Karma Doll - by Jonathan Ames (Hardcover)

About the Book

"After narrowly escaping with his life at the hands of a murderous Hollywood pimp, detective Happy Doll, bullet-ridden but healing, has landed on a remote Mexican beach. In a humble shack and with his dog for company, Doll settles into a peaceful idyll of Buddhist study. But then trouble, as it always does, comes to paradise. Doll is the witness to a murder for which he is framed, and now, with an expired passport and the Mexican authorities on his tail, he must sneak across the border back to L.A. by any means necessary, with the goal of bringing the true murderer to justice."--

Book Synopsis

In this darkly humorous detective story, plagued by death on his conscience, Happy Doll has committed himself to a simple, spiritual life; that is, until a tragic and brutal murder forces his hand and sets him back on the bloody path of retribution and justice.

After narrowly escaping with his life at the hands of a murderous Hollywood pimp, detective Happy Doll, bullet-ridden but healing, has landed on a remote Mexican beach. In a humble shack and with his dog for company, Doll settles into a peaceful idyll of Buddhist study. But then trouble, as it always does, comes to paradise. Doll is the witness to a murder for which he is framed, and now, with an expired passport and the Mexican authorities on his tail, he must sneak across the border back to L.A. by any means necessary, with the goal of bringing the true murderer to justice.

But it's not just trouble that expels Doll from paradise! His dark past reaches for him, like a hand from the grave, old enemies want him dead, including the Jalisco Cartel, and Doll, a reluctant instrument of mayhem, yearns to end this cycle of violence and tip the karmic scales in his favor. But how can he do this without getting blood on his hands?

Karma Doll marks the third installment in a madcap, bloody, and impossibly fun series, bringing us back in the good company of Happy Doll: a beloved, introverted anti-hero who has taken more hits to the head than a linebacker, yet still always manages to come out on top.

Review Quotes

"The offbeat Hollywood private eye Happy Doll has his third hard-boiled misadventure in Jonathan Ames's "Karma Doll." A pot-smoking former cop, Doll describes himself as "a deeply confused person in a violent profession." He feels regret over the several men he's killed in self-defense and guilt over the collateral victims of his star-crossed investigations. Years of hard drinking have led to psychoanalysis and his intermittent embrace of Buddhism ("I'm not very good at it"). What, he wonders, with some apprehension, will be his ultimate karma?"--Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

"Ames' expert plotting and spot-on descriptions of Mexican and stateside environs and denizens makes "Karma Doll" another excellent installment of what is, happily, proving to be a long-running series."--Paula Woods, Los Angeles Times

"Idiosyncratic PI Happy Doll returns for another violent, darkly funny adventure in Ames's outstanding sequel to The Wheel of Doll...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."--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"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."--David Pitt, Booklist

About the Author

Jonathan Ames is the author of several books, including Wake Up, Sir! and, most recently, The Wheel of Doll and A Man Named Doll. His novels The Extra Man and You Were Never Really Here have been adapted into films, and he's the creator of two television series, Blunt Talk and Bored to Death.