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Karma Doll
by Jonathan Ames
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date Jan 14 2025 | Archive Date Jan 31 2025
Description
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.
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9780316576123 |
PRICE | $27.00 (USD) |
PAGES | 240 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
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In this third novel featuring Happy Doll, our protagonist struggles with his knowledge that he must quit taking lives. It is incompatible with his Buddhist beliefs. This is especially hard, because he frequently finds himself in position where he has to kill, either in immediate self-defense or to prevent worse things being done to innocent people in the future. He does it, of course, but he’s worried about karma.
Happy is thoughtful, big hearted, loyal, and while he gets in all kinds of tough spots, pretty darn lucky most of the time. His inner monologues are deep and frequently funny. He loves his dog, and he cares about what passes for his friends. He just can’t seem to get out of the cycle of death. All the better for us, because we get to enjoy his misery.
Happy’s hard-boiled tales are both thought-provoking and fabulously entertaining. You can tell the author loves Los Angeles, as the city is an honorary character in these novels. The Happy Doll books are worthy additions to the LA noir canon.
I am grateful to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.