A resident of one of LA’s toughest neighborhoods uses his blistering intellect to solve the crimes the LAPD ignores. East Long Beach. The LAPD is barely keeping up with the neighborhood’s high crime rate. Murders go unsolved, lost children unrecovered. But someone from the neighborhood has taken it upon himself to help solve the cases the police can’t or won’t touch. They call him IQ. He’s a … They call him IQ. He’s a loner and a high school dropout, his unassuming nature disguising a relentless determination and a fierce intelligence. He charges his clients whatever they can afford, which might be a set of tires or a homemade casserole. To get by, he’s forced to take on clients that can pay.
This time, it’s a rap mogul whose life is in danger. As Isaiah investigates, he encounters a vengeful ex-wife, a crew of notorious cutthroats, a monstrous attack dog, and a hit man who even other hit men say is a lunatic. The deeper Isaiah digs, the more far reaching and dangerous the case becomes.
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Well, I generally pass on books with gimmicky titles, “IQ” being the protagonist’s initials, and his defining quality. A hyper observant borderline genius akin to Sherlock Holmes…
Glad I made an exception. This is a fine first effort, entertaining and quick. IQ is a well drawn character, his partner equally so. At a guess, I’d say that there will be more installments in the adventures of IQ.
Sherlock in the hood! Great concept and stellar execution. Joe Ide’s IQ captivated me from start to finish with authentic, complex characters and a vivid sense of place, brought to life by Sullivan Jones’ skillful narration. I highly recommend the audiobook!
This is a wild ride of a crime novel, powered by hip-hop culture and L.A. street cred. Joe Ide, who according to the author bio is a Japanese-American who grew up in South Central L.A., gives us the story of Isaiah Quintabe, an African-American kid of exceptional intelligence raised in less-than-ideal circumstances by an older brother with high aspirations. When the brother dies in an accident, IQ is left to fend for himself; he is first lured into a life of crime by a shady acquaintance, then in remorse over the consequences of a heist gone bad he devotes himself to atoning as a semi-professional private eye, handling small local cases and charging only what the client can pay.
Great setup; it kicks into overdrive when IQ lands his first big job, assigned to find out who is trying to kill a formerly successful rap star who is struggling to produce the next album while disintegrating in a haze of booze and drugs. Intrigue and back-stabbing proliferate while IQ, aided by his former partner in crime, the thoroughly gangsta but irrepressibly appealing Dodson, unravels the conspiracy.
Beyond its virtues as an entertaining page-turner, the book excels by humanizing ghetto and hip-hop culture for those of us to whom it is largely alien. Joe Ide has written a terrific book.
I loved the premise and the characters, but the story fell apart towards the middle. It would have been a five star if it had better editing. I’m on the fence about reading the second book.
Also. If you’re a fan of Devil in the Blue dress, this may be up your alley. Its mostly a modern day retelling of Devil in the Blue dress, imo.
It was a good detective novel.
I loved the character of IQ, who really grows and learns more about himself throughout the book. While trying to solve a mystery and protecting his neighbors, he has to confront his own demons.
It was so slow I couldn’t keep track of where I was.
The author tried to be funny, in a stereotypical manner. Often, it just fell flat.
As a middle class white guy, I had a hard time identifying with the characters, it enjoyed the unique perspective of the main character. Being a fan of Holmes, I liked the tie in, and think I should read the 2nd installment to see if the main character develops into something new.
To be quite honest, I had a difficult time reading this book. I really liked the protagonist, even though he was extremely violent. He was smart, but almost seemed ‘doomed’ to a life of crime, which I didn’t want for him. Who really wants that? And I’m not into gang-banger lit. Not my thing. I wanted to read the book because the blurb pulled me in based on the character of the protagonist and the possibilities of what he could do. Ultimately, I just didn’t feel that investing my time in any further episodes of his life were in the stars for me. I liked the book to a point, but not enough to want to continue reading the series.
Isaiah Quintabe might be a high school drop out but is far from your average young man living in LA. Incredibly smart, he’s slowly getting a reputation for helping solve problems of other locals in his neighborhood where the police can’t – or won’t – help them. With his latest case – one he only took because money is incredibly tight right now – has Isaiah taken on more than even he can handle?
This is a completely new-to-me author and the first in his IQ series. I picked this up on a whim and within the first few chapters had decided to order the second book in the series. Other reviews bill this as “a different Sherlockian style of character” and in many senses they are correct. Deduction and piecing together all the small hints and suggestions most of us ignore in day-to-day life is a big part of how IQ solves problems and pieces together the various puzzles and problems that he helps out in. He also has a somewhat arrogant and difficult manner – much like Sherlock – but to simply cut this story down to “another Sherlock style of mystery” is really doing the book an injustice.
Isaiah is not some one in a million genius born perfect and solving crimes from a tender young age. One thing I loved about this story was it SHOWS us how Isaiah trained himself to notice all the small things and how to make the deductions he becomes known for. This wasn’t some magical talent he was born with – he used his brain and trained himself over and over to learn and gain this talent. He EARNED it. I found that so refreshing and amazing. At first I was a bit annoyed at how the author jumps between two time settings – 2013 where the story is in “the present” and back to 2005 where Isaiah’s brother was killed in a tragic hit and run accident. Isaiah’s world – as he knew it – crumbled and this is where he turned his big brain and incredible intelligence into doing more than just winning math awards and thinking about college. It took me a while, but I realized so much of who Isaiah is in the present grows from his grief and the life-altering course of his brother’s death that both these storylines needed to be told and the story moves far better – even though I still find it somewhat jolting – for weaving the two times together as we learn and unearth more and more of who Isaiah is.
I am also wiling to cut a bit of slack to the writer since this is their first book. Isaiah is an engaging and interesting character, and the world and his cases are engrossing. I have to be honest though I do find the writing just a little bit choppy and had the story or Isaiah’s characters not been so excellent I might not have persevered. I’m very glad I did though as the plot is refreshing and seeing how Isaiah grows into the young man he is makes the trip well worthwhile.
Readers looking for a deduction style story (yes, Sherlockian but oh so much more than just that) with realistic and memorable characters and more than a few twisty plots all seamlessly coming together this is an excellent mystery to try. Be prepared to want the second book on hand immediately after you finish the first. While the story doesn’t end on a cliff-hanger there’s more than a few clues as to where the second book is aimed and the epilogue is like a giant, neon, blinking “We are moving here” sign and there is no doubt what is in store for the next book. I’m very glad I gave this series a shot and am eagerly looking forward to sinking into the second story.
This is an interesting view of a lifestyle very different than my own. People still seek the basics of love, friendship, security, and success no matter how they live.
Joe Ide is a new author for me and he did deliver! Very interesting and complex hero! I enjoyed this very much
The gritty and very entertaining debut novel about Isaiah Quintabe, an off-the-books private investigator in Los Angeles who goes places and does things in the pursuit of justice almost no one else will.
IQ was an interesting take on a Robin Hood type guy. Welcome to the neighborhood!
It was a pleasant surprise, one very funny character and a good story. I will definitely read others in this series.
This is a different cast of characters from anything else I’ve read in a unique South Central LA setting and featuring an unlicensed detective, the Sherlock Holmes of the ‘Hood. Very well written with excellent insights. My only quibble would be with the structure, which jumps too frequently been then and now, confusingly so at times. That said, it would be easy to become addicted to IQ
Joe IDE won boatloads of awards with this book. Holy moly a darn good read that’s interesting and off the beaten path. Fresh air! He merited every one and I can’t wait to read more. Interesting lead character…
I started, but found it too graphic and did not finish
Terrible language. Unpleasant to read. I do not recommend this book.