Righteous is Ide’s second installment in his IQ detective series. There is a lot going on in this Adrenalin fueled sequel: Chinese gangsters running human trafficking, gambling addicted, brutal loan sharks, local gangbangers and multiple story lines. This is not a cozy. The pages fly by.

I very much enjoyed Joe Ide’s debut, IQ, and decided that it was high time that I got caught up on the series. So, in a moment of choice paralysis, I just picked up Righteous and dove right in. I’m glad I did — as with the first novel, this is a fast-paced, entertaining mystery/crime novel. I enjoyed this.

In some ways, Righteous didn’t have the same kind of feel as IQ. Isaiah, for example, didn’t seem to be as much of a focal presence in the story. Ide spends plenty of time with other characters (not all of whom survive), telling the story from their perspectives. As one could expect, after reading IQ, each of the new characters is well-drawn, fascinating and engaging guides to Isaiah’s world and community.

The multiple perspectives do make for a more varied story, but I did miss spending more time with Isaiah’s unique perspective on life, crime, and more. Isaiah is a great character, someone living on the edge of his Long Beach community and society, but nevertheless inextricably linked with his neighbours and city. Incredibly intelligent, with prodigious deductive capabilities, he’s a mini-celebrity, someone known for fixing problems and solving mysteries that no-one else will help with.

In Righteous, Isaiah is distracted by revelations he uncovers related to the hit-and-run death of his beloved brother (revelations that were seeded at the end of IQ). Further complicating matters, Marcus’s girlfriend (who he has a crush on) approaches Isaiah about helping her half-sister who has got herself deep in trouble with the Chinese triad in Vegas. Together, these two cases end up putting Isaiah on the bad side of a number of different factions with poor impulse control. Isaiah’s quietly tricksy, however, and he manages to manipulate the situation and players into serving his ends. It’s quite satisfying.

Righteous is more fast-paced than the first novel in the series. It feels a little frantic, at times. Not necessarily a bad thing, and it evokes the way the characters are scrambling to make sense of what’s going on, not to mention get out alive. It also establishes a larger story arc that will take another book or two to resolve. Another enjoyable novel, and I’m really looking forward to reading the next one, Wrecked (out now).

If you’re a fan of quirky crime/mystery fiction, then I’d certainly recommend you check out Joe Ide’s series.

I haven't read the first in this series, but IQ or Isaiah Quintabe is still trying to find out who killed his brother eight years ago. One plot line continues his investigation into his brother's death; the other has Isaiah and Dodson on a trip to Las Vegas to rescue a couple whose gambling addiction has put them in big trouble. They owe money to a loan shark, and in order to pay him, they have hacked the accounts of a Chinese triad. Frying pan. Fire.

What I liked: The characters. There are many interesting characters including Dodson, Deronda, and TK; I.Q. is the center that holds the diverse group together. I enjoyed the allusions to Sherlock Holmes and there is plenty of wit and humor and amusing banter amid the danger and darker elements of the story.

Joe Ide is a Japanese-American who grew up in the neighborhood he describes. From an interview with Ide:

"Growing up, Mr. Ide lived in two worlds: At home, his stern grandfather collected samurai swords and spoke no English; outside he had mostly black friends. He was never completely at ease in either place, but the experience taught him how to decipher people and how to blend in." (Raised in South Central, Joe Ide Expands the Territory of L.A. Noir)

The interview gives an intriguing view of a man who grew up in contrasting cultures.

I need to read IQ, the first in the series, but Righteous (book 2) was offered through NetGalley, and after reading Kay's review, I decided to dive in.

NetGalley/Mulholland Books
Detective Fiction. 2017. Print length: 336 pages.

I'm really looking forward to more in this series! This was better than the first book. I love IQ as a character and really want to see his story expand, until there's a whole long series just like Sherlock Holmes.

Joe Ide is a storyteller. I can hear you muttering something along the lines of aren't all writers storytellers? The answer is yes and no, and I don't just mean the difference between fiction and non-fiction either. The way I see it, a storyteller gives voice to his or her characters in a way that makes them individual and memorable. In other words, he writes in the oral tradition.

Isaiah Quintabe, IQ, straddles the fine line between what is legal and what is not. His thumb is on the scale toward legal as he finds ways to circumvent the system. IQ is a brilliant strategist, a meticulous planner, loyal to a fault, and the man you want on your side when bad stuff happens.

RIGHTEOUS is the second book in the IQ series and is as well written as the first. The book is full of real people, not characters, and the action is so real your heart will start to pound. I may have mentioned in my review of the first book, IQ, that Joe Ide writes adrenalin. I will add that none of the action is gratuitous. It's all part of telling the story.

