Sometimes life throws you a whammy. That happened to Isaiah Quintabe, known as IQ. He was a typical teenager, living with his big brother and headed for a full ride college scholarship because he was bright as the sun. Then his brother was killed in a hit and run accident. IQ fell apart. He dropped out of school and while trying to figure out how to make the rent and feed himself, even fell into crime for a while with an acquaintance named Dodson. But when a gang war left a young boy orphaned and brain damaged, IQ pulled himself together and went straight.

He realized that he wanted to help others. IQ became a private detective helping those around him. Been bamboozled by a con man? IQ can find him and get your money back. Rebellious teen gone missing? IQ was your man. He took whatever his clients could afford to pay him.

But now IQ has a shot at some real money. Dodson is doing better these days and he has heard of a situation that would be perfect for IQ. One of the best rappers in LA is holed up in his house after an attempt on his life. Who was trying to kill him? Was it his vengeful ex-wife? Another rapper who is jealous of his success? Someone he dissed on his way to the top? IQ starts the investigation and soon encounters the guy who has been hired to carry out the murder. He is a stone cold man who raises pit bulls to attack and kill, a man who now has IQ's life in his bullseye. Can IQ solve the case before he is killed himself?

Joe Ide grew up in the same neighborhoods he writes about in this novel. He had a varied career before starting to write crime novels and his IQ series has been a great success. The book moves between IQ's current case and his backstory which is fascinating. IQ's intelligence and loyalty to his friends makes him an admirable character and readers will be ready for more of his adventures once they finish this case. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Very good book. Isaiah Quintabe (IQ) is a fascinating character. Not quite a savant but definitely on the spectrum. After his brother is killed, IQ becomes a private detective. He uses his unique gifts to help people in his neighborhood when the LAPD can't or won't. The plot is tight, the characters leap off the page. If you can deal with the language and the real life grittiness of the plot, you will love this book.

One of the finer debuts I've read in a long time. Chock-full of unforgettable characters like IQ and Dodson. I will read more of this series, I guarantee. Highly recommended.

IQ by Joe Ide is a 2016 Mulholland publication.

Isaiah Quintabe- aka -IQ- an orphan who recently lost in his brother, Marcus, is trying to find a way to survive on his own, in East Long Beach. Looking for the person who killed his brother, leads him into a private detective/ amateur sleuth role. While he’s lenient with payment methods, he really needs customers who can pay in cash, which leads him to, Calvin, a rapper known as ‘Black the Knife’, experiencing a serious decline, who was the recent target of attempted murder.

Isaiah’s investigation leads him to a crazy hitman, a greedy ex-wife, and a group of manipulators and connivers, all with a stake in the success or failure of the star rapper…

This is an offbeat crime drama, gritty, realistic, but polished and stylish at the same time. IQ is a sympathetic character surrounded by people with little to no conscience or remorse. Isaiah is inspired by the great Sherlock Holmes- relying on ‘inductive’ reasoning to puzzle out the truth.

Despite the setting and premise, the language is the only thing too graphic- but it is in context. The violence is kept to a minimum, with our hero using his wits to outsmart the bad guys. By the time the story ends, Isaiah has come to terms with the reality of his situation, and just might be able to carve out a niche for himself as a private investigator of sorts enabling him to survive and take care of the unwitting victims, he feels responsible for.

4 stars

This book was not what I was expecting. I didn't understand a lot of the slang, for one thing. Isaiah, the main character, is grieving for his brother and trying to live up to his brother's expectations. His commission of crimes with his roommate was, frankly, distressing. Even early on in the book, I wanted to tell him that he was better than that.

It was fascinating to see how Isaiah's mind worked when solving problems or interpreting the aspects of a case. Right now I don't think I"ll read the other books in the series, but I may change my mind. I have a feeling Isaiah is going to grow. I hope I'm right.

I think this book does exactly what the author wanted it to do. I'm just not in the demographic Ide had in mind, I think.

This is a fantastic start to a new series. IQ is a reluctant detective but wants to help out. He is committed to making his neighborhood a better place and living up to his brother's expectations of him. Joe Ide uses a combination of humor and offbeat characters to create a memorable read.

