Thursday, December 22, 2016

Book Review: IQ


Book: IQ by Joe Ide

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Description:

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.



Rating: 1 star (Did Not Finish)

Review:

I couldn't even finish reading this, it was so filled with stereotypes and poorly written dialogue that it was impossible to see the story or the characters without wondering how this even got published. I tried to overlook it and keep reading but I couldn't.

I had been really interested in reading this because I love the premise of an unconventional detective taking on cases that the police are too busy to handle. However, this reads like bad fanfiction. Just because the characters may live in the inner city doesn't make them uneducated dolts with bad grammar but that's pretty much the gist of the characterization for most of the characters with the exception of main character Isaiah Quintabe or IQ.

IQ is a disappointing read and it reinforces bad stereotypes which is why I pass on trying to finish reading it.

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