Dr. Moreland has an addiction to a new synthetic drug, fentanyl. In order to ensure he always has access to the drug, he decides to manufacture the fentanyl himself AND begins to supply a local heroin dealer, Lula. Not familiar with the potency of fentanyl, Lula cuts the heroin with lethal amounts. After a series of overdoses happen, Detectives Kenda and Wilson are on the hunt for the source of the bad heroin. When the Mexican cartel finds out their heroin supply has been tainted, they also come looking for the source.

This takes place in 1978 and has a distinct true crime feel, which I loved! Joe Kenda has written a younger version of himself into the story and it’s based on the introduction of fentanyl into the drug scene. Joe’s wife, who is a nurse, has also been written into the story, and works at the same hospital as Dr. Moreland. The reason and ways fentanyl started being used in hospitals and how it grew to become part of the drug cartels is fascinating. Joe Kenda spent twenty years as a homicide detective in Colorado Springs and his knowledge and experience seeps into this story brilliantly! This story IS fiction but Kenda DID base it on real events. I was completely immersed in this crime tale! It had a Breaking Bad vibe about it, complete with a Jesse incarnation!

I did an audio and physical book combo and Bradford Hastings was a fantastic narrator! He conveys just the right amount of emotion and has distinct voices (with accents) for different characters. Joe Kenda narrates an opening and the acknowledgments and I really enjoyed the true experiences and information he shared. FIRST DO NO HARM is a gritty, fast paced police procedural focused on crimes stemming from the scary business of the illegal drug trade and Mexican drug cartels. This was my first book by Joe Kenda, but I enjoyed it so much, I’m looking forward to reading more!
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Thank you Blackstone Publishing for the gifted copies.

Potential spoiler content warnings below.

































⚠️Content warnings: language, drug addiction, drug overdose, gore, violence, gun violence, Mention of: suicide

I love anything by Joe Kenda and my my my did this novel have me hooked from the start. It's a gritty fictional mystery that reads like a true crime story. The narrators voice including Kenda's was smooth and kept me hooked. If you love true crime, Joe Kenda, or a great storyline, then this is the book for you!
Many thanks to NetGally, Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks, Joe Kenda & Bradford Hastings for sharing the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5

Thank you #netgalley, #joekenda, #blackstonepublishing for this ARC of First Do No Harm

I am a huge true crime buff and when I saw a book by Joe Kenda, a former homicide detective with shows on ID, I immediately hit REQUEST! I love hearing about his former cases and even his take on other homicides. I was approved and started the audiobook. During the foreword, Joe said this is a work of fiction and I was like whhhhattttt??? Fiction? I was so pleasantly suprised by the book.

Book synopsis:
"A string of overdoses happen in Colorado Springs has Detectives Joe Kenda & Lee WIlson on the lookout for a bad batch of heroin that has been cut with a drug they have never seen before. Meanwhile, at Springs General Hospital, Dr Blair Moreland - the notoriously unpleasant head anesthesiologist - has found a way to feed his deepening addiction to the very same powerful new Fentanyl. But when Dr Moreland starts supplying the dangerous painkiller to dealer Lula Lopez - planning to manufacture the druge himself 0 he angers a Mexican crime syndicate and sets into motion a cycle of death and violence that threatens to engulf the entire city. Detectives Kenda and Wilson must track down the source of this killer heroin before anyone else can overdose - and stop Moreland before he can escape the long arm of the law."

The book did have a sad outcome for a grandfather and his grandchild out walking which made me extremely sad. Even thought this book is a work of fiction, this is very much happening in the real word with the Fentanyl. crisis. This is the second book in the series, which I just found out when on Goodreads but I don't think you need to read book 1 to understand book 2 however I will definitely read book 1. I really enjoyed the first hand experience from a former homicide detective that you sometimes do not get on other works of fiction. The experience and the content made this book so believable that I had to remind myself that it was a. work of fiction.

Fast paced and thrilling! The blend of police procedural and journalist investigation kept the story evolving with insights into the dark drug running world of Colorado.

I found this book to be an absolute page-turner! The plot’s intensity and pace kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The story revolves around Detectives Joe Kenda and Lee Wilson as they navigate a deadly new strain of heroin that's causing chaos in Colorado Springs. It’s a gritty, fast-paced read that felt incredibly real, especially with Kenda’s authentic touch as a seasoned detective.

What really grabbed me was the intertwining of Dr. Blair Moreland’s personal downfall with the larger criminal drama. Watching Moreland’s addiction and dangerous decisions set off a ripple effect of violence and intrigue was both chilling and captivating. The way the story unfolded with unexpected twists kept me hooked.

However, I did feel like the characters, despite being interesting, lacked a bit of depth. They felt more like pieces in the puzzle rather than fully fleshed-out individuals, which left me wanting a bit more connection with them.

Listening to the audiobook was a treat—the narrator’s smooth and steady voice made the experience even more enjoyable. Their delivery really brought the tension and whole story to life, making it a great choice for audiobook fans.

This book is a thrilling and immersive read with a strong plot and excellent narration, perfect for the fans of police procedurals.

This was a good book! It’s crazy to think that sometimes the people you trust cannot be trusted. I also liked how the author was a character in the book. This was fast paced and kept my attention. It was very interesting to watch everything unravel. I listen to the audiobook and I enjoyed it.

There is nothing that stands out - good or bad - in First Do No Harm. The subject of the novel - the introduction of illegal fentaynl in the US through a Mexican connection that caused a series of deaths confronting homicide police and medical professionals alike - is not new. While the treatment of the subject is not without interest, the relative lack of character development throughout the novel and the predictable plot lead to a book that seems to follow a template without the passion and intricacies that make great novels great. Bradford Hastings' narration is fine but it doesn't offer anything that differentiates it from other capable narrations. Readers won't be sorry they've read it but they won't be talking about or recommending it with much enthusiasm.

