A Man Named Doll - Jonathan Ames

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 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.

Helsinki Blood - James Thompson

James Thompson's last book Helsinki White, left me wondering if I wanted to follow the Inspector Kari Vaara series any longer. (my review) I wasn't too sure if I liked the direction Thompson was taking Vaara. But, curiosity got the better of me, so I picked up the fourth book - Helsinki Blood.

Vaara is trying to recover from the gunshot wounds he sustained solving his last case. He's in unbelievable pain, and self medicating with drugs and alcohol. His mental state is still suffering due to  from the brain tumour surgery that left him unable to feel emotions. His wife has left him, taking their infant daughter with her. And the people he stole from  - they want revenge. His home and family are targets. Vaara has no choice but to fight back. And Vaara fights dirty. For Vaara is a dirty cop, albeit with good intentions.  And of course, he calls on his black ops crew - the duo known as Sweetness and Milo, also both police employees.

"Milo, Sweetness and I are three such men. Brothers in arms. Brothers in blood. Each of us bound to the others by the knowledge that only we can count on ourselves not to kill one another. We did our jobs too well, observed no limits, not even legal boundaries, and served justice instead of our masters."

What follows is a dark, disturbing thriller that was difficult to put down. The prose are brutal, bloody and stark. The characters are cold and vicious. But there is still some of the old Vaara there, seeking justice for the those unable to protect themselves and protecting his own at all costs. The inclusion of a plotline about an abducted young Down's woman seemed to be added to the book to showcase this facet of Vaara.  The level of corruption, unrest and racism is frightening - I'm not sure I would ever want to visit Finland. But,  Kentucky native Thompson, has made Finland his home for over fifteen years. He includes much social commentary in his plots, touching on many current events.

Vaara is a hard character to define. He's a dangerous, ruthless man, but on the flipside does have a moral compass. We're just not too sure where its pointed right now. This latest book has hooked me again and I'll be waiting for the fifth installment in this series - Vaara's story is far from over. Thompson is Scandinavian noir at it's best.  Read an excerpt of Helsinki Blood.

I would suggest starting from the beginning of the series to fully appreciate Vaara's story. However, Thompson does provide enough back story that you could read this as a stand alone.

You can find James Thompson on Facebook and on Twitter.

The Hollow Man - Oliver Harris

The Hollow Man is Oliver Harris's debut novel and the first release from Bourbon Street Books - Harper Collins' new imprint.

I loved the opening chapters and introduction to Detective Constable Nick Belsey. "The earth was cold beneath his body,. His mouth had soil in it and there was a smell of blood and rotten bark." Has he been attacked? In an accident? Well, yes, but Nick himself is the car wreck. He has a drinking problem, a gambling problem and at this point no possessions and no home. Once he remembers what he did last night, will he have a job?

He heads off to his station and is given an apparent suicide to investigate in a wealthy area of London. Nick finds the body and sends it on it's way to the morgue.  With nowhere to stay that night he decides to sleep in the dead man's house. And eat his food, drink his booze, wear his clothes and drive his car. As he looks in the life of (wealthy) dead Alexei Devereaux, Belsey decides to take his money as well. After all, there's no family and it will be a fresh start for him somewhere else.

"It takes the average person twelve months to discover that their identity has been stolen. That was for the living. If this was what he was doing, stealing Devereaux's identity, then it gave him some time. He felt ready to pick up where Devereaux had left off. If he was gong to be born again it would be nice to be someone rich."

But many, many others have their eye on Devereaux's business as well. Taking over Devereaux's life won't be as easy as Nick first thought. Things are getting complicated. Complicating them more is Nick himself. He's also driven by his own desire for answers. So he starts to work the investigation. Unofficially of course.

Nick is the quintessential anti-hero. He's crooked, selfish and self serving. And I couldn't help but like him. For he's also very clever and does have some soft spots. I really enjoyed the way he insinuated himself into situations, finagled what he wanted or needed and bamboozled others. A true wolf in cop's clothing. But, I found myself rooting for him, hoping he gets away with it.

I'm unfamiliar with the setting of North London, but Harris did a good job of bringing his setting to life. The plotting is complex and involved, with many twists and turns. My only complaint would be the reveal of Devereaux's master plan - I found it a bit of a let down and somewhat unbelievable.

The Hollow Man is the first book in the Nick Belsey series. I'll be curious to see where Harris can take this character after this first outing. Read an excerpt of The Hollow Man.

"Oliver Harris was born in north London in 1978. He has a first-class degree in English Literature and an MA in Shakespeare Studies from UCL, and an MA in creative writing from UEA. He has worked in clothing warehouses, PR companies and as a TV and film extra. More recently he assisted with research in the Imperial War Museum archives, and continues to act as a reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement. Oli is currently finishing pursuing a PhD on antiquity in the work of Jacques Lacan at Birkbeck’s London Consortium, and in the last few months has presented papers on obscenity at the Hayward and on conspiracy theories at Ghent’s Vooruit Arts Centre. He loves travelling, especially in cold places."You can find Oliver Harris on Twitter.

See what others on the TLC tour thought - full schedule can be found here.

Helsinkini White - James Thompson

I devoured the first two books in James Thompson's Inspector Vaara series. and was eager to pick up the latest - Helsinki White.

Vaara has never been a follow the rules kind of cop - instead he bends them, but only to see that justice was served.

But, in Helsinki White, Vaara has become the leader of a 'black-ops' unit, comprised of himself, Milo and Sweetness, his two odd, but lethal associates. All this is done at the request of his immediate superior. The idea is to fight crime with crime, with an eye to the good. But that isn't the way it's turned out...

"I run a heist gang. I'm a police inspector, shakedown artist, strong-arm specialist and enforcer. Three months ago, I was an honest cop. I'm not sure I care how or why, but I reflect on how I could have undergone such a drastic change in such a short time."

And I'm not sure either. Vaara has undergone surgery for a brain tumour. One of the side effects is that he no longer feels emotion. Perhaps this is a contributing factor? But from the second book to this one, Vaara is a radically different character. And I'm not too sure what I think of him now....

In Snow Angels, Vaara pursues a case that is racially charged - the murder of a Somali woman. In Helsinki White, the issue of racial intolerance, prejudice and hate is a tangible, ugly truth. The racist rhetoric made me feel sick.  Thompson has borrowed from headlines in Finland to create a multi layered plot involving extreme xenophobia, political corruption at the highest levels and more. Vaara pursues justice, but it is obtained by vicious and selective means.

The tone of Helsinki White is very dark and noir. The violence and situations are extreme. The characters are of course, Thompson's to manipulate, but I have to be honest, I didn't like where he took them. Vaara's American wife Kate has agreed to Vaara heading the black ops group. But, she is aware of the escalating violence, is present for some of it, all while toting along her three month old baby.

Vaara's tumour has left him without emotion and operating on a base level....

"I don't seem to care about what I do, either. My existence is binary. Want/don't want. Like/don't like. Will/won't. I have no shades of gray."

...and the writing seems to echo that - the prose are short and terse. Except for the long descriptions of the guns and equipment obtained by Milo, that I found myself skimming.

I applaud Thompson's tackling of a very real issue, but Vaara's solutions makes him no better than those he is pursuing. Will I read the next in the series? Yes, I want to where Thompson takes Vaara, but it won't be at the top of the pile.

Read an excerpt of Helsinki White. You can find Thompson on Facebook and on Twitter.