Finally got around to reading this book. This is the beginning of an amazing series. What sets it apart is the great cast of characters IQ is original and authentic in so many ways. I'm looking forward to a long run based on this first book. It certainly deserves success.

I’m very late to this series, much to my shame. IQ introduces a fascinating and engaging new character into the LA crime genre, and offers something a little different to most other ongoing crime series. I really enjoyed this series debut, and it’s easy to see why it’s become so popular.

IQ is clearly intended to be the first in a series: it is as much about Isaiah’s past and ‘origin story’ as it is the investigation he’s called in to conduct. The investigation is pretty interesting, and Isaiah’s atypical approach and observations mean this novel feels very fresh and intriguing. He’s highly observant and has a great capacity for deduction (which explains the frequent Sherlock Holmes comparison this series receives). Isaiah is quite different from many the other genre protagonists I’ve read. The opening scenes of the novel give us a pretty clear introduction to just how different he is from standard or typical protagonists in crime novels: there’s a car and boat chase, some unexpected ordinance, and great writing.

I enjoyed learning about his unorthodox journey to becoming the neighbourhood’s investigator, how a tragedy from his youth derailed his fast-track academic life and sent him into a spiral of depression — clawing his way out only gradually. Our picture of Isaiah and those around him are gradually expanded, giving more detail and explanation as the story progresses. You learn how fiercely loyal and good Isaiah is — often quietly so, doing his good deeds behind the scenes and without the beneficiaries knowing about them. Unlike many cop protagonists, though, he has more leeway to stretch the rules, and is often forced to come up with pretty innovative solutions.

If you’re a fan of crime fiction, and LA-based crime fiction in particular, then I think you’ll definitely find this novel a rewarding read. It’s interesting, twisty, often amusing, and engaging throughout. I’m very much looking forward to reading the rest of the series (currently, there are three more novels available), and intend to get caught up ASAP.

Recommended.

My first read by this author and not my typical read, but I found myself totally drawn into the story and intrigued all the way through. The way Isaiah was able to figure things out and follow the clues totally amazed me. Suspense, mystery, danger, and action made this a riveting read.

This was a terrific read! Original, intriguing, and well written. I loved every minute and hope this author continues this story!

I did not finish this. The description that was emailed indicated more of a modern day Sherlock Holmes than a gangster in the hood.

I'm not sure what took me so long to read IQ, but now that I have, I'm eager to race through the series. (Book 2-RIGHTEOUS; Book 3--WRECKED; Book 4-Jan. 2020 release) Isaiah Quintabe (the eponymous IQ) is a protagonist with whom I can strongly identify, despite our external circumstantial divergences. Quite an intellect, Isaiah (like his brother Marcus, himself an admirable character) also has a deep heart and an abundance of empathy. He is also attuned to his senses and in fact his olfactory ability is highly developed and proves essential in his case-solving.


The author thoroughly develops the milieu, a multicultural and divergent one which perhaps has not received enough fictional attention. The story is utterly riveting, a thriller with true heart.

I could not get through this book although I tried several times. The timeline switches were uneven and hard to follow. I thought the Sherlock type of detective with a sidekick would be a pull for me but I just could not get engaged with all the hopping around.

Wonderfully written and compelling. This absolutely drew me in. I'm so sorry it stayed on my TBR shelf so long! I was hooked!

I was a little late to join the party on this one. IQ has received numerous Literary Award nominations and been featured on several book club lists. That doesn't mention the countless positive reviews and that it has expanded into a trilogy. But I have to admit, I don't get it.

I've heard references such as Isaiah "IQ" Quintabe being a "street-smart Sherlock Holmes" or "Sherlock Holmes from the Hood". And I can kind of see the leap? But I struggled to make the connection. Maybe I needed to get farther in the story, but it just wasn't pulling me in.

Not to mention, I have really come to dislike this style of book. IQ's biggest downfall, in my opinion, was the ping-pong style of the chapter layouts. One chapter set in 2013, one chapter in 2005; back-and-forth for the whole story. It's exhausting for readers and makes for a choppy story.

