A MAN NAMED DOLL

Jonathan Ames doesn't differentiate character voices as he narrates his mystery. But the one voice that he does use--the inner voice of detective Happy Doll--is so comfortable that it becomes difficult to imagine anyone else portraying the sensitive tough guy. Ames is an author whose storytelling skills go beyond bookstore-reading quality, and he delivers this neo-noir without irony in an offhand vérité tone. As required by the noir playbook, Doll survives beatings, slashings, shotgun blasts--and a few other indignities that fall in spoiler alert territory. He doles out justice while occasionally offering hilarious existential commentary or love letters to his dog. As a bonus, Ames reads a portion of the next audiobook in the series. That's right, Hap's coming back! R.W.S. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2021]