Back in June I stumbled across Joe Ide's The Goodbye Coast (see below).  I liked the style and the story but the central concept was badly misjudged.   Smoke, however, is one of his IQ series and is absolutely spot on in all regards: story, concept, character, style.   IQ Isaiah Quintable, genius detective of East Long Beach - or, in this case, was.   PTSD has overwhelmed him.   He has hit the road to anywhere, leaving friends, associates, and his lover behind.   Those linked people have clearly all been rounded out in preceding books and have stories of their own, which Ide rolls out alongside the main storyline.   Street hustler Dodson, for example, is taken on at an advertising agency and discovers talents he didn't know he had.   Dodson provides comic relief and is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny.

The main storyline is the hunt for the serial killer known as AMSAK.   We know from the outset that this is Crowe, currently on probation in Sacramento and burglaring on the instructions of his probation officer.   Crowe has had enough of this, turns the tables, and blackmails the PO into removing his ankle-tag and vouching for Crowe while Crowe takes off in search of victims.   What only becomes apparent during the book is that Crowes is killing in partnership with his half-brother Warren.   What neither of them know is that Ava, twin sister of their last victim, is on their trail, assisted by Billy the internet geek.

Smoke is full of layers and twists, all expertly handled by Ide.   The final twist , in the very last line, is stunning, a masterclass in how to handle a cliff-hanger to set up the next book in the series.