RIGHTEOUS is not a straight up whodunit; it is more of a who done it to whom and why. The attention to detail is part of what makes this book stand out in a crowd.. Take picking a lock, for example. It is pointed out that a paper clip giggled in a lock is all it takes on TV, where lock picking is a painstakingly precise skill that requires patience and hours of practice. It is a book about criminals and the hood and how both are part of the gray scale of right and wrong, lawful and unlawful.

You can read RIGHTEOUS as a standalone, but doing that would deprive you of experiencing Joe Ide's writing full throttle. Do yourself a favor and read IQ and then read RIGHTEOUS. You definitely won't be sorry.

Righteous is the second book by Joe Ide featuring Isaiah Quintabe. IQ makes his living as a private detective of sorts, helping people in his poverty-stricken neighborhood. He is unlicensed and unconventional, sometimes compensated with favors or gifts instead of money his clients don’t have. IQ uses his intellect to see what others can’t or won’t, and stay a few steps ahead of his adversaries.
Mr. Ide takes readers on a fast-paced ride that includes cases that span two cities, two violent gangs, gambling, loan sharking, murder, kidnapping, human trafficking, and more, all the while developing an intelligent but sometimes anxious, awkward, and confused character. Parts of the book have a caper-like feel to it, demonstrated when both cases come together in a surprise ending that tests Isaiah’s relationship with his friend and partner and risks all that they have worked for.

IQ Tracks His Brother’s Killer

IQ idolized his older brother, Marcus. When Marcus was killed by a hit and run driver, his grief was overwhelming. When he recovered, he stopped searching for the hit-and-run vehicle. Then, by chance, he finds the car and deduces that Marcus death was not an accident, but a hit. Now he’s on the trial of the killer.

Another relationship from the past comes back to haunt IQ. His brother’s girlfriend, Sarita, calls and asks to see him. He’s had a crush on her for years, but fears his social skills aren’t up to attracting her. Sarita has a problem for him to solve. Her half-sister, Janine, and her boyfriend, Benny, are in serious trouble. They’re in hock for their gambling debts to loan shark who specializes in violence to collect his money.

This is a good followup to the original IQ book. Many of the same characters, Dodson, Deronda, TK and others are featured in the story. IQ now has a pit bull which adds a nice element to the story. As with the previous book, the action is non-stop.

The story is set in LA, but IQ travels to Vegas to try to resolve Janine’s issues. Both setting are realistically portrayed. The two story lines, IQ’s search for his brothers killer, and Janine’s gambling problems, are interwoven throughout the story. The author cleverly brings them together at the end.

IQ is a very likable character. He knows he has problems, his lack of social skills, and trying to reconcile to his brother’s death, the book shows him trying to rise above his problems and presents his struggles in a realistic light.

If you enjoy a fast moving thriller with good characters, you’ll enjoy this book.

I received this book from Mulholland Books for this review.

Righteous (IQ, #2)
by Joe Ide
108416
Nancy Cunningham's review Nov 12, 2017 · edit
it was ok
bookshelves: netgalley

Joe Ide's first book in this series, IQ, was one of my favorite books of 2016: it was a fresh take on contemporary detective fiction; it had a social conscience; and, it had heart. I looked forward to reading this sequel with great anticipation, and perhaps my expectations were too high.

I was not expecting another routine contemporary detective series; Ide's introduction to the young protagonist (IQ) led me to expect so much more, but this new book struck me as just another urban crime story. The elements that made IQ so special for me were missing in this sequel. Most of all I regretted that this story centered on retaliation rather than redemption. IQ made some small strides towards growth and maturity, but he didn't retain his status as something special in my mind.

I read other reviews and this is obviously a minority point of view--there is no doubt that the novel is fast-paced and suspenseful, but I am looking for more from this talented author. I don't know what compelled him to allow this second book to neuter itself into "just another good story," but I am disappointed that he didn't stick with the uniqueness that dominated his initial IQ tale.

NetGalley provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

IQ is at it again. This time he is contacted by his late brother’s girlfriend who is now an attorney. She is searching for her half sister who is in trouble and may need rescuing. IQ and Dodson, who is now living with his lady friend and about to become a father, look into the sister’s background and go to Las Vegas to seek her out. There they run into Chinese gangsters and lone sharks, all of whom want something from her. The plot is complex, the writing riveting and the novel possibly better than the first. Joe Ide’s ability as a story teller and novelist improve with each effort. I look forward to more of IQ’s adventures and his stepping out of his solitude to experience more of the softer side of life! Thanks to Net Galley and Mulholland for an ARC for an honest review.

