Copyright 2002 by Hieronymus, Inc. Published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston MA.
The technology in this book is a bit hard to swallow – literally – but the story is compelling and is very well-written. Connelly never disappoints.
The story begins with the CTO of a cutting-edge biotechnology company, Henry Pierce, moves into a new condo and begins getting mysterious calls on his new land line. It becomes obvious that the person who had the number before was a female sex worker. He could have just gotten a different number – and he soon regrets that he didn’t do that – but he wonders what happened to her and why she gave up the number. He starts pulling on that thread and soon finds himself embroiled in a murder mystery. Embroiled to the point where he becomes the prime suspect.
Meanwhile, his company is on the verge of securing some critical venture capital that will enable it to “chase the dime” – develop cellular computer technology that would allow a powerful computer to fit on the face of a dime. He is also trying to get over the painful breakup with a former co-worker. All the pieces of this puzzle seem to fit together eventually. Or do they? Things are not what they seem and Henry needs to figure out the truth before he ends up on death row.
A bit implausible but a fine read. 8 out of 10.