August 8, 2016
Ide successfully makes his detective’s brilliance plausible in this gripping and moving debut, which makes effective use of flashbacks. Isaiah Quintabe, whose reasoning scores on the Stanford-Binet intelligence test are near genius levels, has his life upended while in high school in East Long Beach, Calif. His beloved older brother and surrogate parent, Marcus, is killed by a hit-and-run driver, a tragedy that Isaiah witnesses firsthand. Isaiah, who becomes known by his initials because of his intellect, devotes himself to trying to identify the man who killed Marcus. With money running short, Isaiah takes in an unlikely roommate, schoolmate Juanell Dodson, who leads him into a life of crime. Eventually, Isaiah finds his calling on the right side of the law. He develops a reputation as an expert problem solver and takes on a high-profile assignment, to identify the person who ordered an unusual hit on Calvin Wright, the rapper known as Black the Knife. The plot has some over-the-top aspects, but overall the concept works. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM.
Sherlock Holmes comes to South Central Los Angeles. Only he's black, never finished high school, and can't seem to hold on to a regular job.Unlike Holmes or other flamboyant "consulting detectives" whose powers of ratiocination have held readers' imaginations captive since the Victorian era, Isaiah Quintabe, young, gifted, and nonchalantly brilliant, displays few distinguishable quirks beyond a formidable attention span that misses nothing. Well, having a live chicken named Alejandro wandering around his crib may be a little eccentric. But IQ, as he's appropriately known, earned that bird for services rendered as a discreet, unlicensed investigator who finds missing people, recovers stolen property, and unravels puzzles too delicate or perplexing for the LAPD to handle. Business is steady but sluggish, and IQ, goaded by a one-time high school frenemy named Dodson (rhymes with "Watson," get it?), agrees to go for bigger bucks in helping to find out who's trying to murder rap idol Calvin "Black the Knife" Wright, who's undergoing something of an emotional crisis. The list of suspects is, to say the least, eclectic, beginning with Cal's ex-wife, Noelle, an ambitious pop diva, and a posse of hangers-on and moneymen, any one of whom might be greedy or vicious enough to sic upon Cal the most monstrously lethal attack dog since the Hound of the Baskervilles. In his debut novel, Ide, a Japanese-American who grew up in the same neighborhood as his mercurial characters, flashes agility with streetwise lingo, facility with local color, and empathy with even the most dissolute of his characters. If there's a problem, it's that IQ, for all his brilliance at inductive reasoning (as opposed to "deductive"; apparently there is a difference), seems at once too removed and too moody for readers to connect with. His origin story, alternating with the main investigation, at times reads like the usual gang-violence melodrama. But the roughhousing energy, vivid language, and serrated wit Ide displays throughout this maiden effort make Isaiah Quintabe seem a potential rejuvenator of a grand literary tradition. The present day, with its high-strung social media and emotional overload, could use a contemporary hero like Ide's, more inclined to use his brain than his mouth (or fists) to vanquish evil and subdue dread. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from July 1, 2016
Isaiah Quintabe, known as IQ on the mean streets of his East Long Beach neighborhood, is a Sherlock-inspired sleuth (brains over brawn) who takes the cases the cops won't touch. Yet Isaiah's off-the-grid status ( unlicensed and underground ) and adjustable-rate billing system translate to poor cash flow, which drives him to accept a case he wants no part of: finding out who is trying to kill a superstar rapperand not just any rapper, but one who seems to be going a little bit crazy. First-novelist Ide, whose own background is similar to Isaiah's (bright kid growing up in the ghetto and loving Sherlock for his ability to triumph on intelligence alone), does here what few first novelists can manage: dexterously juggling multiple styles and tones to create a seamless, utterly entertaining blend of coming-of-age saga, old-school detective story, and comic caper novel. Flashbacks reprise IQ's early yearsincluding his adored brother's death and IQ's temporary descent into a life of crimeand nicely integrated subplots flesh out IQ's relationship with would-be Watson and former partner in crime, Dodson, whose impressive comic chops are sure to be a major draw as this series develops. Best of all, though, is Ide's deft touch with his richly diverse cast of characters, all of whom are capable of stealing scenes with just the right mix of bravado, sly intelligence, sparkling wit, and deeply felt emotion. This is one of those rare debuts that leaves us panting for moreand soon.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)
