Title: Hi Five.
Series: IQ #4.
Writer(s): Joe Ide.
Publisher: Mulholland Books.
Format: Advance Review Copy.
Release Date: January 28th, 2020.
Pages: 352.
Genre(s): Mystery, Crime.
ISBN13: 9780316509534.
My Overall Rating: ★★★★☆.
Previously in the IQ series:
IQ by Joe Ide.
Righteous by Joe Ide.
Wrecked by Joe Ide.
Man is unreliable. We might believe that there is no creature with a better mind to gobble up knowledge and spread it to others than humans but the mind itself is as tricky as it can ever get. Not only are our cognitive processes so complex and flawed that it can be tricked to believe things that do not exist but our memory is a leaking tank, all this without taking into account mental disorders. Now imagine if your mind wasn’t simply a single entity but one with multiple compartments. Imagine if each compartment wasn’t always accessible as well. Imagine if you were not one person but five. Author Joe Ide continues to expand his detective series with a fourth installment that presents his Afro-American protagonist with a rare and complex situation where the only witness to a crime is actually five.
What is Hi Five about? Private investigator Isaiah Quintabe, also known as IQ, returns to the scene, this time unwillingly, as Angus Byrne, the biggest arms dealer on the West Coast, blackmails him into solving a case involving his daughter Christiana who remains the sole witness to the shooting murder of an employee of her father. Unfortunately for Isaiah Quintabe, Angus Byrne wouldn’t mind threatening the life of his new girlfriend if he doesn’t solve this case as soon as possible. The tricky part in all this is that Christiana isn’t like any other woman as he discovers that she has multiple personalities, specifically five: Pearl, Bertrand, Marlene, Jasper, and Christiana. With each of them having exclusive knowledge on the events that unfolded in her very shop, it’s up to Isaiah Quintabe and his buddies to find the answers they so desperately seek before it’s too late.
Cleverly putting a character with multiple personalities at the center of the mystery was a bold move that made for an exciting and entertaining adventure. Author Joe Ide succeeds in turning Christiana’s character into a living enigma and masterfully conveys her transformation from one alter to another throughout the story. Although Isaiah Quintabe might be one of the smartest dudes in East Long Beach, California, he’s quickly caught off guard by this situation but doesn’t shy away from his witty and versatile ways as he shows his cleverness throughout this quagmire. Although the multiple personalities do bring into play a much more comedic tone to the story, the story isn’t hollow of heavier themes, especially those that look into characters’ relationships and their tough decision-making predicaments.
With both familiar and new characters tossed into the mix, the story doesn’t, however, revolve only around this mystery as it also incorporates multiple subplots that help deepen the characterization of countless characters—although this might also be its greatest flaw as it struggles to maintain a truly addictive pacing. Amongst these personas is Isaiah Quitabe’s once-sidekick Juanell Dodson—who used to play a role akin to Watson for Sherlock—who goes through a tough time as an individual within society and as a family man. One of the greatest fortes of this series does lie in the banter that is hilarious beyond understanding and is often circumscribed within a hood-level dialect. It would be a lie to not mention the number of times these characters would zestfully disrespect each other without any restraints. To put it simply, author Joe Ide draws his characters with near perfection for his detective series and makes them somehow relatable despite their peculiar socioeconomic statuses.
Hi Five is an engrossing mystery with new and old faces set in author Joe Ide’s IQ detective series and focuses on a witness with multiple personalities.
Thank you to Hachette Book Group Canada for sending me a copy for review!
Roars and Echoes 
This is waiting for me at the library, am tempted to call in sick so I can spend a day with it 🙂
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Awww ye! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! I do wonder if Joe Ide will write more books in this series or try something else next.
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I’m game for either. Just happy if his voice is out there.
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I can’t wait to read this one. Great review, Lashaan!
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Hope you enjoy it, Paul! Thank you so much for reading. 😀
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This sounds like something I’d enjoy. And I love that cover! Thanks for your review!
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It’s loads of fun and nice series to pick up in between all the awesome SFF books we pick up! 😉 Thanks for reading, Tammy! 😀
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Every time you review one of these I think “huh, that sounds interesting” but then I never do anything about it. Maybe once the author abandons the series or wraps it up I might give it a whirl…
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I still remember you saying on the review of the previous book that you’d be interested in this if it had an ending too hahhah So far it just seems like an episodic series but they haven’t yet announced if a 5th book is in the works right now though!
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Well, this sounds very intriguing indeed! I particularly like the concept of multiple personalities each possessing a piece of the puzzle to be solved, and I wonder how much this element complicates the whole plot. Fascinating…. 😉
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Right? It’s a fun idea to integrate in a mystery series, although it almost feels like it’s too coincidental for someone with such a personality to find herself in such a situation too hahaha Thanks for reading, Maddalena! 😀
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Goodness me, five different personalities! Nope, can’t even imagine what that must be like, personally I can just about master one personality on a good day 😉 . Sounds like the author has found a good balance between captivating storytelling and a humorous tone. Excellent review!
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Hahahahaa I’m with you there. Although, to some extent, I praise TALENTED actors–I emphasize on talented–who can put up a different personality whenever they want! It must be pretty cool to be so good at being fake. It is indeed a great series and this one reminded me why it was fun to follow the adventures of IQ and Dodson! 😀 Thanks for reading!
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I’m not familiar with Joe Ide, so thanks for introducing me. I like the sound of this one. It’s funny, when you were talking about having multiple compartments I couldn’t help but remember growing up when my brother always said he had multiple compartments in his stomach, and that dessert compartment just ALWAYS seemed to have room left in it, no matter how large dinner had been. 🙂
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Hahahaahahaha it’s such a dude logic thing. It now made me think of the famous “nothing” box that only guys have and use to space out! 😛 Glad to introduce this author and his series to you though. Thank you for reading, Todd! 😀
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This is a series I’m tempted to start 🙂
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That’s so cool to hear! I always wonder how YOU would react to series like these hahah What’s the last mystery/thriller you actually read by the way? 😮
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Ian Rankin, Knots and Crosses, last year. Before that, mostly Nesbo, and before that, classics: Conan Doyle and Christie 😉
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Ahhh Nesbo was on my TBR for years now. I need to get my hands on a copy of The Bat. 😀
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It sounds great! The character with 5 personalities must be super interesting! I’ve never read work of fiction with this mental disorder but I’m sure it makes a great plot if it’s used correctly 😊 Also, the fact that the title of the 4th volume is “Hi FIVE” is so confusing 😞
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And yes, I do think that a psychiatrist would find this ridiculous to some extent but since it’s fiction, it’s quite fun hahah
I completely agree. I didn’t like that he didn’t try to keep this story for a 5th book instead tooooo! 😦
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Hahahah I guess the “five” is for the number of personalities so he could’ve done a character with only four personalities 😂
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Exactly. Although five personalities sounds better than four for some reason! 😛
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