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The Jackals
Jack Dotson finally has everything he wants: the promotion he's spent years working for, a house in a trendy neighborhood near downtown Louisville, and a future with Lauren, his stunning, smart, too-good-for-him girlfriend. Then he gets the call that his childhood best friend Mark has died, forcing Jack to do what he never thought he would: return to the sleepy, Midwestern hometown he ran away from years ago.
The plan? Give his condolences to Mark's family and make amends with the friends he left behind. Unfortunately, home isn't the place Jack remembers, blowing this to bits and forcing him to confront everything he ran away from. The best friend he betrayed. The girl who might have loved him. The town that's grown to hate him.
Determined to do right by Mark, Jack commits to attending the funeral and apologizing, but the results are disastrous. Fists start flying, old love interests reignite, and Jack's carefully curated life in Louisville starts slipping through his fingertips, leaving him to wonder who his true friends are and what he even ran away from in the first place.
Full of wit and wisdom, The Jackals is a humorous, heartfelt look at the complexities of friendship and the ways we try to overcome our mistakes.
The plan? Give his condolences to Mark's family and make amends with the friends he left behind. Unfortunately, home isn't the place Jack remembers, blowing this to bits and forcing him to confront everything he ran away from. The best friend he betrayed. The girl who might have loved him. The town that's grown to hate him.
Determined to do right by Mark, Jack commits to attending the funeral and apologizing, but the results are disastrous. Fists start flying, old love interests reignite, and Jack's carefully curated life in Louisville starts slipping through his fingertips, leaving him to wonder who his true friends are and what he even ran away from in the first place.
Full of wit and wisdom, The Jackals is a humorous, heartfelt look at the complexities of friendship and the ways we try to overcome our mistakes.
288 pages, Paperback
Published January 11, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 12, 2022
Fans of Jonathan Tropper will enjoy this coming-of-age story about the bond of friendship, the pain of betrayal, and the always-shocking realization that you can't go home again without consequences.
April 25, 2022
I am astonished by this debut novel. The pacing of the story and the relational development between the characters pushed me to no-lifing this read. Adam composes a very impressive story that brings you into the rooms and places the characters lived their lives with concrete memories that feel like the memories of someone I may know myself. We all know a Jack, or might be a Jack, but the symphonic mess of life he experiences within the pages of this novel is a mess I very much feel more rich for having walked through with him.
March 11, 2022
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S THE JACKALS ABOUT?
Years ago, Jack was in a band with his brother and two close friends from school. They were playing regularly, and had a big event coming up. A major fight occurs between Jack and Mark, his best friend since childhood and bandmate. Jack leaves town, the band falls apart, and they don't speak for seven years.
Now Jack's living in a new town, has a career on the verge of going somewhere, a girlfriend out of his league, and a dog that the author doesn't spend enough time on.* Which is when he gets the news that Mark was killed.
Robbed of the chance to make amends, Jack joins his brother and another bandmate to help clean out Mark's house and attend the funeral. Hopefully giving him the opportunity to mend fences with everyone still living.
It does not go according to plan.
* It's been a while since I got to geek out over a dog, and I thought for a minute that this would be my chance.
PROPORTIONAL RESPONSE
Around the time that Jack left town, Mark's life took a turn. The next several years were marked by a series of poor choices and their ramifications (I'll keep it vague on that point). Many/some of those close to Mark blamed Jack for this direction in his life. When presented with the opportunity to pay Jack back for this, they do so.
But it's not a proportional response—what's done to Jack is over the line, and will have long-reaching consequences for Jack's life.
I found Jack's response to this both hard to believe and disappointing. The more I think about this part of the novel, the less I like it. No matter what Jack's ultimate response to everything that happens may be, no matter what personal development may be triggered by this—ultimately for the good (quite possibly)—I just don't buy this part of the book.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE JACKALS?
I'm not 100% that the official description is correct, and I wonder if the novel was revised a bit after it was written. But that's okay, the things that didn't quite match up were better this way.
The ending wasn't what I expected from this story—both from the way the novel was moving and from the kind of story Shaw was telling. It was a little unsatisfying in the moment, but the more I thought about it, the more I appreciated what Shaw did. He went against expectations provided the kind of ending that was most fitting for Jack.
The best takeaway from this novel was what it had to say about friendship—the real, enduring kind. Both the friendships that were forged in childhood/adolescence and how they morph into something different in adulthood—whether or not there's frequent contact.
It had comedic moments, but could've been funnier. It had some good drama, but could've used some more depth. I thought the characters were well-thought-out, but we needed a little more from each one. I liked the story, but I wasn't sure it was resolved right. Essentially, on just about every front I can think of the novel missed the promise it shows. Just by a hair. I wanted to love this, but in the end, I could only like it.
