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aoosterwyk's review against another edition
4.0
This book was highly entertaining. Characters and dialogue hit the mark and the situations were definitely not formulaic. I will be reading more in this series.
littletaiko's review against another edition
2.0
I have seen so many people rave about this book and a close friend enthusiastically recommended it to me, but alas it just wasn't for me. I think I liked the main character, IQ, or at least I would have it the story didn't keep jumping backing forth in time and from one character's perspective to another. It just made it too challenging for me to figure out what was happening much less have a vested interest in any of the characters.
emckeon1002's review against another edition
4.0
Isaiah Quintabe is Sherlock Holmes from the hood. Blessed with powers of observation, and a mind that never stops analyzing, IQ takes on charity detective cases, and the occasional paying job. His Watson is Dodson, a sometime crack dealer and ex-con who sees IQ as his personal gravy train. Well-written, and constructed in a way that we don't discover IQ's truths until the novel is nearly at its end. Just enough of a loose-end in the Epilogue to guarantee another book to follow. I'll be waiting.
mnyberg's review against another edition
4.0
It was gritty and well written. Smart and clever. Two stories going on at the same time. One from the main characters past and his current life. I listened to this book and really liked the performer.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Someone is gunning for rapper Black the Knife and he hires Isaiah Quintabe to find the killer. Can IQ stop the killer and the people who hired him before Black the Knife takes the big dirt nap?
Mullholland denies me for everything on Netgalley so when they sent me an invitation to read this one, I almost passed out of spite. I'm glad I didn't.
IQ is the first mystery starring Isaiah Quintabe and I hope there are many more to come. IQ is a high school dropout who takes cases for whatever people can pay. This book tells two tales, the current case involving Black the Knife and another tale of how Isaiah came to be who he is.
I really got into the book's parallel structure. The twin tales of Isaiah, one in the present day and the other in the past, did a lot to get me behind IQ. IQ is like a young black Sherlock Holmes, although not as much of an asshole. He's got a lot of knowledge and inductive reasoning skills in his cranium but is far from behind a super hero. Dodson, his Watson, isn't a sycophant like Holmes' sidekick either. The two have an adversarial relationship at times and it does a lot to set this book apart from similar ones.
The writing is pretty slick, particularly in the dialogue. East Long Beach felt real to me and the dialogue reminded me of Elmore Leonard or George Pelecanos, authentic and readable. There was also a fair bit of comedy.
The villain of the present day case was fairly believable and more than a little scary. The way Isaiah and Dodson eventually handled things, again, didn't make them look like super heroes. By the end, who hired the hitman to kill Black the Knife was almost an afterthought. I sure didn't figure it out.
Isaiah's not the most sympathetic character until the story delves into his troubled past with his brother and Dodson. By the time the two stories dovetailed together, I knew I was hooked on the series for the long haul.
If you're looking to jump aboard a new detective series at the ground floor, IQ is a little different than most of the crime books on the racks. IQ reads like an episode of Sherlock written by George Pelecanos. Four out of five stars.
Mullholland denies me for everything on Netgalley so when they sent me an invitation to read this one, I almost passed out of spite. I'm glad I didn't.
IQ is the first mystery starring Isaiah Quintabe and I hope there are many more to come. IQ is a high school dropout who takes cases for whatever people can pay. This book tells two tales, the current case involving Black the Knife and another tale of how Isaiah came to be who he is.
I really got into the book's parallel structure. The twin tales of Isaiah, one in the present day and the other in the past, did a lot to get me behind IQ. IQ is like a young black Sherlock Holmes, although not as much of an asshole. He's got a lot of knowledge and inductive reasoning skills in his cranium but is far from behind a super hero. Dodson, his Watson, isn't a sycophant like Holmes' sidekick either. The two have an adversarial relationship at times and it does a lot to set this book apart from similar ones.
The writing is pretty slick, particularly in the dialogue. East Long Beach felt real to me and the dialogue reminded me of Elmore Leonard or George Pelecanos, authentic and readable. There was also a fair bit of comedy.
The villain of the present day case was fairly believable and more than a little scary. The way Isaiah and Dodson eventually handled things, again, didn't make them look like super heroes. By the end, who hired the hitman to kill Black the Knife was almost an afterthought. I sure didn't figure it out.
Isaiah's not the most sympathetic character until the story delves into his troubled past with his brother and Dodson. By the time the two stories dovetailed together, I knew I was hooked on the series for the long haul.
If you're looking to jump aboard a new detective series at the ground floor, IQ is a little different than most of the crime books on the racks. IQ reads like an episode of Sherlock written by George Pelecanos. Four out of five stars.
kategci's review against another edition
4.0
This was a finalist for the Tonight Show book club for Summer of 2018. I had never heard of it, but I got it from the library and pretty much couldn't put it down. Isaiah Quintabe, the IQ of the title is a private detective in East Long Beach in California. Neither he, nor the other characters in this book are my usual choices to read about, but Joe Ide writes so well, I kept turning the pages and became invested in all of them. A highly successful rap artist has become so paranoid he cannot leave the house. Well, despite taking huge amounts of legal and illegal drugs, Cal the rap artist has every reason to be paranoid as someone or a group of someones are actually trying to kill him. He is surrounded by an entourage and IQ is trying ti figure out who on the inside is talking to the outside. A lot of background information is presented in this book, but Ide does it so well that I did not mind the back and forth to let us know how IQ got to where he is today. The second in the series has already been published and the 3rd will be published in the Fall. Soon, I will be ready to spend time with IQ and his buddy Dodson as they go forward.
olicooper's review against another edition
2.0
This was okay as far as the mystery genre goes. Didn't blow me away or anything, but quickly moved a long and kept me entertained.
jrobles76's review against another edition
5.0
The book reads like an origin story. IQ is my new favorite detective. It is going to take everything I have not to burn through the other 3 books in a week. Very much a modern day Sherlock, without the arrogance. Love it.
quietdomino's review against another edition
1.0
Sherlock Holmes in East LA, leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
bkdrgn303's review against another edition
4.0
I am going to encourage everyone to read this one. Really well done, first in a series. I already have the second one lined up. Very clever and funny.