This book felt vary confusing from the beginning. I didn’t read book one on the series so I felt like maybe I missed something?

There is a lot of action and it’s a wild ride, but at the same time there was so much going on I felt like it lacked character depth and the flow felt off.

Unfortunately, this book just was not for me. I did not enjoy the alter ego aspect of this and it just felt so outside of the realm of what I normally like to read. This was 100% my fault for not fully reading the synopsis.

Honestly I didn’t really like this book. I was so lost throughout the book. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t. It wasn’t for me

Joel Shulkin MD is a new-to-me author. Cristina has voices in her head. Literally. She’s lost some of her memories and has others that aren’t her own. She’s not sure who to trust. An action-packed thriller with twists, turns, danger, suspense, and more.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cristina has created a memory recovering drug and as she understands what it's like to lose your memory we follow her on a dangerous journey as an assassin is going after people involved in the memory recovering pharmaceutical company.
I was thrilled that there is two story line's in this and that they connect in the end. The police procedural story line I felt was particularly gripping. Once again the characters are complex and hard to keep track of. But I loved that this book had it all action,mystery, suspense,sci-fi, thrills and even a little romance.
A fast paced thriller that will keep you on your toes and guessing until the very end.

The twists and turns never stop in this story! Just when you think you have figured out who is who- you find out how wrong you are!
Dr. Christina Silva is back, still trying to sort out who she really is, and deal with the missing memories and the mental passenger she is carrying thanks to ZeroDark. Her new job may be a way to help her recover some of those memories- or it may bring her even closer to a person determined to kill her.
Filled with complex characters, lots of twists and turns and new mysteries for every partial answer, this book is almost impossible to put down once started!
A must read if you truly like fact paced mysteries that keep you constantly guessing!

Toxic Effects is the second book in the Memory Thieves series, but I didn't read the first one. I felt like the author did a good job at explaining any information the reader may have missed.

We follow the main character, Christina who has created a memory-recovering drug, a project that is very near and dear to her heart because she has experienced memory loss herself. She quickly realizes that there is an assassin that is going after people that were involved in that memory recovering pharmaceutical company, so she realizes she is in danger.

This book was so fast paced, I felt like I was watching an action movie.

*Thank you to Blackstone Publishing, Joel Shulkin MD, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Previously published at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/toxic-effects/

“Our memory is a more perfect world than the universe: it gives back life to those who no longer exist.”

― Guy de Maupassant

When starting a book, I will normally check if it is a series. In books such as Toxic Effects , it is necessary to read the first book without being completely lost. There is a lot of back-story in the first book which explains why Cristina Silva, our protagonist, has the memories of two different people. There is so much story we miss without reading the first book, that I will do something I normally do and suggest you read the first book first as you may end up being lost like I was. Even without reading the first book, Joel Shulkin’s sophomore novel is an interesting and somewhat unbelievable mystery about those who have memories of multiple people and those who are having their memories taken away repeatedly. There are two separate storylines that don’t connect until the very end, but I will say the last 30 pages are the most suspenseful in the book.

When Cristina Silva begins her new position at Longwood Memory Center, assisting a Dr. Campbell with a memory study, She receives a telephone call from an FBI contact, that an unknown assassin is killing her old co-workers from the pharmaceutical company, Remind, that has now been shut down. Her contact believes it could be someone from Zero Dark, a criminal enterprise. Dama Branca, the female assassin, is one that had her memory stolen from Zero Dark, and is now targeting Cristina, though she is unsure why she could not kill her.

Gary Wilson, Cristina’s ex-lover, is a detective investigating the death of several teens after taking a memory enhancing drug, made in a specialized pharmacy. The three teens who have passed, all acted bizarrely in the days before their death, their only link being this memory pill, though Wilson is unsure how they were able to get the drug. They all speak of Sack Man before their deaths. Reggie Horne, the one connection to all of them that is still alive, describes Sack Man as a hooded boogeyman. Wilson realizes that Reggie’s connection may make him the next casualty and he vows to help him.

Though described as a medical thriller, Toxic Effects is much more action than medical, though I found the medical pieces interesting. But it is complex and not a light read, the reader must pay attention as there is so much to miss. But this novel mixes sci-fi, a little romance, medical mysteries while creating a memorable heroine and villain, who have the same memories. This is not my usual genre, but I enjoyed this very much and found the characters well-layered and relatable.

I rated this book a 2 1/2 ⭐ but rounded to 3 ⭐ because I liked this book more than I didn't . At times I was feeling semi lost & that I'm sure has to do with I haven't read book 1 in the series . I felt ALOT was going on .
This book gave me a Firestarter vibe .
The cat Griz was a nice touch. Everyone loves a cute animal.
Wilson & Hawkins we're prob my 2 favorites especially together.

