IQ cover art

IQ

An IQ Novel, Book 1

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IQ

By: Joe Ide
Narrated by: Sullivan Jones
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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

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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)
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The narrator is amazingly good at giving you a sense of the characters through slight inflections and nuances in his voice. The story of a "Young Sherlock from the Hood" is a new one on me and works surprisingly well, avoiding both cliche and a patronising tone with ease.
The story itself is engrossing, dark, amusing and uplifting in equal measure and there is a satisfying conclusion that leaves a few threads dangling for the next installment, without a feeling of anti climax.
Recommended.

Great story, great voice

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Isaiah Quintabe is my new hero - razor sharp intellect and social conscience. This is a PI story with a difference, set against a backdrop of street gangs, crime and hip-hop. The reader is excellent. This is the first in a series and I’m going on to the second one straight away.

Sherlock with grit

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Wasn't sure what to expect but enjoyed this story and the narration. It's great to find an unexpected gem and this is one!

A surprise win

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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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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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Transpose to modern day gangland LA this is a novel fast funny take on the Sherlick Holmes meme A rivetting read with great narration. Loved it so much I bought Book 2 and ordered Book 3 in the series immediately I finished this one.

Modern take on Holmes meme

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Loved this - the central storyline is an amateur detective with an unusually high IQ hunting a hit man but his backstory is also revealed throughout the book. Isaiah's relationship with his brother is touching and sad but there's a lot of humour here too. The narrator is excellent too.

Brilliant - The Wire meets Sherlock Holmes

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Interesting protagonist and villain. Great writing, read beautifully. Funny and lively side characters. People have said IQ is like Sherlock Holmes but the writing is pure American Crime. It’s a lot of fun.

Fun crime thriller

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This is a really great concept and is really promising. But, it’s really not my genre.

The narration was spot on, and you really got the feeling that you were in the ‘hood, but I couldn’t relate to it at all. I think that it was because of the language. Totally authentic, but totally not me.

Clever dialogue, and situations, twisting plot and character development. It wouldn’t be the same without the language, but unfortunately, I can’t tolerate that...

Promising, but not my style.

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Delivers everything promised on the introduction. Story captivating with a hero that the reader can really understand. Will be downloading the whole series.
Special note for narrator, who is simply fantastic.

Great characters & story, brilliantly read

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