I adored the character of Isaiah Quintabe introduced by Joe Ide in 2016. The first book, IQ (named after Isaiah’s moniker) gave us a scary-smart street-wise crime solver / PI. (And I should mention I wasn’t alone in my love for IQ… and Ide’s subsequent books include quotes by the likes of Michael Connelly, Gregg Hurwitz etc commenting on the arrival of a great new fictional character.)

Indeed, in my review of IQ I comment on the fact Isaiah reminded me of the sassy smart-mouthed gumshoes (PIs) I once so loved.

I was excited then to read the second book in the series, Righteous but for much of the book found Isaiah a pale copy of the bright spark we’d met in the first of the series. The book itself picked up but felt a bit convoluted – as Ide’s prone to introduce a number of plots at once.

Happily I enjoyed this latest instalment. Isaiah still wasn’t quite the larger-than-life wunderkind I remembered from our first outing but he’s still the guy people come to, to solve problems.

Wrecked
by Joe Ide
Series: IQ #3
Published by Mulholland Books
on October 9th 2018
Source: Hachette Australia
Genres: Crime Fiction
ISBN: 0316509515
Pages: 352

Goodreads

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.

The book’s primarily about the case of the missing mother. And Ide goes deep here, introducing us to a group of former soldiers who did some truly atrocious things at Abu Ghraib. They’re forced to reunite when some photographs of their antics (using the term very loosely – gross misconduct and disgusting acts is more apt) threaten to surface. Isaiah’s secret crush (and new client) Grace becomes an inadvertent target of the group. As does Isaiah himself obviously.

In the background Isaiah helps thwart a blackmailing pimp and locate a man who’s abducted his child. Added to the mix is someone from Isaiah and Dodson’s past who returns to haunt them.

Again the strength of this book is the character of Isaiah (and I find myself liking Dodson more and more as the series progresses). As was the case with both previous novels there are probably a few too many plots and subplots and by the end I’d forgotten who the hell some of the characters were and what they wanted. I remain keen to see where Ide takes Isaiah however so look forward to IQ #4.

Wrecked by Joe Ide was published in Australia by Hachette and is now available.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.