May 15, 2016
With mayhem ripping ever faster through the L.A. neighborhood of East Long Beach, the police can't keep up, but at least they have a genius loner nicknamed IQ to solve the crimes that leave them puzzled. Occasionally, IQ takes on a paying job, and this time his client is a rap mogul whose life has been threatened. TV rights won in a seven-way bidding war; with a 40,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 1, 2016
Isaiah Quintabe, known as IQ, is a preternaturally smart misanthrope who has made a name for himself solving mysteries. Raised in East Long Beach, one of L.A.'s toughest neighborhoods, he's no stranger to tragedy and has a violent history that he is desperately trying to make right. When Dodson, a figure from his past he'd rather forget, shows up at his apartment offering a new case, Isaiah is dubious. It's a high-paying assignment involving a notorious rap star who just barely escaped an assassination attempt by a monstrous dog. Desperate for money and intrigued by the method of the attack, Isaiah agrees to track down the would-be killer with Dodson acting as partner. Deftly weaving back and forth between past and present, the novel slowly reveals the complex relationship between the two men as well as the inner machinations of a hired madman and his killer dog. VERDICT With a definite nod to Sherlock Holmes and the wonders of inductive reasoning, Ide's freshman novel introduces an intriguing new detective with staying power who will be a certain hit with fans of urban-set crime fiction. [See Prepub Alert, 4/25/16.]--Amy Nolan, St. Joseph, MI
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 1, 2016
Sherlock Holmes comes to South Central Los Angeles. Only he's black, never finished high school, and can't seem to hold on to a regular job.Unlike Holmes or other flamboyant "consulting detectives" whose powers of ratiocination have held readers' imaginations captive since the Victorian era, Isaiah Quintabe, young, gifted, and nonchalantly brilliant, displays few distinguishable quirks beyond a formidable attention span that misses nothing. Well, having a live chicken named Alejandro wandering around his crib may be a little eccentric. But IQ, as he's appropriately known, earned that bird for services rendered as a discreet, unlicensed investigator who finds missing people, recovers stolen property, and unravels puzzles too delicate or perplexing for the LAPD to handle. Business is steady but sluggish, and IQ, goaded by a one-time high school frenemy named Dodson (rhymes with "Watson," get it?), agrees to go for bigger bucks in helping to find out who's trying to murder rap idol Calvin "Black the Knife" Wright, who's undergoing something of an emotional crisis. The list of suspects is, to say the least, eclectic, beginning with Cal's ex-wife, Noelle, an ambitious pop diva, and a posse of hangers-on and moneymen, any one of whom might be greedy or vicious enough to sic upon Cal the most monstrously lethal attack dog since the Hound of the Baskervilles. In his debut novel, Ide, a Japanese-American who grew up in the same neighborhood as his mercurial characters, flashes agility with streetwise lingo, facility with local color, and empathy with even the most dissolute of his characters. If there's a problem, it's that IQ, for all his brilliance at inductive reasoning (as opposed to "deductive"; apparently there is a difference), seems at once too removed and too moody for readers to connect with. His origin story, alternating with the main investigation, at times reads like the usual gang-violence melodrama. But the roughhousing energy, vivid language, and serrated wit Ide displays throughout this maiden effort make Isaiah Quintabe seem a potential rejuvenator of a grand literary tradition. The present day, with its high-strung social media and emotional overload, could use a contemporary hero like Ide's, more inclined to use his brain than his mouth (or fists) to vanquish evil and subdue dread.
COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.