Thank you for the advanced copy 🖤

Dr. Cristina Silva is a neuropsychiatrist who struggles with her memories and the voice in her head. Her alter ego, Sabrina Carvalho and Christina often debate their actions from opposing points of view. Confused? So is Cristina as flashes of old memories break through her lapses. She begins work at Longwood Memory Center, and is there only a short time before her FBI contact calls. He has the disturbing news that an assassin is traveling the country (Christina calls Boston her home now) killing everyone associated with ReMind, her former employer, backed by the evil criminal operation known as ZeroDark. In fact, the assassin goes by the name Dama Branca (D.B.) and hesitates to assassinate Cristina, with whom she feels some sort of an affinity. D.B. has her own memory defects; she and Cristina were both the victims of memory tampering by ZeroDark. In the meantime, Cristina’s ex, Wilson (whom she still loves), has his hands full as the detective investigating the mysterious deaths of local teenaged boys. All of them were reported to have shown very erratic behavior before they died, and there are whispers that were all terrified of a man wearing a hood called “Sack Man.” Both Wilson and Cristina are in grave danger, and must work together to try to unlock Cristina’s memories—lives including hers are at stake.

This book was terrifying. No, it was not just because it was a thriller, but because people were used as test subjects for evil ends. Minds were tampered with, superimposing memories that did not belong to them to do criminals’ bidding. People who know they are not who they were told they are, memory breakthroughs, alter-egos, victims injected with some type of poison which inflicted bizarre behavior—it makes me shudder. Dr. Shulkin is a fabulous author who has clearly done research as a developmental and behavioral pediatrician but also police procedurals. The book was action-packed throughout, making it a page-turning, nail-biting success. I’m sorry I didn’t read “Adverse Effects,” Book 1 of the series, but I did feel “Toxic Effects” could be read as a stand-alone novel.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Joel Shulkin, M.D., and Blackstone Publishing for allowing me to read and review this ARC.

Toxic Effects is more than just a medical thriller. As you would expect there is a heavy focus on what is going on in Cristina Silva’s cranium, but in the second book in the series more attention is paid to Detective Wilson as he tries to solve a series of murders. With complex and intertwining plotlines, there is more than enough intrigue to keep readers guessing until the very end.

I am not a big medical thriller fan, but as someone who reads a ton of police procedurals I enjoyed this blending of the two. With multiple personalities, memory gaps, stolen identities, and killers running amok, this is not your typical medical thriller and a nice change up to the typical detective stories.

This is not what I was expecting when I first saw the title and the author but I wasn't disappointed! It was definitely suspenseful which is what I'm usually looking for in a read. I am just so tired of police detectives!!! We have enough!!

Complex Story With More Action Than Medical. I came into this book after having won an ARC of it in the Readers Coffeehouse (Facebook group) Great Big Book Giveaway Day 2022 and having not read Book 1 (Adverse Effects). Honestly, with the amount of story that happened before this book began (that gets repeatedly referenced when necessary here - in case anyone wants to avoid spoilers from that book), it seemed like this book was *much* deeper into the series than just Book 2. I honestly thought this was somewhere in the Book 3 - 5 range as I was reading it.

And while the overall story here is absolutely more action based than medical - though there is certainly a major medical mystery happening - and *is* very complex (more complex than say a typical Crichton, less complex than say a Robert Ludlum Bourne series book), it is also quite interesting and compelling. Shulkin here manages to take some scifi-ish concepts (ala, arguably most famously, Total Recall) and combine them with some more modern dissociative identity stories (ala Kerry Lonsdale's Everything trilogy) to create an innovative mythos and rare (in my vast reading) hero and villain who each share the same condition and use it in completely different ways.

As complex as this is - and perhaps those coming from Book 1 won't find it as complex - this is also one of the more interesting overall mythoi I've found in recent years, and I will absolutely be back for the next book, whenever that may come. Very much recommended.

Toxic Effects

Joel Shulkin


It took me abit to get into this book. There is a lot going on. But once I did I really like the roller coaster ride. I really liked all the characters, especially Cristina. She was really going through it in this book. Overall a very fast read and worth the time. 3 stars

thought it was a really interesting.book and a quick read. i liked the characters and found it really engaging and i loved where the story went i felt i was on a roller coaster ride breathing hard so excited and also a little scared to see where it would go to next.

This just wasn't my cup of tea. I also had no idea it was the second book in a series. I couldn't get into the story or the writing.

Really great read! Definitely recommend! Exciting characters and storyline! Read this over the weekend so it was hard to put down