I have decided that I really do not like these books because they are so very unlikely. I will not review the book online.

IQ by Joe Ide was a big (and very pleasant) surprise for me last year. Named after its protagonist - the very smart and sassy Isaiah Quintabe - I was hooked.

I hadn't realised the second in the series had been released until I got an email from the publisher but I downloaded it immediately keen to be reunited with the genius PI-of-sorts, determined to get justice for his brother killed years earlier while helping the helpless in his LA neighbourhood.

However... I have to say, for most of the novel, IQ felt like a pale imitation of the character I remembered from the first book in the series, when I'd likened his smart mouth to some of my fave old-time PIs, like Robert B Parker's Spenser.

Not only does IQ seem to not be his usually sassy self but he's kinda childishly obsessed with his brother's ex girlfriend who he's not seen in nearly a decade. Although that becomes a life lesson of sorts about our ability to cast people into roles we'd like to see them play in our lives.

After reading IQ I commented on how nice it was to read about a more culturally diverse cast of characters. Ide (who's of Japanese American descent) seems to go even further here and offers up gangs and groups, each as prejudiced against each other as one could possibly imagine.

Eventually the IQ I remembered returns. His childhood bad-influence (now more responsible and dad to be) Juanell Dodson is back and there's a competitiveness early on between the pair. Of sorts. Dodson surprised he seems to be keeping up with IQ's sharp mind. Until he's not. And there's some weird inconsistency around that: IQ being surprised his friend picks up on things; giving him a hard time because he doesn't; then feeling feeling threatened when he does.

I should mention I was a tad confused by the structure of the book. Well, that's not entirely true. I was confused, then kinda annoyed, then felt as if I understood. Although logically I couldn't quite get my head around the timing of some of the events.

There was a prologue, in which Isaiah finds evidence relating to his brother's death, indicating he was (in fact) murdered, rather than the victim of a hit and run as thought (eight years earlier). We then settle into the plot of this book... and the 'case' he investigates for his brother's former girlfriend (who IQ secretly fancied at the time). As a result he's thrown into a world of gambling, drugs, prostitution and Chinese gangs.

But just after that kicks off - without warning - Isaiah is back investigating his brother's death. In his hometown. Huh? Normally there would be an obvious marker - at least the first instance we move about in time - a different font, a date (or 'then' and 'now') or something, so we realised what was happening, but it felt like someone had jumbled the chapters and stuck them together in the wrong format. We continue to alternate cases and timeframes (which could be months, years or weeks apart), but the first time it happens is so jarring I almost put the book aside, thinking there was some error in formatting.

Of course, I should mention this could have been more problematic because I read an early electronic copy of the book. The final print and electronic copies may be completely different.

There's a bit of a change toward the end of this book which very much leaves Ide's options open. There's a resolution - a hint of happily ever after, if you like - which would allow the series to finish here; alternatively it allows IQ to turn a corner and the series to change a little. And perhaps either way that's a good thing.

I suspect I'm being overly harsh in my review and that's partially because my expectations were so very high. I adored IQ - the first book, and the character - and seemingly others agreed as it was a New York Times Critics’ Best of the Year and nominee for the Best First Novel Edgar Award.

I felt like we didn't really see any growth this time around, although, if IQ is to survive perhaps it is just Ide drawing a line under a tragic and defining part of his life and readying him for the future.

3.5 stars

This book is a great sequel to Ide's IQ. This book can be read as a stand-alone, but is more enjoyable when you've already read IQ

Tale of two crime syndicates and the search for one truth behind a crime of kin.
A second instalment in the days of a likeable p.i, a real character that just flows with style and originality.
I loved the debut IQ and i had written about that in my review, “There is a real potent voice created by the author Joe Ide, he has crafted a tale about the alternative American dream the other side of the fences tale, a tale of poetic justice in ways, in pursuit of happinesses and what people in the concrete jungle will do for it.”
Here we have some of the same.
The same sharp writing with potent prose, the same bang on dialogue and clear scenes, that has you being there in the thick of of it all, and the same social commentary of which is a good thing.
The author has a great way with writing with humour and similes , “Manzo backhanded her so hard her head did a Linda Blair, and she collapsed like somebody had yanked out her skeleton.”
Here is a peak at the main protagonist the p.i, Isaiah, describing himself, in a scene, “He looked his age, twenty-six; six feet tall and slim, maybe an athlete, maybe not. You’d choose him third for pickup basketball. His face surprised him, so watchful and serious. A girl once told him he looked like he was waiting for bad weather. He thought his nose was too broad, and his lips were too thick. It embarrassed him to think like that. He looked okay but just."
He is still a p.i that relaxes, "......he sat in his easy chair, drinking an espresso and listening to Segovia.”
The narrative shifts with chapters between past and present.
Dialogue with its profanities at times, real dialogue of the denizens of the tale, story pace has no bore and many things going on, mucho goings on than the debut.

