5/5 Excellent

Read straight after book 4, IQ and Dodson are back in this 5th and extremely busy addition to one of the finest most unique crime series out on the market today.

The character development continues to be strong as Dodson becomes less peripheral and much more a star if the show.

Vibrant, energetic story telling, plots and characters. A series I hold close and one I very much enjoy.

Not much better out there,

Highly Recommended

The fifth instalment of Joe Ide’s acclaimed IQ series finds the eponymous hero Isaiah Quantabe—Holmes of the 'Hood—at his lowest. He is on the run, leaving even the love of his life behind, from multiple people and gangs desperate to kill him. He just wants to find a little peace, far away from the chaos brought on by his profession that he no longer plans to continue. He has severe panic attacks due to the PTSD he contracted thanks to the traumatic events of his past adventures. But, the trouble with trouble is that it never goes away, and Isaiah promptly finds himself amidst a plot involving deadly, deranged serial killers, and some serious misunderstanding that pits him against the law enforcement itself.

Back home, those who want his life are trying to get to him through Grace, his girl who may no longer be his girl. Isaiah’s associate and friend Dodson—the hustler’s hustler—gets an ultimatum from his wife to mend his ways and start earning a decent living or move out of her house and her life. Another of Isaiah's friends, Deronda, a prominent entrepreneur with an unflattering past has a trouble that may destroy her reputation in addition to eating away her hard earned wealth.

Smoke is the heady concoction of all these stories, some very connected and some loosely so to the main plot concerning Isaiah. All the tracks are entertainingly narrated in the characteristic language of the street, or the ‘hood, that this series is renowned for. With minimum of words, Ide brings his eccentric, messed up characters and their actions and motivations to life. The dialogues are crisp and amusing. In addition to being a thriller with plenty of action and suspense, it also is a window into the life of the underprivileged who, amidst poverty, drug addiction and violence, try to lead a dignified life.

This was my first taste of the IQ series and I am impressed enough to read more. I don’t know how the other books are structured but the different tracks of this episode felt disjointed to me. In fact, Dodson’s exploits form a sizeable chunk of this novel and, though hugely enjoyable, they do not add much to IQ’s story. Maybe this is due to my starting this series late and I think I need to start from the start to become better oriented. Ide ends Smoke with a cliff-hanger which makes reading the next episode mandatory, so bring it out already!

My gratitude to the author, publishers and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

IQ is on the run - he has just about every gang faction in LA after him and he needs to lie low. He heads into Northern California and won't tell any of his friends where he is. However trouble just seems to find him and this time he runs into two serial killers. Meanwhile in LA Dodson is pushed into taking a white-collar internship, he proves to be a genius at advertising but the 'Hood still calls. Deronda is facing the loss of her reputation when her purported 'baby daddy' tries to blackmail her.
There are so many strands to the IQ novels that a new reader must start at the beginning to see how the lives of the protagonists link and intertwine. Each narrative in this book is different and yet they all work so well together. There is humour, violence and pathos on every page, enough heart-pounding action to keep the thriller fan happy but also enough intelligent plotting to satisfy high literature. Joe Ide is a great writer!

My thanks to the Author publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
This is the fifth book in this superb series and while there are some references to previous stories the book can be read as a standalone story. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed all the previous books in the series, and this was no exception, though initially it seemed to get off to slow start and I was not instantly gripped as is usually the case with this Author, which I put down to our hero 'IQ' playing a smaller part in proceedings than normal. As usual the story is clever descriptive and imaginative with brilliant characters and funny with the occasional laugh out loud moments.
The great news is that ending leaves no doubt that our heroes will ride again and very soon I hope.
Totally and utterly recommended.

Joe Ide writes a fabulously inspired addition to his East Long Beach, LA based series featuring Isaiah 'IQ' Quintabe series, with his Watson sidekick, Juanell Dodson. However, after events in the last book, Isaiah has been forced to leave and head north, having broken up with the love of his life, artist Grace and leaving behind pitbull dog, Ruffin. With vicious and deadly gangs after him, the violence and danger of his life has taken its toll on his mental health, he is anxious, nervous and depressed, suffering severe PTSD symptoms, all of which pushes him him to no longer want to be a detective, it is time to move on. However, the universe and fate has other plans in store for him. In sharp contrast, Dodson grows and develops into the space vacated by his friend, IQ, stepping up with panache.

Isaiah finds himself letting the young Billy Sorenson stay with him, not that he is happy with this state of affairs, Billy has a wild and off the rails life behind him, and has escaped from the neuropsychiatric wing of the county hospital. Billy has strong feelings for Ava, the twin sister of the brutally murdered Hannah, and has illegally downloaded the police files on her murder, and sent them to Ava. He and Ava are convinced that she has been killed by the AMSAK serial killer, and they feel they know who he is. However, no-one believes them, and Isaiah himself has doubts, as he reluctantly starts going through the police files. Cherise, Dodson's wife, has reached the end of her tether with Juanell and his continuous unemployed status, she is determined that he should raise his game and become the financial provider she and their young child need. To this end, she has issued an ultimatum, and found him an internship at Apex Advertising.

Dodson has never held down a legitimate job in his life, and his life has been shaped by the hood and its gangster culture, and if he is to hold down a job in a white man's world, he is convinced he needs serious help to help him to adapt. Cherise has that covered, so to great hilarity, Dodson finds himself facing a education and makeover, guided by Gloria, the mother-in-law that has always hated him. To Dodson's surprise, he finds advertising is no different from his hustling and con merchant past, as he proves to have a talent for the business, although is this really what he wants to do with his life? Furthermore, as people in the community find themselves facing serious problems, like Deronda and Grace, it is Dodson that steps into the breach that IQ would have filled, and he is real good, so good that maybe he has a future as a fixer?

