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4.0étoiles sur 5
Weaker than Harry Bosch ... but better than most!, Oct. 10 2009
Henry Pierce, a brilliant scientist on the cutting edge of nanotechnology, biotechnology and quantum computers, is about to become very, very rich when his company Amadeo Technologies files the patent on the latest discovery he and his team have put together.
But he's also toting a suitcase jam-packed with distracting baggage at the moment. Recently separated from his lover, he's just moved to a new apartment and has discovered that his new phone number used to belong to one Lilly Quinlan, a high-priced escort (and almost certainly a prostitute) whose services are advertised on a web page called "LA Darlings". When the wrong number calls continue by the dozens, Pierce suspects that something has happened to cause Lilly to disappear and begins to worry that she may be in serious trouble.
Still deeply disturbed by the disappearance of his own sister many years earlier who had fled home, taken to a street life of drugs and prostitution and was ultimately murdered, Pierce decides to search for the missing girl. He soon discovers that there are some very mean, very motivated people out there who will stop at nothing to let him know that he is putting his nose into places where it definitely doesn't belong. When he takes his discoveries to the LAPD, he is shocked to discover that he is in top place on the police's list of possible suspects for Lilly's disappearance and murder.
Previous individual reviewers (and even editorial reviews) have criticized Connelly's basic premise suggesting that Pierce's response to the stimulus of a series of wrong number calls was weak, melodramatic and unbelievable. I beg to differ! Brilliant scientists can almost certainly be correctly stereotyped as outside-the-box thinkers; driven, workaholic people who look internally for solutions to their problems; and, single minded individuals who march to the tune of their own drummers. They are often people who interact poorly under normal social circumstances and who respond differently than you or I might to the same mental stimulus. From that point of view and particularly considering the guilt and grief that Pierce would be subject to on the matter of his murdered young sister, his decision to conduct a one-man police hunt, while a long way from sensible or appropriate, at least might be considered understandable and reasonable under the circumstances.
"Chasing the Dime", like all of Connelly's other novels, is chock full of well-developed, colourful characters. And, no matter what one might believe about the basic premise of the novel, any reader will have to admit that Connelly's plotting is tight and the revelation of the ultimate villains arrives out of left field entirely unseen and unpredicted. Admittedly, the dialogue in "Chasing the Dime" seems a little more clunky and forced than his previous work. It just doesn't have the darkness, the depth or the psychological angst that made his previous Harry Bosch novels such works of art.
By comparison to Connelly's previous body of work, I'd probably award "Chasing the Dimes" no more than three stars. But - and let's be honest here - if James Patterson, Clive Cussler or many of the other "crank-'em-out-six-a-year" thriller authors had written it, it would be getting raves as a tour-de-force! So I think perhaps a rating of four stars is more appropriate in the context of the thriller field at large.
Recommended.
Paul weiss
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4.0étoiles sur 5
A Cerebral Crime Story That Improves Past Mid Point, Oct. 6 2008
What do nanotechnology (making molecular-sized devices), call girls, pornography, going public, and extortion have in common? They're all part of a most unusual crime story in Chasing the Dime.
Instead of following noir homicide detective Harry Bosch on the track of a violent criminal, this book is about Henry (don't call me "Hank") Pierce, a genius CEO who has cracked the code on an amazing new technology and who is poised to capitalize on his success by selling off a piece of the company to a "whale" investor. A typical lab rat, Pierce has let that fixation on amazing science destroy his relationship with the love of his life. After moving out, he's thrown off kilter by repeated calls to his new telephone number by men at local hotels looking to hook up with Lilly Quinlan. Intrigued, Pierce has to know more. That decision turns his over-sized IQ into learn-on-the-job bit of amateur detection. Despite being warned to get back to the lab, Pierce pushes on. Will curiosity kill the lab rat?
This story seems odd. Most people don't pick up Michael Connelly books to read about molecular biology. In addition, having a scientist become fixated on a call girl he's never met seems weird. I almost didn't keep going. I would rate the book's first half as a two-star effort.
Connelly hits his strike, however, after mid point in the book, and the plot becomes surprising, interesting, and irresistible. Be patient. The five-star second half lifts the weak beginning (which should have been edited down quite a bit) into an above average story.
But if you are looking for Harry Bosch (or a reasonable facsimile), you won't like this story very much. Unless you feel compelled to read every book written by Michael Connelly, you can certainly skip this book and not miss anything you really have to read.
The book's lack of adequate editing can be found in the many mindless repetitions of Pierce calling the lights on and off in his offices (a "high" technology PR stunt) and talking about how his science is going to "change the world." There's a reason why some people don't enjoy hanging out with geeky scientists: Their dialogue sometimes doesn't thrill. Connelly should have chosen to ignore the stereotype and let Pierce be able to vary his language in interesting ways.
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4.0étoiles sur 5
Henry Hears a Who, Janv. 22 2007
"Chasing the Dime" was Michael Connelly's twelfth novel, was first published in 2002 and was only his fourth book not to feature Harry Bosch. Instead of Bosch, the central character is Henry Pierce, a scientist based in Los Angeles. Pierce, it seems, is something of a genius : he's the founder and the brains behind Amedeo Technologies, a company that specialise in the development of molecular-based computing. The company already have several patents in the field, though they believe they're on the verge of something huge with their Proteus project. Pierce is also a very focused and very cautious researcher, though the word `paranoid' is also occasionally used about him.
Unfortunately, Pierce's obsession with Proteus has cost him his relationship with Nicole James. Nicole has also stepped down from her position as Amedeo's Director of Competitor Intelligence following the relationship's demise. Pierce, meanwhile, has moved out of the house they shared on Amalfi Drive and is now renting a sparsely-furnished apartment. Worse luck, his new phone number is being bombarded with calls for a woman named Lilly. From the nature of the calls, it's pretty obvious what Lilly does for a living and, before long, Pierce has discovered she advertises her `services' on a very popular website. Pierce also suspects that, rather than having retired early, something may have happened to her. Therefore, rather than just changing his number, he decides to try and find her. Naturally, this decision brings him nothing but trouble...
"Chasing the Dime" is an enjoyable and very easily read book. The one (possible) weak link with the story was Pierce's decision to start looking into Lilly's disappearance - rather than just changing his number and forgetting about it. However, the reason Henry made this choice lies in his past and it's only gradually we find out the full story of what happened. If you've never read anything by Michael Connelly before, this is a good place to start- "Chasing the Dime" is one of his stand-alone novels, so you're not jumping in halfway through a series. However, for the Connelly fan, there are a couple of nods to previous cases investigated by Harry Bosch. Janis Langwiser, a lawyer who'd previously appeared in "Angel's Flight" returns in a minor role, while there's also mention of the famous "Dollmaker Case". Overall, a very good story and well-worth reading.
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