Righteous

This is book two of the series and although at a push it could be read in isolation I would really recommend reading IQ first. There are many reasons for this, but even though there is enough catch up contained within this volume to enable it to make sense alone, IQ is a very complex character and book one details a lot of his necessary background, the knowledge of which I believe would allow you to better connect to him as a character. Book one also starts the ball rolling with his brother's death and provides some very important background as to how this event shaped IQ's life in a really pivotal way. As this book also goes into his brother's death more deeply I think that knowledge about this time from book one is also necessary for the best understanding.
When I started this book I was a little scared. I had only just finished series opened IQ and went straight on to read this sequel and I had enjoyed the first book so much and connected with IQ so well that I was a bit worried that this book would not live up to my admittedly high expectations.
In this book we have two main stories running, initially separately but then merging at the end. There is a time split between the two threads and occasionally it does get a bit timey wimey but never enough to get confused and it does all come good in the end.
IQ is contacted by Sarita, his dead brother's girlfriend, who is concerned about her half sister who, along with her boyfriend, has got herself into a bit of a gambling / loan shark fix in Vegas. IQ's memories of Sarita are more than fond and it soon becomes apparent that he had a major crush on her as a child and has hopes that reconnecting with her could possibly lead further so, he takes the case thinking this could be his chance. But he needs his trusty sidekick Dodson who reluctantly agrees to come with him despite his girlfriend being really heavily pregnant.
Running alongside this thread but in a slightly different time, we also have IQ's further ongoing investigation into his brother's accident. Having found the car, his investigations soon point to the possibility that it really wasn't an accident after all.
And thus begins a book filled with action and investigation. Gangs from many countries and affiliations, people needing saving from many perils and truths to be found. All told alongside more of the same intelligent observations that we found in book one, as IQ, together with Dodson endeavour to sort things out without major injury to both themselves and those they care for.
So, did it meet my expectations or not? I would have to say that not only did it meet them, it blew them out of the water. So much that IQ has cemented himself firmly at the top of my favourite main character's list; at least for now anyway. The connection I made with him in book one did not falter throughout book two as I continued to learn more about him and what makes him tick. As he found out things he really didn't want to believe. How he dealt with secrets that he really didn't want to learn yet, once out, couldn't be put back. How he is torn between wanting to be a loner but at the same time craving company; his newly acquired four-legged friend, although a good start, not really being quite enough for him.
I would say that this book is faster paced than book one and relies a bit more on action rather than cerebral input although there is enough of the latter included to continue the Sherlock-esque-ness of the feel of the series. There are also some very funny moments which cancel out the deep, often heavy, poignant ones leaving the book well balanced.
All in all, a fantastic follow-up to a brilliant series opener. Roll on book three. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This is another excellent crime novel from Joe Ide. I loved IQ and approached this follow-up with a little trepidation in case he couldn't keep up the standard, but I needn't have worried. It's at least as good as the first. (It can be read as a stand-alone, but it helps a lot to have read IQ first.)

In Righteous, Isaiah is investigating the death of his beloved brother Marcus eight years earlier and gets a call from Marcus's ex-girlfriend who wants him to help her sister – a gambling addict in big debt and big trouble in Las Vegas. It all gets tangled up with gangs, triads and moneylenders; the plot becomes convoluted but comprehensible and it's all reasonably plausible and very exciting.

Joe Ide's writing is excellent. The dialogue, especially, is brilliantly realistic and often very funny while his prose just carried me along and hijacked my day because I couldn't stop reading. Isaiah and Dodson are engaging, imperfect protagonists whom I am coming to love, the story is thrilling and there's some shrewd observation there, too.

I think this series will be a real giant of crime fiction. It's already excellent and I can recommend Righteous very warmly indeed - it's an absolutely cracking read.

(I received an ARC via NetGalley.)

It is refreshing to discover something new and exciting under the heading of crime fiction; meet Isaiah Quintabe affectionately known as IQ to his friends. He's a fast talking young man who lives and works in Long Beach California, almost akin to a modern day bounty hunter, who accepts occasional criminal cases as a means to survive. When Sarita the ex girlfriend of his brother Marcus (killed in a hit and run some 10 years previous) asks for his help to rescue her younger sister Janine who has gone missing in Las Vegas he is eager to assist. Together with his trusty partner Dobson (two egos trying to outflank eachother!) they make haste for America's gambling mecca and an imminent confrontation with a motley crew of gangsters including a hit team of Chinese triads. In addition IQ is convinced that his brother Marcus was not accidently killed but rather the target of some evil men and he is determined to find out who and why.....

