When you’re investigating a murder, it’s often hard to tell who is telling the truth. Especially when one of the witnesses, who is also your client, has multiple personalities.

Isaiah Quintabe, known as IQ, is an unlicensed private investigator living in East Long Beach, California, who is forced into trying to help Christiana Byrne, the daughter of the biggest arms dealer on the West Coast, when she is accused of killing a man in her clothing shop. Used to helping neighbors find kidnapped dogs or stolen violins, he has no choice but to use his wits to try to solve the mystery if he wants to save those he loves. Unfortunately, none of Christiana’s personalities saw the crime, and not all of them are willing to cooperate.

While the murder is the catalyst of the story, Hi Five is far deeper than a whodunit. Relationships are at the heart of this book, from the awkward friendship between IQ and Dodson, a former gangster, to the complex and heart-wrenching love triangle of IQ and Stella, his current girlfriend, and Grace, the woman he’s never stopped loving.

Add to this an extremely nasty arms dealer who now wants to protect his daughter after causing the trauma that resulted in her shattered psyche, and even the most complicated murder seems easier to unravel than the bonds that tie people together.

While there is violence and action galore, the story also has unexpected moments of sweetness. Against a backdrop of racism, gunrunning, child abuse, and more, there is still hope that doing the right thing—no matter how late—may ultimately lead to redemption.