Wrecked
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4.2 • 230 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In this outrageous novel from Joe Ide, "the best thing to happen to mystery writing in a very long time" (New York Times), the case of a young artist's missing mother sets IQ on a collision course with his own Moriarty.
Isaiah Quintabe -- IQ for short -- has never been more successful, or felt more alone. A series of high-profile wins in his hometown of East Long Beach have made him so notorious that he can hardly go to the corner store without being recognized. Dodson, once his sidekick, is now his full-fledged partner, hell-bent on giving IQ's PI business some real legitimacy: a Facebook page, and IQ's promise to stop accepting Christmas sweaters and carpet cleanings in exchange for PI services.
So when a young painter approaches IQ for help tracking down her missing mother, it's not just the case Isaiah's looking for, but the human connection. And when his new confidant turns out to be connected to a dangerous paramilitary operation, IQ falls victim to a threat even a genius can't see coming.
Waiting for Isaiah around every corner is Seb, the Oxford-educated African gangster who was responsible for the death of his brother, Marcus. Only, this time, Isaiah's not alone. Joined by a new love interest and his familiar band of accomplices, IQ is back -- and the adventures are better than ever.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In the third book of Joe Ide’s excellent present-day mystery series, detective work rides shotgun while straight-up action grabs the wheel. The going gets tougher for Ide’s wonderful hero—cerebral Los Angeleno sleuth Isaiah “IQ” Quintabe—who runs afoul of a group of violent paramilitary types. Ide’s Elmore Leonard–like ear for the profane poetry of his heroes and villains remains on point, as do IQ’s more soulful and melancholic dimensions. But fueled by a tense cat-and-mouse game, Wrecked is built on blood and gristle in a way its leaner, more pensive predecessors weren’t.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ide's less than successful third mystery featuring Isaiah Quintabe (after 2017's Righteous) focuses on action rather than deduction. Isaiah, the brilliant African-American PI known as IQ, helps his neighbors in Long Beach, Calif., with mostly mundane cases: "Store thefts, break-ins, lost children, wife-beaters, bullies, and conmen." Artist Grace Monarova, an attractive white woman he has a crush on, asks him to trace her mother, Sarah, whom she hasn't seen in a decade but knows is somewhere in L.A. Isaiah doesn't know that Sarah disappeared right after becoming a murder suspect, or that she's also the quarry of a vicious group of ex-military men, led by Stan Walczak, the founder of a global security firm. Walczak and his colleagues, who tortured prisoners at Abu Ghraib but evaded prosecution, are after Sarah because she has threatened to release incriminating video of their abuses unless she's paid off. The flash-forward prologue, in which Isaiah is abused by Walczak and his team, reduces suspense. Fans of Ide's innovative take on a Sherlockian sleuth will hope for a return to form in the next book.
Customer Reviews
IQ just gets better
With a cast of characters rich in depth, often hilarious, always entertaining, IQ is off on another investigation. No, things don’t always (well, maybe never?) turn out as expected, but hang on for the ride. A gem.