Rating: 
Summary: Lackluster effort by one of the greats
Review: I am a huge Michael Connelly fan, and was incredibly disappointed with this book. Connelly takes the easy way out, creating tension by having his protagonist act idiotically throughout. The plot follows a lackluster formula used over and over again by Mary Higgins Clark and others of her ilk. The solution comes completely out of the blue, and elicits a big "so what." There is very little of the sense of character and place that usually makes reading Connelly such a joy. And, after the polished style of City of Bones, I was disappointed to see that this new offering is as poorly edited as some as his earlier books. (For example, Connelly cannot resist the urge to explain every reaction by his protagonist in excrutiating detail.)All in all, an amateurish effort by one of the most professional mystery writers out there. I wish I would have re-read City of Bones, one of the best mysteries of the last few years, instead of wasting my time of this one. P.S. The description of the technology is fascinating.
Rating: 
Summary: Nanotechnology for Dummies
Review: (...) This is a great read, fast-moving, "can't put it down" type book. Sure, there are some implausibilities, but what novel is totally realistic? What I liked most was how Connelly was able to so capably weave the crime story in with the science story. I learned a lot about nanotechnology, and it was totally palatable, because that story is interwoven perfectly with the seedy underworld story. This is storytelling at its best: it's like taking candy-coated medicine. You know it's good for you (to learn something), but you need that little extra push to actually swallow it (the suspense, the sex, whatever). What I found implausible was Henry's upbringing. He seems to have hated his stepfather, never knew his real father well, and totally refused to speak to his own mother. Now how is this kind of dysfunctional kid going to go to Stanford (where he gets in even more trouble), and then become one of the most prominent "emerging technology" chemists in the country? Well, it could happen, but not likely. Still, why dwell on these inconsistencies? The point is, this book will give you something intriguing to do in your spare time, unless, of course, you're stuck on Bosch. Diximus.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, Fast Compelling Read
Review: Michael Connelly knows how to write a sleazy character and there are plenty of them to draw from in this quick read that leaves Harry Bosch's personal world but not the seedy underbelly of Bosch's stomping ground: Los Angeles. Connelly combines the city with the latest popular novel hot topic: nanotechnology, as backdrop to his high speed narrative about a wunderkind emerging technologies geek and his race to create the next best thing in the hi tech world of computers and biomedicine. Like Bosch, this one time Connelly protagonist, Henry Pierce works with a junkie's zeal, killing off all personal relationships with his hunger to "chase the dime." As he races towards fame and fortune, pulling all nighters in the lab while strategizing with his finacial team to belly up the next "whale" to finance the next round of research, he finds himself living alone in an apartment after his girlfriend has called it quits and thrown him out of the house they shared together. His new digs comes with a new telephone number--- a phone number that once belonged to Lilly, one of LA's hottest but missing, Internet escorts. For reasons that are sometimes hard to fathom, Henry choices to seek out Lilly and to explore her world in the process--his psychological past suggests a savior complex linked to an unclosed issue from childhood that prompt his rather self-destructive actions----and finds himself over his head in murky waters along with Lilly's corpse and circling sharks of two varieties, the kingpin purveyors of the Internet porn world and the LAPD.
Like "Void Moon", "Chasing the Dime" provides a fast read that will guarantee sleep deprivation as you tell yourself that you are going to read just one more page, or just one more chapter as the clock winds around to 3:00 in the morning. Connelly just has 300+ pages to tell the tale and provide enough psychological background on the character to make his actions and motivations seem valid---whether or not he actually succeeds with the latter on this novel is debatable, but in the long run doesn't quite matter as the novel does what it intends to do---entertain and entertain well. This is a slight predictability factor at work mid-way through the plot, but that detracts only a little from the overall success of a tale told well. Recommended to all who enjoy a fast paced novel that takes no more than 2 days to read.
Rating:
Summary: a modern noir classic
Review: Michael Connely's latest novel "Chasing the Dime" is in some ways a clear departure from his Harry Bosch series, in other ways it continues his journey in spinning a web of noir tales around modern day LA. His latest hero is a naive scientist drawn into an unbelievable nightmare by investigating what happened to the woman whose phone number he inherited. Henry Pierce lives in the sheltered subculture of a high tech start-up, a whiz kid with an unusual past. Part of that past draws him to look for Lilly, the prostitute who must have previously owned his phone number and is still getting calls from numerous men every day. Pierce soon descends into the dark world of internet porn and finds himself not only distracted from his regular pursuits but in grave danger.
Connelly masterfully keeps this book at an unstoppable pace while once again creating a dense atmosphere and believable character setting that will not let you put this one down until the last page is turned.
