Smoke

Police in East Long Beach, California, struggle to keep pace with the area's violence. Many killings go unsolved, and children who disappear are not always recovered. Filling that gap is a local man who has taken on the cases that officers either cannot pursue or will not.

Isaiah Quintabe left high school without finishing, and his quiet manner hides a sharp mind. People call him IQ. Word has spread that anyone with a problem can bring it to him, and his fees depend on what each client can pay, even if that is nothing.

This is the fifth novel in the IQ series. The familiar cast returns, along with the fast action readers expect, and the story ends with a turn that the hero does not see coming.