I loved "IQ" and it's new take on a Sherlock Holmes character in the middle of East L.A.. "Righteous" continues my love affair IQ and his sidekick Dodson. We learn more of the backstory of IQ and how he came to be the man he is today. His character becomes more nuanced and three-dimensional in this sequel. Dodson also becomes a more significant character in this unlikely partnership. Definitely recommended but I would read IQ first to get the full backstory. Besides which, why rob yourself of the pleasure of the first volume in an outstanding series.

IQ vs. the Locos gang members from East Long Beach, the 14K Chinese triad gangsters and a Las Vegas loan shark

I enjoyed the first book in this series - IQ - featuring Isaiah Quintabe and liked this second book even more.

IQ is an unusual private investigator in East Long Beach, doing a paying job once in awhile to pay bills but often doing pro bono work, being paid with a chicken, a sweet potato pie or whatever whoever he helped could pay.

He's been working on tracking down the killer of his older brother, who was murdered by a "hit-and-run" driver ten years ago. In the middle of looking into this, he's approached by his brother's old girlfriend (who he still has a major crush on) and he and his frenemy, Dodson, get roped into a bizarre case with all kinds of criminal elements being involved.

This was a thrill-a-minute rollercoaster ride of a story with bizarre but believable characters. I recommend it highly - after you've read the first book.

I received this book from Mulholland Books through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.

Oh Isaiah Quintabe! That poor man can't ever choose the easier path. He is busy spending his life helping locals solve small crimes and injustices when his brother's former girlfriend calls out of the blue and needs his help. Help that ends up involving human trafficking, saving her father and sister's lives, and is smack dab in the middle of the Chinese mob, Latino gangs, and Vegas loan sharks. If it weren't so violent, the story might have read like a Keystone cop movie! The only problem I had with the book was that it was either split between two different timelines or Isaiah spent a lot of time zooming back and forth between East Long Beach and Vegas without it being mentioned. I was never able to quite figure that part out. But that little complaint is easily balanced out by the rich characters and incredible situations IQ seems to get himself in to. I look forward to his next adventure!

Righteous picks up very quickly and I would recommend reading IQ first if you haven't already. IQ introduces and develops Isaiah Quintabe, the protagonist, and the world he lives in. Righteous takes that a step further and digs deeper into his brother's past and Isaiah's own personality while addressing serious issues like human trafficking, obsession, and gang violence. In IQ, Isaiah seems mostly saintly while in Righteous, you see more of his flaws.

The pacing of this book is great and feels cinematic, and I hope this book serves as the basis for season 2 of the upcoming TV adaptation. There are two main subplots within the story, both of which have their own timeline; when the chapters switch to the characters in one subplot, the timeline zags with it.

While I enjoyed the strong writing, I thought the plot was less exciting in Righteous than in IQ. I was more interested in the characters this go-around – Isaiah, yes, but also Cherise, Dodson, Sarita, and Manzo. Women are very much secondary to this plot and used more as devices than as real, fully developed characters.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed IQ, and I really hope Joe Ide continues with this series.

Isiah Quintabe returns in his second adventure. IQ discovers the car that killed his brother, Marcus, in a local junkyard and he uncovers the fact it was not a hit-and-run as the police thought; Marcus was murdered by the person driving the car. This sets IQ on a path of destruction through his south-central LA neighborhood. IQ also get a phone call from Sarita, Marcus' former girl friend, asking him to save her father and step-sister, who are on the run from Tommy Lau, a Chinese gangster. Dodson and IQ head to Las Vegas to rescue Ken and Janine; Ken is Tommy's lieutenant in a chain of human misery and Janine is in over her head with gambling debts. So IQ is focused on helping Sarita, a woman he has had a crush on for years, which also comes full-circle to solving the case of Marcus' murder. Excellent plotting and great character development. I am looking forward to more adventures with IQ.

I have a real soft spot for IQ. He's a product of his tough LA neighborhood who is haunted by his older brother's death and determined to find out why his brother died. In this second installment of what I hope is a long series, IQ closes in on what happened to his brother while also trying to protect the family of the woman both he and his brother loved. Mayhem, a minor gang war, and a budding maturity on IQ's part ensue.