Rating:
Summary: Bosch takes a vacation
Review: It really says a lot about an author like Michael Connelly when he writes a book that I would probably put among his least interesting, yet it's still a great read. His latest, "Chasing the Dime," is one of the few books that doesn't revolve around his main character, Detective Harry Bosch, so the reader doesn't have as much invested in the characters here. Still, it's a fun ride, albeit a slightly implausible one. Henry Pierce is the young founder of a company that is racing against the competition to come up with the world's smallest computer (or something like that, I tried not to concentrate too much on the technical details). Anyway, he gets a call at his new apartment for a woman named Lilly. Then another. Then another. Apparently his number used to belong to her. Instead of just changing the number, the adventurous Pierce sets out to find Lilly, who is apparently missing, in trouble, or both. Of course, he gets in way over his head with online prostitiution, organized crime, and a lot more. All the while he has to prepare for a presentation with a big investor who can potentially sink millions into Pierce's company and make him the next Bill Gates. As a stand-alone, Bosch-less Connelly book, this is pretty good. Not one of his best, but definitely a nice little page-turner. The computerese is interesting and I'll have to take Connelly's word as to the accuracy level. But I do miss Harry Bosch.
Rating:
Summary: Can't-put-downable
Review: Implausibilities and thin motives aside, this is one heck of a good read. It's basically a grab bag of some of the best elements of Crichton' "Disclosure" and Grisham's "The Firm", with a few unpredictable plot twists thrown in for good measure. It's told in linear fashion so as to maintain a constant and ever accelerating momentum. Not a Pulitzer candidate for sure, but great escapism for the beach or a rainy day.
Rating: 
Summary: Just plain STUPID...
Review: Anyone with the smarts that Pierce had in this book would not have been that stupid to sacrifice ..."chasing the dime" for a waste of his "time"..I could only hang in there till ch 25.. story moves quickly its just void of any real substance.. I like Connelly but this is TRASH..It does amaze me how some can rave about tribal..
Rating:
Summary: Chasing Big Bucks
Review: Brilliant 35 year old scientist Henry Pierce is head of his own research company and is on the verge of patenting a discovery which will provide a quantum leap forward in medicine. He is racing against others to develop a molecular computer which can be implanted into the blood stream. He is also desperate for financial backing over the next 5 years which will allow the development to continue and is courting the top end of town for the big bucks which are so necessary. Neglecting his romantic relationship in order to spend all his waking hours in the laboratory, his beautiful partner Nicole agrees that it is best if Henry were to move out of their shared apartment. When he takes up a new apartment across town he discovers that his new phone number is, or was, that of a local call girl. This is the start of the mystery and drama which form the core of "Chasing the Dime". Most guys would simply tell the callers that they had a wrong number, tell them to get lost if they called again and would almost certainly change their phone number if the calls persisted. Not Henry though. Henry pursues the phone calls, finds the call girl's web site, visits the site's internet service provider and soon enters the murky world of the on-line flesh business. Unable to find the girl it is clear that she is a missing person, but this status changes inevitably to that of murder victim and naturally Henry is the prime suspect with a trail of evidence leading back to the girl. Why doesn't Henry do what any normal person would do and tell the police the truth and walk away innocent? The answer has to be that the story would fizz out. Instead it turns into a great thriller with the essential ingredients of suspense, drama, deception and even a snippet of romance. One clever aspect to the book is the frustration all readers would feel with Henry who rather than getting out of the hole he has dug, just digs himself deeper and deeper into it. The storyline demands your attention as there seems to be no way for our hero Henry to overcome the impossible situation he finds himself in. The suspense and build up to the climax of the story are imaginative, well constructed and very well written. As with most of Michael Connolly's novels you will need to be a clever lateral thinking reader to forecast the outcome.
Rating:
Summary: A HIGH OCTANE TALE
Review: Leave it to the inventive mind of best-selling author Michael Connelly to come up with a compelling can't-put-down high tech read woven around computing and on-line sex. Following an acrimonious breakup with his girlfriend Henry Pierce has a new start, a new apartment, and a new telephone message waiting - but, it's not for him. The caller is looking for a prostitute by the name of Lilly, whose telephone number is listed on a sex for hire web site. Henry is a technological whiz, a go-getter whose company is about to make a major breakthrough and he's working or "chasing the dime" to raise the needed funds. He surmises that Lilly probably had his telephone number in the past, and he also guesses that she is now in deep trouble. Because of a past personal loss Henry feels compelled to search for and try to help the mysterious Lilly. However, some doors should never be opened because he soon finds himself in a vicious world that he could not have imagined in his worst nightmare. Readers will never suspect the stunning climax of this high octane tale, but they certainly will enjoy guessing all the way. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: A strong recommendation
Review: Henry Pierce, a technological wizard, owns a company which is developing a product that could change the face of medicine and earn him millions. After he moves into a new apartment, he plugs in his new phone. Almost immediately he is inundated with calls to a woman named Lilly who evidently works as an escort. Curious, Pierce decides to look into who this mysterious woman is and why she is not answering her calls. While searching for answers, Pierce must enter into a world of increasing danger and soon finds himself under suspicion for murder.
Superlatives after superlatives is how Michael Connelly's book have been described . This book is no exception. The strength of a Connelly book is the characterizations and the plot full of twists. This is a standalone and, in a sense, differs from any other work by this author. A strong recommendation.
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