There is so much going on in this addition, and a huge cast list to get your head around, as the characters and perameters shift and change, for IQ, but even more so for Dodson and the greater part played by the East Long Beach community. All of these changes serve to re-energise the series and characters with a verve and vibrancy that auger well for the future of the series, a testament to the remarkable foresight and skills of Joe Ide. This is a unmissable, fun and entertaining read which I loved, the only fly in the ointment, the cliff hanger ending. Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an advance copy of Smoke, the fifth novel to feature East Long Beach PI Isaiah “IQ” Quintabe and his sidekick Juanell Dodson.

Isaiah is suffering from PTSD and is run out of town by a bounty on his head. He heads for Northern California in an effort to regroup and recover but his peace doesn’t last long when a burglar, Billy, enlists his help in hunting a serial killer. In the meantime Dodson is under pressure to take an internship at an advertising agency organised by his wife Cherise. To his surprise he not only likes it but is good at it.

What a read! Smoke has it all, thrills, spills, tension, action, adventure and a large dose of humour. Obviously I know nothing about the Black experience in America, or, to be fair, subsistence living but it all seems very authentic to me. Their way of life is illustrated through various points of view and several plot lines.

The majority of the novel concentrates on Isaiah’s experience and the plans of his adversaries, thus giving the reader an idea of what he’s up against. I found it fascinating as their plans offer tension and suspense and their actions shredded my nerves on more than one occasion, but what I really like is that they are ordinary people, so they might have a goal and a plan but execution is another matter, often ending up in violent slapstick. I was glued to the pages from start to finish.

The former IQ may be the focus of the novel but Dodson steals the show. He is extremely funny, sometimes consciously but often unconsciously. He is a smart man but often doesn’t have much self belief. This is his coming of age novel. I enjoyed all the characterisation as the author has a knack for summing it up in a few words.

The novel ends in a cliffhanger and is obviously designed to set up the next novel. Unfortunately, by the time that comes around I will have forgotten it, but it’s still intriguing.

Smoke is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Joe Ide is back on top form in Smoke. I thought Hi Five showed a slight dip in quality but this has all of Ide’s wit, thoughtfulness and insight wrapped in a very good story. It would work as a stand-alone novel, but it would be far better to read the series from the beginning as there is a lot of history which continues to develop here.

Traumatised by the events of Hi Five, Isaiah is heading for the hills, determined to leave his old life behind and get away from the violence and criminality of East Long Beach – and to escape the various murderous gangs and individuals who are seeking him for revenge. Needless to say, he very reluctantly becomes involved in a scary (and very exciting) hunt for two deranged killers. Meanwhile, back in East Long Beach an unemployed Dodson is given an ultimatum by his wife and embarks on an internship in a swanky advertising agency while also acting as neighbourhood fixer in Isaiah’s absence. This leads to some genuinely hilarious stuff (the scenes where he is being tutored in manners by his mother-in-law made me laugh out loud several times) and also some genuinely thoughtful and incisive content.

These two independent stories work very well alongside each other. For me it is Dodson who is the real centre of this book as his character becomes much more developed and unlooked-for skills and inner decency emerge. Joe Ide brilliantly balances some excellent comedy with psychological insight, a thrilling story and some horrifying violence, which is somehow the more chilling for being inexplicit. His ear for language remains excellent and his characters become richer and more convincing with each book in the series.

In short, I thought Smoke was terrific and I can recommend it very warmly.

(My thanks to Orion for an ARC via NetGalley.)

I know I say this for every series but this time I really mean it. Please start this series from book one and read in order. Isaiah IQ Quintabe is complex, and his relationship to his friends and associates in this book goes deep and as there are quite a bunch of them, when you add into the mix the episode extras, the cast list could run away with itself if you haven't got the background you need. Oh and they are all cracking books so why not?!
IQ is on the run - for his life - he is still in the trouble as we left the previous book. Fleeing to take the trouble away from girlfriend Grace's door. But trouble is his middle name, and it follows him like a very tenacious terrier. And it's not long before trouble comes knocking at his new door. Well they would have knocked had they not already broken in - with tales of a serial killer they have unmasked and need help pursuing.
Meanwhile Dodson is being pushed to be the provider he should be for his family. After a makeover - the details of which are so hilarious that I will leave you to discover them in your own time - he starts as an intern at an ad agency. Interesting...
This is a story with many threads and many characters. So, I would recommend you clear the decks properly before diving in - maybe also have a notebook to hand to jot a few names/relationships down if you feel you might struggle. I think if I am honest, there are too many characters but that's just my opinion based on my preferences in a book.
That said, the story is frenetic - even as it flits between IQ and Dodson - and on occasion a little bit untidy. The series has taken on a different path to what I expected from the opener but that isn't necessarily a bad thing - just a surprise.
I very nearly knocked a star off for the cliffhanger. I really hate cliffhangers. If I like your books I will get the next one, you don't need to blackmail me. Also, I read so many books that after a day or so I forget there was a cliffhanger so it's no use on me. But I still hate them. But I love this series so I am going to let the author off, just this once.
Apart from that, I loved reconnected with people who I now class as old friends. There's a whole lot more going on than just the two main storylines and I love how the author keeps attention to detail with all his series character development. Whilst at the same time delivering a story that kept me on my toes throughout leaving me shocked but satisfied at its conclusion. (apart from the cliffhanger).
All in all, a cracking addition to an already favourite series. Roll on next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book