BOOK REVIEW- IQ By Joe Ide

A resident of one of LA's toughest neighborhoods uses his blistering intellect to solve the crimes the LAPD ignores.

East Long Beach. The LAPD is barely keeping up with the neighborhood's high crime rate. Murders go unsolved, lost children unrecovered. But someone from the neighborhood has taken it upon himself to help solve the cases the police can't or won't touch.

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 tires or a homemade casserole. To get by, he's forced to take on clients that can pay. 

This time, it's a rap mogul whose life is in danger. As Isaiah investigates, he encounters a vengeful ex-wife, a crew of notorious cutthroats, a monstrous attack dog, and a hit man who even other hit men say is a lunatic. The deeper Isaiah digs, the more far reaching and dangerous the case becomes. AMAZON  4 STARS

I just finished reading this and Wow, I'm still kind of stunned.  And wondering how in the world I'm going to rate it and explain it.  I'm pretty sure, it's kind of different from anything I have read recently and I have mixed feelings about it. One thing I can say for sure was that I totally loved the main character, Isaiah Quintabe a.k.a. IQ.  He is the hero and sometimes the anti-hero until he gets his act together.  The Chapters are set up a bit differently with flashbacks to different years and then the present year of the story.  That did take a little getting used to and at least once or twice I had to get my balance back in the story, that made me a little dizzy.  Another main person in the story is IQ's friend Dodson.  Hmm, did I say friend?  I say that very lightly because he is a people user and looking out for his own main chance, which of course causes so many problems all on its own. He also takes it personally that IQ has such a high IQ and is often busy trying to trip him up.  Of course it's all ego on Dodson's part. I can honestly say I didn't like Dodson so much, but he did add flavor to the story.  IQ has his own code even when he gets into some things he shouldn't.  I'm not going to give that part away but that was a surprise.   If you are looking for a story that has intense moments, twists and turns and mysteries solves, yes this book has it.   
The story does end so I don't consider it as having a cliffhanger but there is another door left open for another adventure.  When I read that part, it was so subtle I almost missed it and when I got it I went, "Oh."  My mouth just might have dropped open a bit. 

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.