History Literature / ChasingTheDime

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Drop the porkpie hat, and it's not hard to see Harry Bosch in Robert Renner's role. [[WordOfGod Connelly has said]] that he does not normally plot out his books exactingly, so it could be (given their close release dates) that at some point in early development, Renner ''was'' Bosch, but then the developments of ''[[Literature/CityOfBones2002 City of Bones]]'' took Bosch out of play for this story.

Creator/MichaelConnelly's twelfth novel overall, second released in 2002, and fourth which does not feature Detective Harry Bosch as a main protagonist. The story is more of a [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture techno-thriller]] than Connelly's past works, which in combination with Connelly's involvement with the TV series ''[[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244627/reference Level 9]]'' and Harry Bosch retiring at the end of ''Literature/CityOfBones2002'', implied a GenreShift that never really materialized.

* BatmanGambit: The entire FrameUp plot is one, which was put in motion [[InMediasRes some six weeks before the beginning of the book]].

* ContrivedCoincidence: In-universe. At the climax, Pierce [[EurekaMoment deduces]] that it was entirely too much of a coincidence that he got Lilly's old phone number: [[OccamsRazor the much simpler explanation]] is that Zeller took Pierce's new number and put it on Lilly's page of the website.

* TitleDrop: A few before it finally [[TheReveal gets explained for the reader]]: it's the pursuit of computing power so advanced it could fit the equivalent of a mainframe in the space of a dime.

* WhiteCollarCrime: What the FrameUp boils down to: other business interests want to squelch Proteus.

* DoubleTap: Wentz, courtesy of Pierce of all people.

* EurekaMoment: After some internal IfMyCalculationsAreCorrect processing, Pierce arrives at the conclusion that Nicole was framing him in a "moment of clarity." Turns out he's wrong about Nicole, but he has another one later that's right, [[UnspokenPlanGuarantee because we aren't privy to his thoughts that time]].

* InVinoVertias: In TheReveal, it turns out this is how Zeller learned the truth about Pierce's sister. Pierce had no memory of telling him.

** Janis Langwiser appears, having last been a character in ''Literature/ADarknessMoreThanNight'', and mentions both [[Literature/TheConcreteBlonde the Dollmaker case]] and Harry Bosch, specifically stating that he had [[Literature/CityOfBones2002 just]] [[LateArrivalSpoiler retired]].

* ChekhovsGun: The lab's voice-operated lights; slightly less so the [[NightVisionGoggles heat resonance goggles]].
** Hilariously averted with the man-trap, at least in the way you might expect it to be used. While Pierce does successfully use the man-trap door to [[LockedInARoom lock someone in the lab]] until the authorities can intervene, the man-trap ''per se'' is not used to detain anyone.

* StuffedIntoTheFridge: Pierce finds Lilly in a freezer inside a storage room.

Creator/MichaelConnelly's twelfth novel overall and second released in 2002. It is his fourth novel which does not feature Detective Harry Bosch as a main protagonist. The story is more of a [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture techno-thriller]] than Connelly's past works, which in combination with Connelly's involvement with the TV series ''[[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244627/reference Level 9]]'' and Harry Bosch retiring at the end of ''Literature/CityOfBones2002'', implied a GenreShift that never really materialized.

* ItsAllMyFault: Pierce's motivation for trying to uncover what happened to Lilly is based in his sister's death years before.
* MustStateIfYoureACop: "Robin" asks Pierce if he's a cop before inviting him up to her apartment.

* ShoutOut: In-universe, the name of Pierce's formula, Proteus, is stated to be a homage to ''Film/FantasticVoyage''.

** Author Tom Wolfe gets a name check, in reference to a character's unusually stylized manner of dress.

* GenreBlindness: Pierce thinks he's the hero of a DamselInDistress story, and doesn't even realize he's the victim of a FrameUp until more than three-quarters of the way into the book.

* WhiteCollarCrime: What the FrameUp boils down to: other business interests want to squelch Proteus.

* BloodFromTheMouth: Averted, despite being one of Connelly's favorite tropes.

* ChekhovsGun: The lab's voice-operated lights; slightly less so the heat resonance goggles.

* ChekhovsGun: The lab's voice-operated lights, and less so the heat resonance goggles.

* BlandNameProduct: Averted. Lucy [=LaPorte=] likes Domino's Pizza, which saves Pierce a lot of dialing.

* ChekhovsGun: The lab's voice-operated lights.

* TitleDrop: Several before it finally gets explained for the reader: it's the pursuit of computing power so advanced it could fit the equivalent of a mainframe in the space of a dime.

* GenreBlindness: Pierce ''clearly'' has no idea what kind of story he's involved himself in, and does practically everything possible to make it worse at practically every turn.

** There is a {{Lampshaded}} quote from ''Film/MillersCrossing''.

* ShoutOut: In-universe, Pierce's formula, Proteus, is stated to be a homage to ''Film/FantasticVoyage''.

* TitleDrop: Several before it finally gets explained for the reader: it's the pursuit of computing power so advanced it could fit the equivalent of a mainframe in the space of a dime.

** How Pierce confirms that Zeller was the bad guy: he knew the combination to the lab; and shortly thereafter how Zeller recognizes that he's caught.