History Literature / ChasingTheDime

* StuffedIntoTheFridge: Pierce finds Lilly in a freezer.

** Author Tom Wolfe gets a name check, in reference to a character's [[ManInWhite unusual manner of dress]].

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!!Tropes:

* WrongGenreSavvy: 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.

* ProductDisplacement: Connelly does absolutely everything but say Coca-Cola's name when describing Zeller's penetration test client: the job came out of Atlanta, the logo is red and white and "the most recognized corporate symbol in the world," there's an urban myth about its secret formula containing cocaine, and their biggest competitors are Pepsi and Dr Pepper (which he is careful to punctuate correctly).

** Henry Pierce's sister was a victim of a serial killer called the Dollmaker. Harry Bosch killed the Dollmaker some years ago, and the aftermath of the Dollmaker case is central to Bosch novel ''Literature/TheConcreteBlonde''.

* ProductDisplacement: Connelly does absolutely everything but say Coca-Cola's name when describing Zeller's penetration test client: the job came out of Atlanta, the logo is red and white and "the most recognized corporate symbol in the world," there's an urban myth about its secret formula containing cocaine, and their biggest competitors are Pepsi and Dr Pepper (which he is careful to punctuate correctly, as I have).

Creator/MichaelConnelly's twelfth novel overall, second released in 2002, and fourth which does not feature Detective Literature/HarryBosch 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 ''Level 9'' and Harry Bosch retiring at the end of ''[[Literature/CityOfBones2002 City of Bones]]'', implied a GenreShift that never really materialized.

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. (from ''Booklist'')

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 City of Bones]]'', implied a GenreShift that never really materialized.

** Averted nicely with the man-trap. 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.

* ContinuityNod: Fewer than usual for Connelly. As with ''Literature/VoidMoon'', the casual reader may even miss the connections to the SharedUniverse, but they are present.
** Janis Langwiser appears, having last been a character in ''Literature/ADarknessMoreThanNight'', and there are mentions of both [[Literature/TheConcreteBlonde the Dollmaker case]] and Harry Bosch, with Janis specifically stating that he had [[Literature/CityOfBones2002 just]] [[LateArrivalSpoiler retired]].

* IdTellYouButThenIdHaveToKillYou: Zeller to Pierce, about his [[{{Irony}} current project]].

* ProductPlacement: Wentz sure admires Pierce's BMW.

** Detective Robert Renner, though Janis calls him "Bob" on the phone.

** Detective Robert Renner.
** William Wentz.

** From Nicole's statement that there was blood on the wall outside Pierce's apartment where he'd been dangled from his balcony, his statement later that he "hit a wall" is more than MetaphoricallyTrue, though it is that, also.

* TheMafia: Wentz and his partner Grady are, according to [[UnreliableNarrator Zeller's research]], mob-connected.

* ItsAllMyFault: Pierce's motivation for [[JumpedAtTheCall trying to find Lilly]] is based in [[ILetGwenStacyDie his sister's death years before]].

* ProperlyParanoid: Henry Pierce's defining characteristic, from unplugging his dial-up connection from his computer to saving all of his emails.

* HighAltitudeInterrogation: How Wentz and Six-Eight deal with Pierce. Really, more High Altitude Intimidation, but they do ask a ''few'' questions.

* PlotHole: It's revealed that Zeller put Pierce's new phone number on Lilly's website, and [[FanWank it's certainly possible]] that he is also responsible for it being in the records at Entrepreneurial Concepts Unlimited, but that doesn't explain how All American Mail had the number in ''their'' records.

* NonIndicativeName: The Marina Executive ''Towers'', a three-story apartment building.

* ExactWords: A bit of a RewatchBonus: the line given early is "control the patents and you are in on the ground floor and you will eventually control the market." Not ''file'' the patents, nor ''own'' the patents: ''control'' the patents. This is where the actual plot behind the FrameUp is focused.