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By Joe Ide, narrated by Sullivan Jones \u2013Joe Ide is a master at conveying distinctive personalities and subcultures, and Sullivan Jones brings them vividly to life. In his newest book, Ide deftly weaves together his principal plotline and engaging subplots into a masterful tale of escape, revenge, pursuit, and retribution.<\/p>\n
As in Ide\u2019s previous two books, IQ<\/a> <\/em>and Righteous<\/a><\/em>, the story centers on East Long Beach investigator and righter-of-wrongs Isaiah Quintabe and his sometime friend\u2014and in this book, new business partner\u2014Juanel Dodson. Isaiah is called IQ not only because those are his initials, but also because he\u2019s a brilliant strategist, who saves situations with brainpower more often than firepower.<\/p>\n Neighbors in his low-income community need a burglar caught or an ex-husband warned off? Isaiah\u2019s their man. A school club needs help with a bully? Isaiah again. Unfortunately, these clients pay him in roof repairs, cakes and pies, and a promised handknit reindeer sweater. Once, a live chicken. These exchanges do not pay the bills, and Dodson plans to change all that. The slivers of insight Ide provides about the East Los Angeles community create an almost tangible sense of place.<\/p>\n In front of the local art supply store, Isaiah spots the woman he\u2019s attracted to\u2014Grace Monorova. Tongue-tied, he lets his gray pit bull Ruffin make the initial contact. Grace is great with the dog, but her reaction to Isaiah isn\u2019t nearly as warm. Unexpectedly, she calls him one night to ask for help finding her mom, Sarah, missing for a decade. She pays him with one of her paintings, to Dodson\u2019s disgust.<\/p>\n It emerges that Sarah is the target of a trio of ex-military who participated in the atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison and the CIA operative who egged them on, Stan Walczak. Bad as the photos were that documented the depraved treatment of Iraqi prisoners, there are worse photos out there, and Sarah has them. She\u2019ll sell them to Walczak for a million dollars. He has that kind of cash, but his scorched-earth modus operandi won\u2019t let him buy them back. He wants her dead. Grace too, if necessary. And, if he interferes, Isaiah.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Isaiah\u2019s business partner Dodson decides to take care of a different situation himself, without putting Isaiah wise. The old case involves the 21st century Malaprop of hip-hop, Junior, \u201cwho sounds like he swallowed a dictionary sideways\u201d and brings Dodson\u2019s former girlfriend Deronda into the story in full whackdown mode. Dodson\u2019s reactions to new fatherhood and his live-in mother-in-law left me grinning. Jive-talking, slick operator though this father is, baby Micah has obviously seized control of the household.<\/p>\n While author Ide captures the sometimes skewed thought processes and humor of all his characters and Jones delivers them with spot-on narration, Dodson may be the sentimental favorite of them both. By Joe Ide, narrated by Sullivan Jones \u2013Joe Ide is a master at conveying distinctive personalities and subcultures, and Sullivan Jones brings them vividly to life. In his newest book, Ide deftly weaves together his principal plotline and engaging subplots … Continue reading
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