However underwhelmed I was with the book as a whole, and whatever issues I might have with parts of the plot—I did enjoy the book and am glad I read it. I'm curious to see what Shaw will do next, and I'll definitely grab it. Your results may vary, of course, and I can easily see readers enjoying this more than I did (and I did like it!).
---
WHAT'S THE JACKALS ABOUT?
Years ago, Jack was in a band with his brother and two close friends from school. They were playing regularly, and had a big event coming up. A major fight occurs between Jack and Mark, his best friend since childhood and bandmate. Jack leaves town, the band falls apart, and they don't speak for seven years.
Now Jack's living in a new town, has a career on the verge of going somewhere, a girlfriend out of his league, and a dog that the author doesn't spend enough time on.* Which is when he gets the news that Mark was killed.
Robbed of the chance to make amends, Jack joins his brother and another bandmate to help clean out Mark's house and attend the funeral. Hopefully giving him the opportunity to mend fences with everyone still living.
It does not go according to plan.
* It's been a while since I got to geek out over a dog, and I thought for a minute that this would be my chance.
PROPORTIONAL RESPONSE
Around the time that Jack left town, Mark's life took a turn. The next several years were marked by a series of poor choices and their ramifications (I'll keep it vague on that point). Many/some of those close to Mark blamed Jack for this direction in his life. When presented with the opportunity to pay Jack back for this, they do so.
But it's not a proportional response—what's done to Jack is over the line, and will have long-reaching consequences for Jack's life.
I found Jack's response to this both hard to believe and disappointing. The more I think about this part of the novel, the less I like it. No matter what Jack's ultimate response to everything that happens may be, no matter what personal development may be triggered by this—ultimately for the good (quite possibly)—I just don't buy this part of the book.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE JACKALS?
I'm not 100% that the official description is correct, and I wonder if the novel was revised a bit after it was written. But that's okay, the things that didn't quite match up were better this way.
The ending wasn't what I expected from this story—both from the way the novel was moving and from the kind of story Shaw was telling. It was a little unsatisfying in the moment, but the more I thought about it, the more I appreciated what Shaw did. He went against expectations provided the kind of ending that was most fitting for Jack.
The best takeaway from this novel was what it had to say about friendship—the real, enduring kind. Both the friendships that were forged in childhood/adolescence and how they morph into something different in adulthood—whether or not there's frequent contact.
It had comedic moments, but could've been funnier. It had some good drama, but could've used some more depth. I thought the characters were well-thought-out, but we needed a little more from each one. I liked the story, but I wasn't sure it was resolved right. Essentially, on just about every front I can think of the novel missed the promise it shows. Just by a hair. I wanted to love this, but in the end, I could only like it.
However underwhelmed I was with the book as a whole, and whatever issues I might have with parts of the plot—I did enjoy the book and am glad I read it. I'm curious to see what Shaw will do next, and I'll definitely grab it. Your results may vary, of course, and I can easily see readers enjoying this more than I did (and I did like it!).
June 17, 2025
There are many things to like about The Jackals. Fans of Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper, and Matthew Norman will find similar character development and introspective writing that makes you feel like the characters are someone you know. Shaw does a great job crafting a believable story that many can relate to, especially if you have ever been estranged from a friend.
My problem is, there is nothing likable about the protagonist. Without spoiling any major plot points, Jack's troubles play out like a cartoon where he is the coyote and the roadrunner is dropping everything on him at once. The biggest issue is I did not once feel sorry for Jack; he deserved everything that happened to him. It's hard to stay invested in a character and a book when you are never once rooting for them and the progragonist doesn't have any redeemable qualities. When redemption came, it was too little too late for me and the ending made wonder if a couple of pages were left out. It just...ends. I am fine with endings being open to some interpretation, but I hate not having any clear idea of where the characters go from here. A brief epilogue would have helped.
Still, I enjoyed Adam Shaw's writing style and I believe I would give another book of his a chance.
My problem is, there is nothing likable about the protagonist. Without spoiling any major plot points, Jack's troubles play out like a cartoon where he is the coyote and the roadrunner is dropping everything on him at once. The biggest issue is I did not once feel sorry for Jack; he deserved everything that happened to him. It's hard to stay invested in a character and a book when you are never once rooting for them and the progragonist doesn't have any redeemable qualities. When redemption came, it was too little too late for me and the ending made wonder if a couple of pages were left out. It just...ends. I am fine with endings being open to some interpretation, but I hate not having any clear idea of where the characters go from here. A brief epilogue would have helped.
Still, I enjoyed Adam Shaw's writing style and I believe I would give another book of his a chance.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews