How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
She looked as if she were telling the truth, though with women, especially blue-eyed women, that doesn't always mean anything. (11.10)
This is a pretty misogynistic comment made by the Op, which isn't that surprising considering how overrun the novel is with male characters. Women in hardboiled detective novels are frequently presented as deceitful and manipulative, and often the more innocent a woman looks, the more deadly she actually is.
Quote #8
She twisted toward him, socked him in the belly with her other fist. It was a very respectable wallop – man-size. It broke his grip on her arm, sent him back a couple of steps. (13.53)
Dinah again gets a chance to flex her muscles when she gets into a scuffle with Jerry. Notice how the words used to describe Dinah sound as if they should be applied to a hardboiled gangster: "socked him," "respectable wallop," "man-size." She can pack quite a punch.
Quote #9
"You seem to have a gift for stirring up murderous notions in your boy friends. There's Albury waiting trail for killing Willsson. There's Whisper who's got you shivering in corners. Even I haven't escaped your influence. Look at the way I've turned. And I've always had a notion that Dan Rolff's going to have a try at you some day. […] You use him for errand boy, you slap his face in front of me, and slap him around in front of others. " (20.63)
The Op tries to put Dinah in her place by accusing her of being a bad influence on the men in her life. Even though it's true that Dinah has been romantically involved with no less than five men that we know of (and there's probably more), the Op also seems to be on the defensive. We suspect that the Op is starting to have feelings for Dinah and he's trying to keep her at a distance.