I love the pace and sheer roller coaster ride as the narration introduces a many and varied list of characters that constantly confront the reader, all with a story to tell. The ability of the author to hold my interest was undoubtedly due to the cracking dialogue that positively fizzled from the first page....."the Eiffel Tower lit up like Elton John at a New Year's Eve party"....."why you'd wear a miniskirt if your thighs were like two whales swimming side by side"...."The bartender was a twist of beef jerky in a chartreuse polo shirt"....."its claws scooping out creek beds of flesh; suture marks left by someone with a knitting needle and kite string"...."There were consequences to violence, like grief it changed you"....."the real fear was of mortality. Death was palpable, and you're suddenly aware that you're alive by the thinnest of margins"...

In this review more than any other I am content to let the writing skills of Joe Ide bring the story alive.To me I almost feel he is a Raymond Chandler for the modern age; beautiful prose that smack you in the face with their audacity, leaving you smiling and begging for more. This is the second book in the series and I shall be reading book one almost immediately...it is that good and comes from me to you with the greatest recommendation. Many thanks to the good people of netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an advance copy of Righteous, the second in the Long Beach, California based series featuring low level PI Isaiah Quintabe.

IQ as he's known has a few minor crimes to solve but his main preoccupation is his brother's murder 8 years ago. Marcus was killed in a hit and run which IQ suspects was not an accident and finding the car that did it has reawakened his interest as things are not adding up. In the middle of this investigation he receives a call from Sarita, Marcus's girlfriend, asking him to help her sister, Janine, who is in a spot of bother in Las Vegas.

I thoroughly enjoyed Righteous as it is a breath of fresh air in an overcrowded market. Much of this is due to IQ's personality and the way he deals with things. He is extremely smart and able to work out the bad guys' moves but he doesn't shrink from the action if necessary and it's necessary more often that he would like. He is probably on the spectrum as he has few friends, is socially inept and relentlessly task oriented but it doesn't stop him dreaming and you can't help loving him for his dreams. He is a fully fledged character, not just fleshed out enough for the plot, and admirable in many ways from his hopes and dreams to his unassuming courageous character.

The plot doesn't disappoint either. The Marcus plotline is engrossing and ingenious. The Vegas plot is more hard boiled with gangsters, triads and some remarkably stupid "heroes". It is action packed and exciting with some good twists.

I found the timeline difficult to follow at times as it switches between the present and the recent past without warning. You need concentration to follow it as only the context lets you know where you are. The point of view changes from time to time but it flows seamlessly- I sometimes find it makes for a choppy read but not here.

This is the first IQ novel I have read but it won't be the last. I like the sense of change and optimism at the end of the novel and am very interested in finding out where IQ will go next.

I have no hesitation in recommending Righteous as a good read.

I had such high expectations for this sequel to IQ that I was afraid of being disappointed. My fears drifted away as I began to read, in fact I would venture to suggest that this book is even better, Joe Ide's writing has developed to give us two seamless stories running parallel in the narrative, that come together through the introduction of Sarita, the dead Marcus's girlfriend, over whom Isiah had an all consuming crush on. After it had almost destroyed him, Isiah had dropped his search for the hit and run driver responsible for the death of Marcus, but the pain and intense grief has never left him. Upon locating the car used in the hit and run, Isiah is back on the trail, burning with revenge, hate and righteous anger, convinced his brother was murdered. Sarita calls IQ asking for help for her half sister, Janine, and her weak willed boyfriend, Benny, both gambling addicts. Their lives are on the line with trouble from a loan shark, Leo, and the 14K Triad, whom Benny had ill advisedly tried to blackmail.

Isiah has acquired a pitbull, and is helping the locals in the poverty stricken Long Beach area of LA. However, he is feeling out of sorts when Sarita calls him. He jumps at the opportunity to help, daydreaming about himself and Sarita getting together and the rosy future they would have. We get reacquainted with Dodson, whose girlfriend, Cherise is now pregnant, Deronda, TK and others. Isiah and Dodson go to Vegas only to encounter mayhem, violence, Chinese gangs and the ugly side of life such as human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Add to this volatile mix a Mexican gang, run by the entrepreneurial Manzo, attempting to modernise and lift it out of the ghetto, yet still dogged with members holding on to their brutal history and instincts. IQ and Dodson fight their way through a trail of death and destruction in their efforts to save Janine, Benny and Ken, Sarita's father. Seb, a Rwandan civil war survivor who has remade himself in the US, finds himself a person of interest to Isiah as he digs deep to ascertain his connection to Marcus.

Joe Ide delivers a tale full of allusions from the original Sherlock Holmes stories, told with wit, warmth and humour. It is written with vibrant prose and fantastic dialogue. It is a intricate story with psychological depth in its character studies, such as Isiah desperately trying to rise above the hate that is eating him up, and tuning into the most emotionally vulnerable side of a person to destroy them. Isiah has serious issues that he is forced to confront and address, his lack of social skills and difficulties in making relationships and so much more. There is nothing superficial in either the storylines or in any of the characters as they are developed. It is this complexity that marks Joe Ide as a gifted author writing this unique and barnstorming series. Cannot wait for the next in the series! Simply Superb and highly recommended. Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.