Thriller

Kalla's book about the search for a source of a highly dangerous fentanyl batch on the streets of Vancouver has a veracity that makes the story all the more real. If nothing else, it will educate those who need to know how dangerous this drug is, if they didn't know already. I thoroughly enjoyed the story which was interesting, not preachy, and the characters were all credible. The only good thing that has come out of the crisis is that there have been more organs donated making organ wait lists the shortest they have ever been.

The author is an emergency physician in Vancouver so knows what he's talking about. ( )

This was a quick read with short chapters and an unsophisticated writing style. It explained a lot of (too many?) medical terms and procedures, but otherwise moved at fast pace. The depiction of the whole array of people involved in the supply of opioids and the wide variety of customers, was well done and informative. However, I did struggle a bit with the enormous number of characters, many of whom died shortly after being introduced.

A sad and gently hopeless book, which humanized addicts and even drug dealers and at least reminds the reader that there are people who care about the problem, even if they have no easy answers. ( )

There is a certain eerie element to this tale in that it seems like something that is coming right out of the newspaper headlines in real time. With the escalation of deaths attributed to Opioids, the concept of a lethal, tainted batch of Fentanyl making it onto the streets isn’t so far off. Set in Vancouver, Canada, ER doctor Julie Rees has seen a lot in her life. She herself is a recovering Opioid addict who lost her fiancé to an overdose. Living with her guilt she feels compelled to do all she can to save the lives of addicts who come into her ER. She is unprepared for an accidental overdose that brings multiple teenagers into her ER. Unlike other Opioid cases, this unfortunate group of teens are succumbing at an alarming rate. They are only the beginning as it becomes apparent that a particularly deadly batch of Fentanyl is on the streets. Julie joins her friend, Detective Anson Chen, in the investigation. With many powerful drug sellers in the game, who would have the motivation to release a deadly batch of Fentanyl? Like I said this story has a real life vibe to it, which is also bolstered by the author’s obvious experience in the medical field. This is a story that has a little bit of everything. A little romance, a multidimensional look into the drug world, excitement, and a touch of sadness for all the lives affected by these insidious drugs. Any one of them, while they are fictional could stand in and represent a real life cut short. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed the Last High for two reasons. Firstly, I’ve visited Vancouver and I enjoyed picturing areas of the city that I’d actually been to and secondly because my son is a paramedic in Toronto who speaks openly and often about the fentanyl crisis so I enjoyed reading about the seriousness of the problem written by an ER doctor. I know this is a work of fiction but a lot of it had the ring of truth. ( )