Chasing the Dime

September 16, 2002
The copy on the galley of Connelly's slick new thriller doesn't mention Hitchcock, but most reviews probably will, with the novel's many surprises and "wrong man" plot line. Even the opening echoes Hitch's North by Northwest, in which Cary Grant's mistaken interception of a bellboy's page leads to disaster; here it's nanotechnology entrepreneur Henry Pierce's getting a phone call that triggers the trouble. The call is for a prostitute, Lilly, and it's the first of many; turns out that the Web site on which she advertises, L.A. Darlings, has Pierce's new home phone number next to a photo of gorgeous Lilly. But when Pierce visits the Web site's offices, he learns that Lilly has vanished. Where has she gone? His search to find the missing woman—prompted by his insatiable curiosity and by memories of his tragic, long-ago hunt for his sister, also a prostitute—draws Pierce into mortal danger. It also pushes him into conflict with the law, for when the cops cotton to Lilly's disappearance, Pierce becomes the number one suspect—serious bad news for this scientist whose company is being visited by a major investor in just a few days. Connelly's plotting is shrink-wrap tight, his characters—particularly Pierce, whose impulsiveness is balanced by his measured applications of the scientific method to analyze his plight—are smartly drawn. It's the rare reader who will be able to finger the villain behind all the mayhem. While very entertaining, however—this is the perfect book for a long airplane ride—the novel lacks the moral resonance and weight of Connelly's most impressive works, such as City of Bones. (One-day laydown Oct. 15).Forecast:Connelly has risen to the ranks of number one bestseller authors. Expect this to shoot to the top.

June 15, 2002
It's not Harry Bosch this time but Henry Prince, who discovers that the woman who previously had his new phone number is in dark and dirty trouble.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2002
Connelly is as hot as it gets right now. His last Harry Bosch novel, " City of Bones" [BKL Mr 1 02], made the jump from genre favorite to mainstream best-seller, and his 1998 stand-alone thriller, " Blood Work," has been transformed into a Clint Eastwood film. His new stand-alone is a bit of a departure--more concept thriller than noir mood piece--but it's a grabber from the beginning, and the subject matter is utterly compelling. Henry Pierce is a high-tech entrepreneur on the verge of a breakthrough in an experimental field called molecular computing. More powerful and much smaller than the silicon version, molecular computer chips will make possible such marvels as diagnostic computers that can be dropped into the bloodstream. But what will power the molecular computers on their journey through the body? That's where Pierce's soon-to-be-patented invention comes in, but only if he can get the necessary funding--and if he can keep his mind off the phone calls he's been getting at his new apartment, calls intended for a hooker named Lilly, who may be in serious trouble. Recognizing the parallel between Lilly and his late sister, Pierce is drawn into the hooker's world, hoping to save Lilly as recompense for failing to save his sister. Savvy readers will be able to spot the real villain and connect many of the dots before Pierce does, but that won't diminish their fascination with the marvelously detailed particulars of both experimental computing and online sex for hire. Connelly brings the two worlds together in a slam-bang finale that will leave fans gasping.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)