Wednesday, February 22, 2017

IQ by Joe Ide

IQ is a mystery/suspense novel by Joe Ide.  It is his first book. Isaiah Quintabe (IQ) lives in South Central Los Angeles.  He is a high school dropout who solves crimes, mostly neighborhood problems the police department have no interest in.  Payment is whatever the client can afford.
Isaiah lived with his brother in an apartment while attending high school.  He idolized Marcus and took in all his advice and words of wisdom.  But when his brother is accidentally killed in a traffic accident, the pain and depression are so hard for him to bear, he drops out of school.  And when his brother's money runs out, he can no longer afford to live in the apartment.  His need to make money leads him down two two different dangerous paths.  The first involves his long time friend Dodson who likes the easy way to make money and the second is a case where a rich rapper may be losing his mind.
The case he takes involves a "rap god" who has had several attempts on his life including one where a huge dog was let into his home and programmed to kill him.  This incident proves the man is not losing his mind.  As often betrayed in this music world, there are drugs, guns and wealth. Also many hangers-on and an ex-wife, all with a motive to kill Calvin Wright known as Black the Knife.  More importantly to the case is the question of why someone would breed a huge dog and train him to kill.  Will IQ's determination and intelligence solve this case before someone gets killed?  There are many tense moments, but also some funny ones.  Everyone in the story speaks  the local dialect except for IQ and his brother.  This adds authenticity to the characters. 
Joe Ide is an Asian American who grew up in the South Central area.  He is a scriptwriter which is evident in the way the book begins with a crime in progress.  IQ is a book for those who want to experience life in a different world.   

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