About Joe Ide

Joe Ide is of Japanese American descent. He grew up in South Central Los Angeles, an economically depressed area with a largely black population. Gangs and street crime were rampant. Like a lot of kids, Joe wanted to belong and his speech, style, musical tastes and attitudes reflected the neighborhood.

His favorite books were the Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories. That a person could make his way in the world and vanquish his enemies with just his intelligence fascinated him.

Eventually, he went on to university and received a graduate degree in education. He worked as a school teacher, a college lecturer, a corporate middle manager and director of an NGO that offered paralegal services and emergency shelter to abused women and children. He went on to write screenplays for a number of major studios but none of the projects came to fruition.

It was then he decided to write his debut novel, IQ, about an unlicensed, underground detective; a character inspired by his early experiences and love of Sherlock Holmes.

Joe lives in Santa Monica, California, with his wife and Golden Retriever, Gusto.