IQ cover art

IQ

An IQ Novel, Book 1

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About this listen

East Long Beach. The LAPD is barely keeping up with the high crime rate. Murders go unsolved, OAPs are getting hoodwinked, children are missing. But word has spread: if you've got a case the police can't or won't touch, Isaiah Quintabe will help you out.

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 tyres or some homemade muffins. But now he needs a client who can pay. And the only way to that client is through a jive-talking low-life drug dealer he thought he'd left behind. Then there's the case itself. A drug-addled rap star surrounded by a crew of flunkies who believes his life is in danger, a hit man who even other hit men say is a lunatic, and a monster killer dog. If he solves this case, IQ can put right a mistake he made long ago. If he doesn't, it won't just be the hit man coming after him....

©2017 Joe Ide (P)2017 Hachette Audio Amateur Sleuths Crime Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense United States World Literature Fiction Crime Detective Funny Witty

Critic reviews

"Ide successfully makes his detective's brilliance plausible in this gripping and moving debut." ( Publishers Weekly)

"One of the most original thrillers of the year.... [A] sometimes scary, often whimsical, off-the-wall delight.... It's a mad world that late-blooming Joe Ide has brought forth from his past, a spicy mix of urban horror, youthful striving and show-business absurdity. His IQ is an original and welcome creation." (Patrick Anderson, Washington Post)

"Wonderfully quirky.... Exhilarating language and [an] oddball cast.... A total laff-riot." (Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review)

"Joe Ide. Remember that name.... Mystery aficionados will remember it as the breakout debut of a major new voice in the suspense genre." ( BookPage)

"A few things I love about this...[IQ is] rooted in his community in a way that his inspiration never was...IQ is a small story in the way the best of Conan Doyle's were.... It's a detective story that plays out very close to home, on the streets and corners that Ide (who grew up in South Central) knows best. And Isaiah fits into those streets like they were made for him. A consulting detective for a time and a place that needs one." (Jason Sheehan, NPR)
All stars
Most relevant
Enjoyed this so much that I’m going straight into the next in the series. Sullivan Jones did a really good job of bringing the story to life with a measured and understated delivery. But the way the audio is compressed makes it hard to listen to on anything except headphones. Listen to it on speakers and move away from the recording and it dissolves immediately.

Great book let down by poor audio production

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Excellent story and very funny in parts. Held my interest and was believable. Liked the I.Q character very much.

Good Read

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Just terrific in every way. Story and narration. Fresh and original. Get it, sit back and enjoy! Fresh.

Outstanding

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I like this book and I like the lead character IQ. He is interesting and easy to warm to. I like the gangsters, bangers and psychos a lot less. But they create the backdrop to his story so okay. IQ's life is challenging and he's had some tragedy but his heart is in the right place and he tries to help people in difficult situations. I wouldn't say he's a gentler Reacher but he's a problem solver like Reacher only with a more relatable and cerebral approach. This is the first in the series and I've placed the next four in my wish list as I'd like to follow IQ's arc and see what happens.

A Fresh Voice

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Loved this. It took me into a world on the edge of LA gang life through a character with heart and intelligence. Its tragic and occasionally funny with a who-done-it at the centre. The narrator is also fantastic, getting the voices and the tone just right. Highly recommended.

Sherlock Holmes from the wrong side of the tracks

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