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Jas Anderson Thriller #3
Some Kind of Love
Former Detective Sergeant Jas Anderson, the violent anti-hero of "Freeform" and "Banged-Up," becomes enmeshed in a dangerous web of intrigue and double-dealing. Working as a private investigator on a routine case, he soon finds himself stirring an explosive cocktail of police corruption, sectarianism and murder."A weaver of intricate plots which combine elements of the hard-boiled and the intensely erotic."
326 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 23, 2019
This last volume of the Jas Anderson series was to my mind the best written of the three. I was shaken, delighted, disturbed, and dazzled by this book. I finished it and immediately started turned to the first page to start again.
Despite the description of the novel, which implies that the main thrust of the story is a case Jas is working, the story is characterized by grinding domestic tension. Stevie is insecure, agitated, and very, very much in love with Jas. His kids are the only thing more important to him than his undefined relationship with Jas, but he's also doing an outsized part of the emotional labor in the relationship, and Jas is both dishonest and unreliable throughout. The result for the reader is a slog through the grinding tension of arguments, silences, avoidance, overreactions, and miscommunications as Jas works what seems like a basic surveillance case for a man he developed unrequited feelings for in his early 20s, giving him more and more excuses to avoid Stevie and burden he carries, including his ex-wife and kids, and his past as a queer-basher, murderer, and someone who is inclined toward self-harm and suicidal behavior.
The mystery and the action of the story side swiped me. The domestic misery of the first half (maybe even 2/3) of the story left me unprepared for what had been on the page all along--Jas being drawn into a situation he didn't think through, and being used and exploited by the man who hired him. It blows his life apart, and in many ways Jas has let this happen. If I'm honest, this mystery/thriller is not as well written as the first two, but Jas isn't paying much attention to it either, which contributes to the facts of the investigation being a bit jumbled and out of focus.
This was a beautiful book. It was intelligently and incisively written, but it was not neat or pretty or comforting. I loved that I was not reading about moneyed queers with enviable lives of privilege. Instead I was reading versions of fights I'd had with an old boyfriend and stupid choices I'd made, and reality-bending nature of working the graveyard shift.
The thing that's so special about this series is that Jas really is just a regular guy. And being a regular working class queer man in Glasgow in the 1990s/2000s was rough and difficult and rarely fun. It wasn't hopeful or uplifting or polished. As a 30y/o working class queer guy, I felt seen, reading it. I'm probably very biased in my opinion, but this is probably the best book I read in 2019.
Despite the description of the novel, which implies that the main thrust of the story is a case Jas is working, the story is characterized by grinding domestic tension. Stevie is insecure, agitated, and very, very much in love with Jas. His kids are the only thing more important to him than his undefined relationship with Jas, but he's also doing an outsized part of the emotional labor in the relationship, and Jas is both dishonest and unreliable throughout. The result for the reader is a slog through the grinding tension of arguments, silences, avoidance, overreactions, and miscommunications as Jas works what seems like a basic surveillance case for a man he developed unrequited feelings for in his early 20s, giving him more and more excuses to avoid Stevie and burden he carries, including his ex-wife and kids, and his past as a queer-basher, murderer, and someone who is inclined toward self-harm and suicidal behavior.
The mystery and the action of the story side swiped me. The domestic misery of the first half (maybe even 2/3) of the story left me unprepared for what had been on the page all along--Jas being drawn into a situation he didn't think through, and being used and exploited by the man who hired him. It blows his life apart, and in many ways Jas has let this happen. If I'm honest, this mystery/thriller is not as well written as the first two, but Jas isn't paying much attention to it either, which contributes to the facts of the investigation being a bit jumbled and out of focus.
This was a beautiful book. It was intelligently and incisively written, but it was not neat or pretty or comforting. I loved that I was not reading about moneyed queers with enviable lives of privilege. Instead I was reading versions of fights I'd had with an old boyfriend and stupid choices I'd made, and reality-bending nature of working the graveyard shift.
The thing that's so special about this series is that Jas really is just a regular guy. And being a regular working class queer man in Glasgow in the 1990s/2000s was rough and difficult and rarely fun. It wasn't hopeful or uplifting or polished. As a 30y/o working class queer guy, I felt seen, reading it. I'm probably very biased in my opinion, but this is probably the best book I read in 2019.
September 29, 2022
I had such high hopes for this last book of the Jas Anderson thriller trilogy ... especially on how Jas and Stevie would be negotiating living together as a couple. Pressures with Jas' investigation of a 'cold case' killing and Stevie's custody arrangement battles with an angry ex act as almost insurmountable barriers to them finding that coupling equilibrium. And then to bring in a 'blast from the past' for Jas which ignites in him feelings that he cannot deny ... ack! This is not the best book of the three and the ending (which was shocking but made sense) seemed rather truncated/rushed, leaving me with a few unresolved issues.
July 6, 2024
Really enjoyed this final book. It moves away somewhat from the focus on crime and shows Jas in a relationship that seems to be establishing itself. But Jas can escape some of the complications that his relationship presents by focusing on work. Unfortunately that begins to make things even worse for his relationship. Jack Dickson does a great job of building up a complex set of circumstances and characters that all turn out to interact. This is really a lovely noir series. Sorry to be saying goodbye to Jas and sad that not much else seems to be available by this author. Hope he’ll pick up a pen or laptop again.
September 3, 2017
Some Kind of Love provided a good wrap-up for Dickson's Jas Anderson series. The backstory of his PI work wasn't as interesting to me as his dysfunctional relationship with Stevie. Stevie's on-going personal issues with his ex-wife and custody battle for his kids should have driven any sane person away, but Jas kept hanging in trying to make the best of a bad situation. As with the previous book in the series, the Scottish brogue can be hard to deal with at times here, but it's not overwhelming.
August 27, 2020
I've read this book so many times. It's one of my favourites. Would you have to read Freeform and Banged Up first? Maybe Banged Up in order to get to know Stevie, but, then again, maybe not. I completely believe that Stevie existed, Jas too. I love every single thing about this book, really I do. There's crime and love and passion and football and dialect and male protagonists and the last page is important... every single thing I want and I'm so glad that Jas sees sense in the end.
March 10, 2015
Last and best of the Jas Anderson Series. A real favourite of mine!
February 5, 2024
As great as ever! I really wish there were more books in this vein even if Jas’ story has come to a conclusion. I loved this series!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews