I enjoyed this book, especially being from Vancouver. So much was familiar and the epidemic of drug abuse was portrayed really well. I liked looking at this from a doctor's point of view. The characters were good and I'm sure will get better with future installments.

Warning: there a lot of characters in this book. But I wouldn’t say that’s a downside!

This crime thriller read like an intertwining puzzle much like you’d see in most popular crime shows such as CSI or Law and Order. The way the thriller was written really kept you wanting to read further! I think my only difficulty was the fact that there were a good amount of characters that perhaps only had a tiny bit of “page time” due to the storyline.

Also, this book is set in Canada (Vancouver to be exact), and I was not aware of the way fentanyl is handled in that region. I’m from the US. So that was sort of a learning curve and I wish I had researched more about it before reading. But not knowing did not effect the reading experience. You learn about it as you read.

Overall, an enjoyable reading experience for any crime or thriller reader.

This was a fairly standard thriller, kind of like something James Patterson might have published -- the prose is not very engaging and some of the characters engage in super unethical behaviour but are still portrayed as the hero/protagonist. The author obviously knows medicine very well and the ER scenes seem very realistic. (The characters do spread the urban legend that you can overdose on some powerful opioids just by skin contact with the powdered form though.) Also it's very clearly set in Vancouver (except St. Paul's is called St. Michael's) and there's a ton of accurate local colour, which I enjoyed (one or two of the characters even graduated from the university I work at). Several viewpoint characters pop up for just a short chapter or two, but most of them kind of feel like the same voice. It does bring the focus on the epidemic of opioid overdoses here in BC though, which I also think is a good thing.

Mystery | 16-Adult
I’ve always enjoyed medical thrillers, devouring Robin Cook’s Coma in my mid-teens; annoying my surgeon who discovered a Michael Palmer novel on my bed during recovery; and now, Daniel Kalla, who first wowed me with Pandemic (yup!) some 15 years ago. His work is imbued with realism and authenticity as he works as an ER doctor in downtown Vancouver’s St Paul’s Hospital, and that comes through in spades in this new book drawn from the real-life opioid crisis that plagues our nation’s streets, still killing more people than the current Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Julie Rees is a Vancouver ER doctor who also works for the Poison Control Centre. Both roles come into play as she first deals with a group of five teens from the same party who are rushed into emergency from drug overdoses, only two of them still alive.
She fights hard to save one in particular, putting her on a heart-lung bypass even though it’s obviously too late. That decision is driven by her own tragic loss of a loved one to street opioids, but it leads a superior to call for a formal review as it violates hospital protocol. Despite this looming threat, Julie joins forces with Det. Anson Chen to find out the source of the deadly drug as more cases and bodies pile up. Their work takes them to the needle-littered streets of the downtown east side as well as the tony mansions of the ultra-rich in Vancouver. This book takes a critical look at the heartless and limitless greed that drives the illegal drug industry, though Kalla’s approach to drug users and their stories is mostly quite compassionate. There is some description of torture and violence, but generally this is a mainstream look at an oft-ignored issue. Good pacing, realistic medical situations and authentic dialogue all help to lift this into an interesting story, though the characters aren’t as well developed as I’d like, and an annoying romantic thread adds little to the storyline. Local friends can find an e-version to borrow from the Grand Forks (B.C.) & District Public Library. My thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49521599

Let me start off by saying INCREDIBLE! I love a good medical thriller and I enjoyed this from start to finish.

The Last High is exciting, thrilling and realistic.

In Vancouver, B.C., Dr. Julie Rees has a lot on her plate with a surge of overdoses in her ER. Together with Detective Anson Chen, she must work quickly to figure out the source of the deadly drug before it’s distributed any further.

The chemistry between Julie and Anson is a great addition to all the mystery and fast paced action going on. The flirtation mixed in with such a serious story adds a bit of lightness and realness to their characters.

This novel has quite the mix of secondary characters, from professionals and unsuspecting teenagers using drugs, to a dealer in love with a junky. It’s eye opening realizing how many levels of people are involved in the drug trade and on the medical and legal side of it.

In depth and believable characters and a well researched idea on an intriguing topic.

I will definitely be checking out more from author Daniel Kalla!

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Last High by Daniel Kalla.

In this detective drama, a doctor and detective team up in order to uncover why there is a new influx of teenage overdoses. These kids are not drug users, and they're all overdosing at once.

This is a case of "it's not you, it's me." Sometimes you just don't gel with a book. The character development was good, I always enjoy a story with a character who has a past. The mystery started off intriguing. But I just could not sink my teeth into it. Maybe there were too many side stories/characters? Either way, I made it about halfway and then put it down.

The Last High is the first book written by Daniel Kalla that I read, and I really enjoyed the investigative suspense story. It is unfortunately a timely read as the opioid crisis in both Canada (where the story is based) and the US endangers the lives of many. Dr. Julie Rees, both an ER Physician and a toxicologist working with poison control, joins forces with Detective Anson Chen to find the culprits behind the number of people overdosing because of the deadly drug carfentanil most often resulting in death. The story shows the level of involvement and hierarchy in the illegal drug business., as well as the personal heartbreak for loved ones of the victims. The camaraderie between Julie and Anson was a fun side of their working together, adding in a couple of other more serious encounters with other detectives kept the theme of the book carrying throughout the book. I believe the fact that the author is also an ER physician helps with the realistic nature of the story-telling. Thanks to NetGAlley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to review an ARC of this book in return for an honest review, which this has been. #NetGalley. #TheLastHigh

Drugs are bad. I know this, having read countless medical thrillers. But this book brings that fact to life by giving us characters we like and care about. The heros of this story are not perfect, the female protagonist is a doctor who has a troubled past with drugs. This makes her more human and more believable. There is a large cast of characters, but it is easy to keep them apart. Some we care about more than others. The deadly drug cuts a wide path of victims, from high schoolers to lawyers. In the end good prevails, but the story shows how easily it would be to die from not knowing what is in something you are taking.
I really enjoyed this book. I am going to go look for another by Daniel Kalla. Thanks to Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. More like this please!!

exciting thriller - i loved the fact that this was medicine-related and had a great cover

I love the title as well

The Last High refers to the result a person experiences when taking a drug that has been tainted to a lethal level. In this book, Daniel Kalla writes about the synthetic opioid crisis set in Vancouver, British Columbia. The characters range from the medical professionals trying to save the lives of the users to the dealers and police personnel who are always on the hunt. The characters are very realistic and the topic is timely. The pace of the book is fast and the story line is issue-oriented.
My only critique would be a brief addition of unnecessary political bias, which didn't fit within an otherwise engaging story.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Dr. Julie Rees is an ER doctor and a toxicologist who along with Detective Anson Chen are investigating a large number of drug overdoses that are resulting in an increase of fatalities.
This book is a great look into the opioid crisis and the people from all walks of life that are affected. Full of fast paced action, danger and even a little romance. The characters are fully developed and engaging.
Any book that has Daniel Kalla's name on it, is one that I will immediately grab, without reading the summary because he is a proven storyteller sure to delight any reader looking for a great way to spend a few hours.

I loved this book. Never having read this author in the past, was not sure how I'd like it..but it was a great read! Very relevant to today's fentanyl crisis. I particularly liked the Canadian content and the medical drama.

Why are people dropping dead like flies? Apparently, there is a drug, carfentenal, circulatiing the streets of Vancouver. Join Julie, an emergency room doctor and toxicologist, as she works with the Vancouver Police Department's detectives Theo and Anson to solve where this drug is coming from and how to stop it. Excellent read that keeps you going right from page 1.

Entertaining if somewhat predictable. I learned quite a bit about the fentanyl problem in Vancouver. For that alone it's worth a read. But somewhat unrealistic esp. in how a civilian was so involved in law enforcement matters, such as going on takedowns.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

I read this as an ARC and thoroughly appreciated it.
Kalla, of course, knows his stuff about Vancouver's opioid crisis from his ER perspective. I can't comment on the police perspective, but it felt very real to me.
The book has it all — action, violence, trauma, mystery, and a touch of romance.
The characters are believable and well-differentiated. tension and pacing mean that readers will not be able to put The Last High down.
Highly recommended.

Being a nurse, the medical thriller genre is one of my absolute favorites. I have read several of this author's books and was very much looking forward to this one. The main character, while flawed, was a smart, interesting doctor. She teams up with a detective to find the people responsible for the deaths of many people in the city. The book was well written but the ending was just a let down to me. It was predictable and not very satisfying. Although I didn't enjoy this one as much as his other books, I will be looking for his next publication.

* I received The Last High by Daniel Kalla from NetGalley for my honest review*

The Last High by Daniel Kalla is a thriller about a new and deadly drug strand that hits the streets of Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Julie Rees is haunted by her own past with addiction. Still, her history pushes her into becoming an ER doctor and a toxicologist with Poison Control. After a group of teenagers overdosed, her unique skills leads her to assist Detective Anson Chen to find the source of the drug nicknamed “The Last High”.

The best part of this novel was the sympathetic take on drug addiction. Kalla was very careful to portray the addicts as victims of a disease. In the story, we see the suffering of victims and her families. The narrator tells the reader about the forgotten epidemic of addiction that steals the lives of people’s children, siblings and partners. Kalla is skilled in showing the tragedy of a society fails addicts.

The Last High has a diverse cast of characters of various backgrounds. I appreciated the rich cast of characters. However, there were a couple of awkward racial moments. For instance, in one scene, the narrator describes a character as a “darker man.” This is a pet peeve of mine when author used darker to mean a POC or person with brown skin. It does not tell the reader what the person looks like or what their ethnicity is. With that said, most of the writing around POC was well done.

Kalla writes complex characters even with the “bad guys.” With that said, I think the novel has too many point of view characters. I think all the different characters and POVs took away from really getting to know the characters. For example, Anson, the love interest of Dr. Rees, isn’t a POV character. I wanted more about his life to be invested in their relationship.

The various POVs slowed the pacing of the story. The story started off with a big dramatic scene, but after that it dragged for me until I got to the second half of the novel.

The novel was very informative about addiction in Canada. However, sometimes the dialogue felt unnatural as the characters tried to explain addiction or medical terminology.

I loved the mystery angle of The Last High. There were a lot of interesting questions such as What is this drug? Was this an accident or mass murder? I think people who like medical drama or slow burn thrillers will enjoy this book a lot.

I give The Last High 3.5 out 5 stars. I liked the plot and the clearly well researched insight into the world of addiction in Vancouver. I appreciated how addiction was treated respectfully. The main character, Dr. Reese, was very relatable. But the pacing was a little slow and various POV took away from the main characters’ development. I will definitely read more from Daniel Kalla. I am particularly interested in his book “Pandemic” for timely reasons.

The Last High by Daniel Kalla is a very interesting account of one of the biggest epidemics of our time, opioid abuse.

Dr. Julie Rees it's a DR doctor and toxicologist who is working at the hospital when a group of teens are brought in, believed to be od'd on fentanyl. Detective Anson Chen is the detective called in to investigate. Together Julie and Anson discover something worse has happened and work to find out how and why, along with who is responsible.

As someone who has experienced opioid addiction's destruction firsthand, I found this book both tragic and informative in a easy to understand format that made me want to keep turning the pages. It kept me engrossed till the end.

I recommend this mystery thriller to everyone.

I would like to thank #NetGalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions!

Disturbing And Frightening Medical Thriller!

Dr. Julie Rees an emergency room doctor who also happens to be a toxocologist is working the night shift when a call suddenly comes through with five teens on the way to the hospital who are not breathing and they all attended the same party. The first assumption is opioid drug overdose but how could they take out the kids so quickly all at one time. Julie struggles to save these kids because she understands the heartbreaking pain of losing a loved one to drug overdose. Soon after, detectives arrive to assess the dire situation and Julie happens to be friends with Detective Chen and he needs her expertise in these cases as the calls to the er continue to come through with more people not breathing and drug paraphernalia by their side and the standard medical reversal drug naloxone given by the paramedics is not working on these victims of drug poisoning. Julie and Detective Chen will team up to try to find the dealer and distributor of this poison before it travels out of the city it hasn't done so already. In the meantime bodies keep dropping and time is of the essence before this becomes a worldwide pandemic.

What a timely and very disturbing story of the opioid crisis that America has been facing for quite awhile. This book has taken on an important and authentic subject matter that is filled with suspense and excitement. This book was so well-written that I couldn't stop reading fast enough and put everything else aside because there was so much thrilling action going on and I was so pumped up with adrenaline that I needed to read and not sleep until I finished this book. Daniel Kalla did wonderful research for this story and he is terrific writer. This is my first time reading a book by him but it certainly won't be my last. I am so pleased to have found this incredible book to read. If anyone is interested in the drug epidemic happening out there or just wants to read a very realistic medical thriller, please don't hesitate to pick this book up. The author did an amazing job with the subject matter and the believability of what could really happen to any family in America.

I want to thank the publisher " Simon And Shuster" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this terrific story and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I highly recommend this thrilling book and have given a rating of 5 Sinister And Toxic 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Stars!!

Thank you Netgalley, Simon & Schuster Canada and Daniel Kalla.
Well written medical thriller set in Vancouver British Columbia amidst the opioid crisis.
Well researched topic, fast paced, fast read.
Enjoyable characters and I surely hope the author will write a sequel.
This was my first read from this author and truly loved it.
Highly recommend. 4 stars.