Hi Five

Starred review from November 11, 2019
In Edgar-finalist Ide’s stellar fourth IQ novel (after 2018’s Wrecked), genius detective Isaiah Quintabe, who usually helps those in need in his impoverished East Long Beach, Calif., neighborhood, takes on a paying client. Angus Byrne, a vicious white supremacist who’s also a major arms dealer, wants Isaiah to investigate the shooting murder of an employee of his, Tyler Barnes. The obvious suspect is Byrne’s daughter, Christiana, who was found next to Barnes’s body in the store she owns in Newport Beach. Byrne tells Isaiah that unless Christiana is cleared, the detective’s significant other, violinist Stella McDaniels, will have her fingers broken. The stakes rise when Isaiah meets Christiana and learns that she has multiple personalities, each with separate recollections of the events leading to Barnes’s murder. The unexpected return, after two years, of Isaiah’s true love, former client Grace Monarova, complicates his task. Readers will root for Ide’s distinctive lead every step of the way. This innovative series continues to show promise for a long, high-quality run. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM.

Zeno Robinson narrates the fourth audiobook in the series featuring private investigator Isaiah Quintabe (IQ). IQ's latest case involves especially high stakes. For one, the powerful arms dealer Angus Byrne is forcing him to solve a shooting death and threatening to break the hands of IQ's girlfriend, a violinist, if he fails. Also, the main witness/suspect is Byrne's daughter, who has five distinct personalities, each with different versions of the events leading to the shooting in question. It's a messy story with many subplots, but it's still completely entertaining, thanks to the sharp writing and Robinson's stellar performance. While providing narrative clarity and excellent pacing, Robinson expertly voices a large cast of characters to the point where it's hard to believe he's this audiobook's sole narrator. A.T.N. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

April 1, 2020

Isaiah "IQ" Quintabe is a self-styled detective in Long Beach, CA. IQ is coerced by Angus Byrne, a black-market arms dealer, into clearing his daughter Christiana from blame in a murder that took place in her Newport Beach boutique. Christiana suffers from multiple personality disorder, and no one personality saw the entire incident. To find out what really happened the night of the murder, Isaiah must piece together clues from each of the personalities. If he can't, Angus will end the career of IQ's new girlfriend. Zeno Robinson, a Disney voice actor, gives personality to a huge cast of characters and enables the listener to empathize and understand their motivation and entrapment in a very desperate society. VERDICT This is a fast-moving, violent story with lots of sociopolitical commentary, and is highly recommended for adult audio fiction collections.--Cliff Glaviano, formerly with Bowling Green State Univ. Libs., OH

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