, his knowledge of back alleys, encampments and the denizens those who call them home and more.

Happy's inner dialogue is wickedly sharp and darkly humourous. He acts on impulse quite often and doesn't seem to realize that he isn't immortal. He's quite likeable and you can't help but behind him. Oh, and his dog George is an excellent sidekick.

Another heckuva ride tale with a no apologies lead character. Can't wait for the next case!

Gentle readers this book may not be the one for you - this book contains violence, drug use and more. show less

I picked up Jonathan Ames's new novel - A Man Named Doll - on a rainy Saturday morning and finished it before dinner. It's just over 200 pages - but those pages make for addictive reading.
Meet Happy Doll - yes, that's his real name, but he does answer to Hank. Former Navy, LAPD and currently a struggling Private Investigator. He also works security for a massage parlor to make ends meet. And for the reader - a unique lead character.

An old colleague stops by the office to see if Hank would be show more willing to donate him a kidney. And that one act is the start of a string of bodies and a set of crimes that you just can't predict.

The setting is LA and I immediately got a noir feeling from settings and characters - Hank's office setting, his occupation, his home under the Hollywood sign, the buxom barkeep at his local and more.

Happy's inner dialogue is wickedly sharp and darkly humourous. He acts on impulse quite often and doesn't seem to realize that he isn't immortal. He's quite likeable and you can't help but behind him. Oh, and his dog George is an excellent sidekick.

The plot kept me guessing with every new turn (and body). There was no way to guess how things were going to turn out. The pacing of the book is fast and furious, with no downtime. Well, maybe a tad - Hank does get knocked out quite a bit.

The writing was excellent, the lead character engaging and the plot was inventive. Lee Child says this about A Man Named Doll - "Quirky, edgy, charming, funny and serious, all in one." I couldn't have said it better myself. And.....there's more Happy-ness to come. The first chapter of the next book is included at the end. The Wheel of Doll is due out next year. show less

'You Were Never Really Here’ is sixty-five pages of focused, brutal violence. It tells the story of a man who has suffered traumas that have so broken him and left him so afraid of his own potential for violence that he has isolated himself, minimising his contact with people, leaving almost no trace as he moves through his days. He has turned himself into something as simple and dangerous as the hammer that is his weapon of choice. The title refers to Joe’s view of himself as a man show more passing through the world without truly being a part of it.

Joe’s only reason for continuing to live is to turn the violence that is always trying to burst out of him, into a tool he wields against those who traffick the children he is covertly commissioned to rescue. Part of Joe’s trauma comes from his years as an undercover FBI agent breaking human trafficking gangs. Now he uses the knowledge he gained from that work, but without having to keep his violence leashed while he does it.

The violence starts on the first page. There is neither joy nor rage in it, just necessity. The prose, like the protagonist, is lean, muscular and brutal. The pace is relentless rather than fast. The tone is bleak. The action scenes are vivid.

This isn’t a story of redemptive heroics. It’s the story of a man who has made himself into a hammer and who sees every obstacle as a nail.

In 2017, Lynne Ramsay adapted this novella into a film starring Joaquin Phoenix, Judith Roberts and Ekaterina Samsonov. Click on the YouTube link below to see the trailer.

https://youtu.be/R8oYYg75Qvg?si=2t7mnTgAmPb11gcr show less

If this book was longer I'd have given it 5 stars. It is a novella. Like catholic sex, it stops just about the place where you don’t want it to stop and it leaves you gasping for more. I like Joe, he carries a hammer because it frightens people. The writing is like a hammer too, it beats you over the head and around the shoulders relentlessly. Just when you think it could not get any darker in there he whacks you again and you see stars. The writing is so tight I swear the book creaked and show more groaned from the tension.

This noir at its best and you should try it, it wont take much of your time like a quick knee trembler up a dark alley with a catholic conclusion. show less