Chasing the Dime: Booktrack Edition

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

The messages waiting for Henry Pierce when he plugs in his new telephone clearly aren't intended for him:
" Where is Lilly? This is her number. It's on the site."

Pierce has just been thrown out by his girlfriend and moved into a new apartment, and the company he founded is headed into the most critical phase of fund-raising. He's been "chasing the dime" - doing all it takes to come out first in a technological battle whose victor will make millions. But he can't get the messages for a woman named Lilly out of his head:
"Uh, yes, hello, my name is Frank. I'm at the Peninsula. Room six-twelve. So give me a call when you can."

Something is wrong. Pierce probes, investigates, and then tumbles through a hole, leaving behind a life driven by work to track down and help a woman he has never met.

The world he enters is one of escorts, Web sites, sex, and secret passions. The beautiful Lilly is an object of desire to thousands. To Pierce, she becomes the key that might fix a broken life. But in pursuing Lilly, Pierce has entered a landscape where his success and expertise mean nothing. He is a mark, an outsider, and soon he is also the victim of astonishing violence, the chief suspect in a murder case, and fighting for his life against forces he can barely discern.

©2002 Hieronymus, Inc., All Rights Reserved (P)2002 Time Warner AudioBooks, a Division of the AOL Time Warner Book Group

Critic reviews

"A grabber from the beginning...utterly compelling." (Booklist)
"It's the rare reader who will be able to finger the villain behind all the mayhem." (Publishers Weekly)
"Connelly takes what could have been a typical suspense thriller and turns it into something exceptional through nonstop action and surprising twists." (Library Journal)

Not as good as Connelly's others.

I am a big fan of Michael Connelly's thrillers, and have listened to all of them available on this site. Whereas the others are great, this one is just okay. I agree with other reviews that the main character is just too naive, and the plot is driven by his unbelievable blunders.

If you're new to Michael Connelly, don't start with this one -- get one of the Harry Bosch mysteries instead.

Great Story

Great story and great writing. Typical fast paced descriptive writing from a facts and just the facts mentality. If you like the author's style you'll love this one.

Something for everybody

I enjoyed this book. At first I was put off by some of the scientific subject matter because I have no interest in it, although it was written in a way that anyone can understand and it's important to the story.

There were twists in the book I didn't see coming and I was glad because I hate when a book is too predictable. I really enjoy Michael Connelly. I appreciate that he researches his books to make sure the subject matter is accurate.

Chasing the Dime

Chasing the Dime holds your attention from the first few minutes to the final scene. The characters are fully developed and identifiable. Emotional content is strong and the feeling of frustration of the main character carries the listener along from one discovery to the next. If you like people oriented mysteries, this is a good read.

Thrilling

A real rollercoaster ride with believable people and great story.

Frustrating

Connelly fails to reveal until near the end why the main character, a brilliant PHD, is so obsessed with the mystery behind the previous owner of the phone. Henry's obsession leads him to do really stupid things without guessing the consequences. Was a bit frustrating. The ending brought this book up to a 3 star.

Not bad . . . Not my favorite by Michael Connelly

Well written and performed, but not my fav. I have read most of his other books. It is such a departure from his usual style, I may have been prejudiced. As always, attention to detail was superb. The main character was complicated. a great read for someone who's in to technology and /or scientific - type reads.

Connelly is brilliant, but . . . .

If you could sum up Chasing the Dime in three words, what would they be?

Lucky stupid geek.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The science was the most interesting. The protagonist was maddeningly stupid.

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Davis’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

I really like Michael Connelly and the plot of this book represents his usual excellence. However the stupidity (or maybe mental illness) of the protagonist nearly drove me crazy.

Not Connelly’s best

Story was fairly predictable and we could not understand why the main character was written as being so naive and unthinking.

Great as always

Another great fiction by Mike. He gets us on the road just to listen to his works.