A Man Named Doll

This may be a homage to the noir of Raymond Chandler, but Jonathan Ames's sharp eye and darkly comic flourishes give it a keen contemporary edge * The Times, Books of the Year *
I loved this book - it's quirky, edgy, charming, funny and serious, all in one. Very highly recommended -- Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series
A stiff shot of timeless Hollywood noir, spiked with black humour and leaving a warm glow as it goes down -- Chris Brookmyre, author of Quite Ugly One Morning
Like the streets of LA at night, Jonathan Ames's sentences are long and fast and can end in something fatal. The template, of course, is Raymond Chandler and especially Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer, with a dash of Chinatown... Its frequently macabre goings on [are] shot through with darkly comic flourishes. Motel, money, murder, madness: it has all you need to keep you happy * The Times, Thriller of the Month *
An offbeat and powerful slice of contemporary noir * Daily Mail *
The kind of book that gives pulp fiction a good name... A celebration of oddballs and underdogs -- Robbie Millen * The Times *
The first in a dark new private detective series that's a tightly coiled double helix of offbeat humor and unflinching violence -- Sarah Weinman * New York Times Book Review *
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
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 humour, mordant wit and dreamy fatalism of great LA noir. And at its centre is a detective with a battered heart and bruised conscience. I'd follow him, and his dog George, anywhere * Megan Abbot, author of Dare Me *
It's witty and funny and philosophical too... I hope there's more to come from this character -- Richard Herring
Ames knows exactly what he's doing, and keeps the action kinetic but realistic, while imbuing the narration with sufficient hard-boiled style to anchor things firmly within the tradition -- Declan Hughes * Irish Times *
With action pitched nicely between realism and melodrama, Ames infuses the narration with sufficient hard-boiled style to anchor things firmly within the noir tradition * Irish Times, Best Crime Books of the Year *
Exceptional... 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, starred review *
The hero of this novel is a hapless Los Angeles private detective who accidentally kills a massage parlour patron, then discovers a mysterious diamond on a friend's corpse. It only gets more thrilling and more darkly comic from there * The Times, Best Books of 2021 *
For something more offbeat, I'd recommend A Man Named Doll (Pushkin), in which Jonathan Ames - creator of the TV comedy series Bored to Death - launches a new thriller series about an eccentric LA private detective called Hap -- Martin Chilton * Independent *
Doll is a unique addition to the Southern California crime-fiction scene, and Mr. Ames's new series holds great promise * Wall Street Journal *
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, author of Blackout *
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 *
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
This is a thoroughly modern and hugely entertaining LA noir caper, but with echoes of classic 1960s Donald Westlake/Richard Stark's Dortmunder and Parker adventures. More, please * Irish Independent *
Jonathan Ames makes a remarkable entry into the ruthless world of hard-boiled thrillers, creating an irresistible detective half covered in bandages (Jack Nicholson in Chinatown comes to mind), high off painkillers, and flanked by a sort of a chihuahua named George, the improbable hero of an inspired and very funny tribute to the novels of Raymond Chandler or Ross MacDonald * Le Figaro *
Happy Doll is a strange cross between Columbo and Philip Marlowe, the Raymond Chandler hero whom the author evokes with a knowing wink. Jonathan Ames is also a Hollywood screenwriter, and you can tell: his writing has a very cinematic quality. This technicolour thriller is in any case a delightful way to start off the year * Libération *
With A Man Named Doll, Jonathan Ames doesn't cringe before imposing figures of the genre such as Chandler or Hammett. He appropriates them brilliantly, with a tense plot involving a stolen diamond and organ trafficking. Violence, dark humour, plot twists, well-rounded characters...it's all there. But above all there is the distinct sadness, irony, and disenchantment that's dear to Ames, who makes the real highlight of this book the moment when we learn that in Los Angeles, even the windows can run with tears * Revue de Deux Mondes *
A stunning homage to Chandler and Hammett * Le Monde *
Praise for You Were Never Really Here: * _ *
Ames is an adept purveyor of the very noir, particularly scenes of violence. He achieves more in less than 100 pages than most crime novels three times the length do * The Times, Crime Books of the Year 2016 *
A striking and powerful noir debut that can be consumed in a single sitting... Ames reveals himself here as a stylish thriller writer * Daily Mail *
Ice-cold modern noir... Really dark. But also fun! * Mr. Hyde *
Jonathan Ames' superbly pared-down, striking and powerful noir debut novella, is short, less than 100 pages, brutal and redemptive and packed with corruption, revenge and the very darkest of man's inner demons... After this brilliant and stunningly noir piece of writing, the future direction of his work now seems clear * Crime Review *
At less than 100 pages, the read-in-one-sitting tale of traumatised Joe, ex-Marine for hire who still lives with his mother, is as compelling as the violence is sickening. Short, taut and in only the darkest shades of noir * Sunday Times Crime Club *
This is modern noir with an old-school style, and what a style... An action-packed story that doesn't waste a word. Gritty, dark and punchy, it's a devour in one sitting read * Crime Thriller Hound, Book of the Week *
A dark thriller full of attitude and heart. ... Ames is at his best here, creating a complex and sympathetic character and a detail-rich, believable story that is hard to forget * San Francisco Chronicle *