Daniel Kalla | THE LAST HIGH

Plot (via Goodreads):

Dr. Julie Rees, a toxicologist and ER doctor, is stunned when her emergency room is flooded with teenagers from the same party, all on the verge of death. Julie knows the world of opioids inside and out, and she recognizes that there’s nothing typical about these cases. She suspects the teens took—or were given—fentanyl. But why did they succumb so quickly?

Detective Anson Chen is determined to find out. He and Julie race to track down the supplier of the deadly drugs. But the trail of suspects leads everywhere, from unscrupulous street dealers to ruthless gang leaders who hide behind legitimate business fronts and the walls of their mansions.

As Anson and Julie follow clues through the drug underworld, Julie finds herself haunted by memories of her troubled past—and the lover she lost to addiction. When other overdoses fill the ER—and the morgue—Julie realizes that something even more sinister than the ongoing fentanyl crisis is devastating the streets. And the body count is rapidly rising.

A gripping thriller, The Last High explores the perfect storm of greed, addiction, and crime behind the malignant spread of fentanyl, a deadly drug that is killing people faster than any known epidemic.

Review:

The Last High is a striking and brilliant novel combining a medical thriller and a police procedural regarding the opioid crisis in Vancouver. This novel was so well-written, I am immediately considering Daniel Kalla a go-to author for me. I loved his eerie and feverish opening and I loved the pacing to this story. The characters were so perfect for this story and written so vividly. I would consider this to be the "Crash" of literature regarding this crisis as the story features so many different characters that have different roles in this story.

There were a ton of characters in this one, but each and everyone of them had such a key role in this immersive and harrowing story. I loved how Kalla was able to play on each of these roles and make every single character so important to the story and he really used each character to his advantage in telling this story. It was harrowing, mesmerizing, and effective. I loved Kalla's way of telling this story and how he was really knowledgeable regarding the medical aspect, the police aspect, and the user/dealer aspects. Never have I found a thriller this thought-provoking and eye-opening regarding something that is unfortunately a huge epidemic in our world.

If you want a compelling and immersive read that really gives light to how this crisis effects the entire world and how dangerous it is. This was a gripping read that is unsettling and emotionally-charged, yet thrilling and sensationally paced. If you're looking for something informative as well as captivating, I could not recommend this one enough.

Special thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5