"The Deadbeat Club" by Dietrich Kalteis | Book Review

The Deadbeat Club by Dietrich Kalteis

Grey Stevens grows the best pot in Whistler. He just wants to take life easy but everyone, including two rival gangs, want the pot to themselves. One day, when he stops a gang member from beating up a mysterious girl, he suddenly finds himself in the middle of a gang war. Grey must decide whether to run away with the girl, or stay and defend what's his.

I read this as part of The Word on the Street's Book Club, which I highly recommend you follow as you read through The Deadbeat Club, if and when you decide to do so. We read it over the course of four weeks, answering questions about the story and talking to other people who were reading the book as well. I really liked being able to talk to people while I was reading the story, because the book and corresponding questions made for some thought-provoking discussions!

From the beginning, this novel reminded me of HBO's The Wire, in that it's very gritty and real in terms of portraying the drug scene in a realistic way. A lot of shocking things happen in the story, but it's easy to accept the events as reality, and at the same time, also horrifying to think that such bad things happen to good people.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of - I was hoping that as I kept reading, I'd get a handle on who was who, and for the most part I did. There were some characters though, who didn't have big roles or were present for a couple of scenes, but were mentioned later on in the book - so I found myself having to go back to remind myself who they were.

On the back of the book, we're told that Grey Stevens is the main character, but he never really comes across as such. Personally, I think there are too many characters to peg someone as the main focus. It didn't bother me at all that there wasn't a main character, it just threw me off a little because that's how Grey was pitched. Having said that, I loved his scenes because he almost always provided comic relief in what was a dark, action-packed novel.

You can read about my experience meeting Dietrich Kalteis and attending The Word on the Street here.

The Deadbeat Club is now available at Indigo and on your Kobo.

*I received a copy of this book from The Word on the Street in exchange for participation in their Book Club.