Smoke

Installment. Some novelists who present books with recurring characters build stand-alone pieces that are enhanced for those fans who read every installment. I found that the fifth novel by Joe Ide featuring private detective Isaiah Quintabe titled, Smoke, feels like a middle piece in a set: you really need to understand what came before and know that something else will need to follow. I’ve enjoyed this series, especially protagonist I.Q., and was entertained by the expanded cast of characters in this novel. First time readers may want to be introduced to I.Q. through the earlier novels in this series. In the current installment, I.Q. is on the run from something that happened in the last novel, so his profile abides more in the shadows than on the center stage in this entertaining crime novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Smoke from amazon.com.