I guess, in summary, I didn't really get the hype surrounding IQ. I did not get invested from the start and the formatting of the story left me unimpressed. Maybe, if you have more patience to let it develop, you'll understand the excitement unlike me.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for this review.

This was very interesting. IQ was definitely a character that had me intrigued from the very beginning. Books like this always cause me to truly think; that’s what I like most about them.

I didn’t get all the Sherlock comparisons, but I did enjoy this fresh entry into the investigating detective genre. IQ is a brilliant kid in East LA, who drops out of school, and drifts into crime when his brother/guardian dies. He is a hyper-observer (ok Sherlockian) of his surroundings, and that leads him into investigating death threats against a rapper who is holed up in a mansion in Woodland Hills, going slowly crazy from paranoia and drugs.

I’m excited that there are several more in this series including “Righteous” and the soon to be published “Wrecked”!

In his successful series opener, Joe Ide introduces a young African-American private-eye, Isaiah Quintabe, better known as IQ. IQ takes the cases the cops won’t touch; cases that no one else wants. Ide has written a fast paced, high octane mystery with an irresitable chief protagonist with Sherlockian skills, whose history is slowly revealed with flashbacks that alternate with the current timeline. Isaiah is a loner; a high school dropout. He’s brilliant and troubled, but has a strong desire to help those who can’t help themselves. However, to support himself, he needs to charge those clients who can afford to pay. The mystery centers around a paranoid, wealthy rapper who someone tried to kill by sending a pitbull through the doggie door of the rapper’s mansion. With a long list of suspects, IQ has his work cut out for him. I can’t wait to read more in this series. It’s a winner!

Joe Ide’s debut novel, IQ, won’t revolutionize the detective genre, but it does tell an entertaining story about well-drawn and complex characters. It wasn’t the most exciting crime novel I’ve ever read, but I’d be happy to follow the future exploits of Isaiah Quintabe wherever they lead.

Isaiah – IQ for short – is a smart, talented guy whose life changed tragically when a hit-and-run driver killed his brother, Marcus, right in front of his eyes. Before his brother’s death, Isaiah might have gone on to college and great things, but that all fell apart in an instant.

After the accident, Isaiah withdrew into himself, living alone in the apartment he’d once shared with his brother and hoping that social services wouldn’t come for him. When his money ran out and it reached the point that he might lose the apartment, he offered a room for rent to a kid named Dodson in a moment of desperation. Their uneasy friendship would soon have wide-reaching affects on both of their lives.

IQ jumps back and forth between 2005, when Isaiah and Dodson take up a life of crime that escalates with deadly results, and 2013, when Dodson brings Isaiah a case to solve the attempted murder of a dissolute rapper by a hitman with an enormous pit bull.

The best parts of IQ are the characters and the world they live in. Isaiah and Dodson are friends first by necessity, but as they try to solve a case together as adults, it becomes clear that their friendship runs deeper than their youthful robbery spree.

The actual case feels a bit low-stakes because the potential victim is an asshole burnout rapper doing his best to alienate everyone he knows. It’s hard to have much sympathy for a millionaire too doped out of his mind to think straight. That said, the villain is definitely creepy, and the unique detail of having him breed and train pit bulls is off-kilter in a particularly LA way.

Isaiah is a bit of a DIY detective, almost entirely self-taught after he dropped out of high school. When he solves a mystery, it doesn’t feel like another example of the Smartest Guy in the Room throwing his weight around. Instead, he uses inductive reasoning and makes his best guesses at likely outcomes, not always with perfect results.

IQ is a quick, entertaining read, and the audiobook has an excellent narrator. I enjoyed the book, and I’ll probably pick up the sequel, but it isn’t at the top of my list.

Excellent piece of Detective fiction. Great invention across the board. Loved every minute of it. IQ the only sane man in a world driven mad by greed, drugs, insane instant wealth and abject poverty. Certainly not an angel, with secrets to hide, but beyond any shadow of doubt one of the good guys. A red hot debut for IQ.
Joe Ide make sure that your man gets plenty of work. His fans will be waiting, bated breath for every adventure. I'm off now for books 2 and 3.