By The Book is the 22nd main story mission in GTA V (Grand Theft Auto 5). This walkthrough shows how to get all Gold Medals in By The Book for 100% completion.
Gold Medal Requirements:
- Don’t Stop Me Now: Complete without Mr. K’s heart stopping
- Electrocutioner: Electrocute Mr. K
- The Tooth Hurts: Pull out Mr. K’s tooth
- Wrenched: Hit Mr. K with the wrench
- It’s Legal!: Use waterboarding on Mr. K
Walkthrough Video
Starting Location: By The Book
- Location: Anywhere
- Quest Giver: Steve Haines (phone call)
- Requirement: Complete “Three’s Company“
- Can Be Started By: Michael, Trevor
Go to the Warehouse
About 3-5 minutes after the end of “Three’s Company”, either Michael or Trevor will get a phone call from Steve Haines telling him to meet him at a warehouse in Banning. The mission will automatically begin. To save time, you can switch to the other character who is already at the warehouse. You’re in for a special treat if it’s Trevor. For your own sake, skip that cinematic.
Go to the House
In an effective division of labor Mike and Dave are going to a house in Rockford Hills to try and find an Azerbaijani named Tahir Kerimov, while Trevor is going to straight-up torture Mr. K to get details on how Kerimov can be identified. Unfortunately the first location is a dead end.
Torture Mr. K
Swapping back to Trevor, he will try to convince Mr. K to cough up some additional information on Kerimov. Unfortunately, meeting the Gold Medal requirements for this mission are entirely in Trevor’s hands:
- Don’t Stop Me Now: Complete without Mr. K’s heart stopping
- Wrenched: Hit Mr. K with the wrench
You will torture Mr. K four times, and to get the Gold Medal you will have to use a different method each time while being careful not to stop his heart. For safest progression, start with the wrench and a truly disturbing cinematic.
Go to Chumash
Mr. K “volunteers” a new location to check, sending Dave and Michael to Chumash to check it out. Head to the objective marker and you’ll set up with a sniper rifle on a hill overlooking the house.
Torture Mr. K Again
This time, use the pliers and rotate 
to wiggle the tooth out of his jaw. Do it quickly so it’s not a prolonged strain on his heart. This will get you the next Gold Medal requirement:
- The Tooth Hurts: Pull out Mr. K’s tooth
Find the Target
It looks like they’re having a party, and you’re going to crash it just as soon as you can identify Kerimov. Unfortunately there are a number of guests who could be Azerbaijani, so Michael is going to need more information. Switch to Trevor.
Torture Mr. K Again… Again
This time pick the jerry can, which apparently has water in it. I wonder if Trevor knew that it was water when he picked it. Anyhow, this will give you the third Gold Medal requirement.
- It’s Legal!: Use waterboarding on Mr. K
Now the important thing is to stop the second Steve Haines says to stop, to avoid stressing Mr. K beyond his limit. There is a very narrow margin for error so be ready for the order.
Find the Target (With a Beard)
It seems Kerimov has a beard, which narrows it down a little, but there are still six people with beards at the party. That’s a lot of collateral damage. Michael needs more. Switch to Trevor.
Torture Mr. K Again… Again… Again
Here’s the make or break for the Gold Medal:
- Electrocutioner: Electrocute Mr. K
Use the battery and cables to shock Mr. K, but again stop the instant Steve Haines says anything. It won’t take long, and afterward Mr. K will give up the important piece of intel that will set Kerimov apart from the other bearded bros. He’s a left-handed, chain smoker.
Find Kerimov
Look over the targets at the party one more time, and you’ll see that there’s only one man with a beard who chain smokes using his left hand. It will be this guy in the red shirt seen in the picture below. Punch his ticket.
Go to the Airport
With the job done, Steve Haines tells Trevor to take care of Mr. K. Trevor decides to interpret that differently, and takes him to the airport, telling him to flee the country. He stumbles away and falls down the stairs to complete the mission.
This finishes By The Book in GTA V.
For all other Missions refer to GTA V Walkthrough.
This walkthrough has been updated for the Enhanced Version on PC / PS5 / PS4 / Xbox Series S/X and is also still applicable to the Legacy version.
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