Our Reaction to THE DIME

There are no spoilers for the top part of this post – the beginning of this post is only a repeat of the information provided about the book that was provided at the start of the month, before the meeting. But…..

Near the bottom of the page, there is a place for our participants to leave comments about the book, and spoilers will likely be included. Don’t scroll down to the comments area, until you have finished the book.

We read The Dime by Kathleen Kent for the July 28, 2023 Meeting. Published in 2017, it is the first in a series of 3 books featuring “Betty” Rhyzyk, a detective on the narcotics squad of the Dallas Police Department. It is a trilogy and not necessarily a continuing series.

Rhyzyk’s backstory as recounted in the first few chapters, is that she gained initial experience, starting in 2000 as an officer and then as a detective in the New York City police department where her father, and uncle, and a brother all had been with the NYPD. She was closest to her Uncle Benny who continues, following death to cancer, to be a mentor in her thoughts and dreams.

In 2011 Betty and her life partner Jackie, a pediatric radiologist, moved to Dallas because Jackie wanted to be close to her ill mother. As the story unfolds two years later (2013), we are given glimpses of their life as a lesbian couple at home, going out to eat, and shopping for a new home.

As brought out in the group discussion, Betty holds her own in dealing with a largely misogynistic police force through use of smart comebacks to colleagues, but also by exemplary work. Gratefully her usual work partner works well with with Betty. BOOK BLURB:

About the Author

Kathleen Kent went to the University of Texas and began studying writing. At the advice of her father, she switched to a business major. Seeking freedom from what she perceived as the stifling atmosphere of Texas, she accepted a work offer in New York City after graduation. For the next twenty years she worked in two businesses: at the Commodities Exchange and then as a contractor for the US Department of Defense where she was assigned to Moscow during the 1990s. “Both of those industries are, at best, discouraging to women, and at worst, hostile to women. I did that for twenty years. Exercising those muscles in opposition to my work environment, has carried over into my developing of strong female characters [in my books],” she stated in an interview.

She left New York with her family and returned to Texas to write a book. It was all new and she had much to learn, so it took a few years. Her first book, The Heretic’s Daughter (2008) was a historical novel based on Martha Carrier, one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Puritan Salem. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha’s courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived. Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier.

She wrote a few other historical novels with strong female characters. And then, for the fun of it, she wrote a short story featuring a brash, lesbian detective in Dallas named Betty Rhyzyk. Called “Coincidences Can Kill You,” it was published in Dallas Noir (a short story anthology). Her publisher suggested the character warranted a novel, and that was the genesis of this month’s book, The Dime (2017). Since then she has written two more “Detective Betty” books – the completion of a trilogy.

—> READ MORE at Kathleen Kent’s own website.

Meeting Report with Spoilers

Thirteen people attended the July 28 meeting and there was a lot of strong views expressed about the book. Let’s start with the metrics, the book scores. In fact, each participant at the meeting had a blank copy of the book evaluation form and was encouraged to complete it as we went through each question.

Most of the scores were in the B to B- range. I think that the overall average would have been in the B+ range except for a variety of things that annoyed our readers:

• The kidnap scene began at exactly 2/3 through the book. That means that essentially the last third of the book was devoted to the torture and escape. Several -if not most- thought that the escape with the seriously injured leg while carrying a rock was dragged out a little too much. It could have been condensed and worked better.
• Some pointed out that inserting a rod or chain into the ankle or calf was extreme and Betty’s determination to survive, although heroic, and although it provided for a page-turner, strained credibility to the extreme.
• Although Kent did a great job on describing scenes (settings), was it overdone?

The author got kudos for:

• Authentic descriptions of the interplay between the various cops.
• Authentic scenarios facing Betty and Jackie as they live as same-sex partners.
• Humor spread throughout the story.
• The interjection of the civil war re-enactors also captured the outlook of re-enactors in general and provided humor at the same time with the suspense.
• Writing a page-turner.

Add to the Discussion about the Book….

Did I miss a key comment made during the meeting? Want to correct or clarify any of the above comments about the book? Want to add an opinion about the book?

(1) for those who did not attend the meeting, and

(2) for those who did attend. Please consider writing some of your thoughts about the book, even if you expressed them in the meeting. This helps provide a “report” to those who could not attend.

Please write your book reactions (and score if not reported above) where it says “LEAVE A REPLY,” below. You can also [nicely] comment on any other participant’s thoughts.