This review of Smoke was originally published on NetGalley at this link https://www.netgalley.com/book/215956/review/670189.

The fifth instalment of Joe Ide’s acclaimed IQ series finds the eponymous hero Isaiah Quantabe—Holmes of the 'Hood—at his lowest. He is on the run, leaving even the love of his life behind, from multiple people and gangs desperate to kill him. He just wants to find a little peace, far away from the chaos brought on by his profession that he no longer plans to continue. He has severe panic attacks due to the PTSD he contracted thanks to the traumatic events of his past adventures. But, the trouble with trouble is that it never goes away, and Isaiah promptly finds himself amidst a plot involving deadly, deranged serial killers, and some serious misunderstanding that pits him against the law enforcement itself.

Back home, those who want his life are trying to get to him through Grace, his girl who may no longer be his girl. Isaiah’s associate and friend Dodson—the hustler’s hustler—gets an ultimatum from his wife to mend his ways and start earning a decent living or move out of her house and her life. Another of Isaiah's friends, Deronda, a prominent entrepreneur with an unflattering past has a trouble that may destroy her reputation in addition to eating away her hard earned wealth.

Smoke is the heady concoction of all these stories, some very connected and some loosely so to the main plot concerning Isaiah. All the tracks are entertainingly narrated in the characteristic language of the street, or the ‘hood, that this series is renowned for. With minimum of words, Ide brings his eccentric, messed up characters and their actions and motivations to life. The dialogues are crisp and amusing. In addition to being a thriller with plenty of action and suspense, it also is a window into the life of the underprivileged who, amidst poverty, drug addiction and violence, try to lead a dignified life.

This was my first taste of the IQ series and I am impressed enough to read more. I don’t know how the other books are structured but the different tracks of this episode felt disjointed to me. In fact, Dodson’s exploits form a sizeable chunk of this novel and, though hugely enjoyable, they do not add much to IQ’s story. Maybe this is due to my starting this series late and I think I need to start from the start to become better oriented. Ide ends Smoke with a cliff-hanger which makes reading the next episode mandatory, so bring it out already!

My gratitude to the author, publishers and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. ( )

This book is the least favorite of the Joe Ide books that I have read. The women with the multiple personalities is not a compelling plot. It's not realistic. I did not identify with her or the people involved with her as being realistic or likeable/interesting. The IQ character continues to interest. It's just that I didn't care if he solved the case or not.

Another chapter- not the best, but t had good moments. ( )

Would've been 5 stars if it wasn't for the cliffhanger ending which just didn't work for me. It's not that I object to cliffhangers, but this one seemed so unnecessary. Ide has created a great group of characters, a living tapestry of East LA residents, each and every one of them very real and complex. The ending seemed like something an insecure writer would do, but nothing in his plotting, his dialogue, his vast cast of characters seems the work of someone lacking confidence.

Mr. Ide: you didn't need a cliffhanger to keep us coming back. ( )

IQ is on the run - he has just about every gang faction in LA after him and he needs to lie low. He heads into Northern California and won't tell any of his friends where he is. However trouble just seems to find him and this time he runs into two serial killers. Meanwhile in LA Dodson is pushed into taking a white-collar internship, he proves to be a genius at advertising but the 'Hood still calls. Deronda is facing the loss of her reputation when her purported 'baby daddy' tries to blackmail her.
There are so many strands to the IQ novels that a new reader must start at the beginning to see how the lives of the protagonists link and intertwine. Each narrative in this book is different and yet they all work so well together. There is humour, violence and pathos on every page, enough heart-pounding action to keep the thriller fan happy but also enough intelligent plotting to satisfy high literature. Joe Ide is a great writer! ( )