This was a "new to me" author and I gathered from the prologue that this was his first fiction book. The author - Mr. Kenda - has apparently written several non-fiction books detailing some of the real life cases that he was involved with as a detective. THIS book, while being a work of fiction, was based on certain circumstances that he experienced in real life - but the story itself was made up.

I have to say that while I did find the storyline itself interesting - well, more the premise of the storyline - there were too many other issues that were distracting. The story revolves around the beginnings of the drug fentanyl and how it was initially sold by the drug reps into hospitals and to physicians. It was not yet known the levels to which this drug was lethal and addictive.

Then, the fiction part of the story took over. I found the way in which the MMC, Dr. Blair Moreland, was a sociopathic anesthesiologist and the levels to which he was able to steal drugs and money from his hospital, well it was a bit hard to fathom.

Unfortunately, I also had a problem with the writing style. The writing felt extremely choppy. The sentence structures just never felt smooth and the narration seemed to be a bit forced and overdone.
All in all, it made for a challenging listen.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone. This book will be out for publication on September 10, 2024.

Detective Joe Kenda and his partner, Lee Wilson, have caught a weird case. People throughout the Colorado Springs area are dying. The local illegal drug supply has been laced with something new - and deadly. Set in the late 1970s, the new drug seems old now, but Fentanyl is no less deadly.

Many people are already familiar with Joe Kenda, the lovable-yet-ornery police detective from Colorado with many seasons of his tales available on ID.

In his first fictional novel, Kenda tells a story about the beginnings of Fentanyl in the Colorado drug culture. Thing is, despite this story not being true, it reads like it is. The book has the same focused, no-nonsense diction that Kenda uses on tv and in his non-fiction books. Every part of the story seemed completely plausible. And of course, there is Kenda's dry wit peppered in. I wasn't sure how I would like this as I read his non-fiction books and always loved his show. But it was just as good as any of his other work. Highly recommended whether you enjoy fiction or not. It's just nice to spend some time with my favorite tv detective.

I loved the beginning of the book, as well as the end. The middle seemed to go on for a bit and didn't really keep my interest. It was a good, easy listen without complication.

I loved the narrator! Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to preview.

In 1970s Colorado Springs, people begin overdosing. The heroin is being cut with a new drug- fentanyl. The source is an anesthesiologist who is addicted himself. He knows he is on borrowed time at the hospital, so he decides to start making it himself. The police are determined to figure out where this new drug is coming for, but also, the cartels are mad that someone is killing their customers. Both are searching for Dr. Moreland.

I chose to read this because the synopsis was interesting- a rogue doctor who is an addict producing fentanyl? Add in the fact that fentanyl is such a huge problem today- but I never had heard about it until a decade or so ago. It was surprising to me that it was around and already a problem in the 1970s.

I enjoyed this story. I did wish it felt more like the 1970s. Other than it being mentioned, and the lack of cell phones and internet, you'd never know this was set 50 years ago. I also feel like the characters all could have used more depth. The book is fairly short, so there was opportunity to go deeper.

Bradford Hastings narrates the audiobook. The narration is good and this works as an audiobook.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Clever portrayal with the narration between the author and narrator. The manner of the narrators were both deep and demonstrated the art of proper narration. The voices are clear and gave the story a sinister and threatening malevolence giving it a realistic feel and taking into consideration the content of the story, it felt like I was in the middle of the local community!
The drug industry is a scary and violent world and this story has all that plus an extra bit too.

A thriller at the dawn of the fentanyl crisis decades ago. I was a bit ... amused ... at the author self-insertion ... and self-narration. I felt that the lead baddie was just a wee bit overblown ... I mean, he was detestable in every way ... and his thoughts were hardcore stereotype central. And the protagonists kind of fell into the background, including Detective Joe Kenda himself. Hm! The other characters were more compelling, especially the grandson-grandfather duo, the Indigenous war vet, and even the lead baddie's right hand man, Mr. Uber Privilege. On that note, some of the narration was a bit heavy-handed. There was something like "your mom's a rich bitch!" that, putting the use of bitch and use as an endearment aside, was just unnecessarily drilling in the idea. I found myself more interested in the details of the operation, the surprises more about who becomes involved and how people get tangled up (or powdered, I should say) in the scheme. A solid crime story.

First Do No Harm by Joe Kenda was the first book I've read by this author, and I am now a fan. This was an incredible story. I loved the narration.

4.25 stars

I am a huge Homicide Hunter fan! Truly I love all things true-crime. This was such a realistic novel that it was easy to get gripped into. Joe Kenda's experience as a homicide detective shone through in the details. The characters were well built on and likeable. I was hoping for a little more "thrill" and maybe a twist but did overall really enjoy the novel.

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator. Joe Kenda did narrate the prologue and closing notes himself which was fun. The main narrator was well-spoken. Annunciation was great. He had a smooth steady voice that was easy to listen to. Speed of reading was good (but I do speed up my audiobooks after a few chapters).

A police procedural, set in the 1970’s at the dawn of the fentanyl crisis. This was fast paced and very interesting. Joe Kendra and Lee Wilson are investigating a bad batch of heroin that has been cut with an even deadlier new drug -fentanyl. Their foil is an unlikely bad guy, an unpleasant anesthesiologist which was a highlight for me. My DIL is a resident anesthesiologist so this personal connection gave me chuckle.

Narrated by JoeKendra and Bradford Hastings who do an excellent job moving the story along.