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L. J. Sellers
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The Lethal Effect Kindle Edition

by L.J. Sellers (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 646 ratings
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Previously Available as The Suicide Effect

Sula Moreno knows too much. Working in public relations at Prolabs Pharmaceutical, it’s her job to put a positive—and profitable—spin on the company’s products. That includes the exciting new antidepressant Nexapra, the linchpin in a corporate merger that will save the faltering Prolabs from going under. But when Sula discovers the shocking truth about a lethal flaw in the drug, there’s no good way to spin the potential death of millions of consumers.

Karl Rudker, the company’s ruthless CEO, disagrees. To safeguard Prolabs’s bottom line—and his own place at the top—he’ll do whatever’s necessary to keep the facts about Nexapra’s dangerous side effects secret, even if it means putting an end to more than just Sula’s job. And when the only other person who can expose Rudker ends up murdered, Sula knows her boss is playing for keeps. But she also knows taking on her psychopathic superior is the only way to stop a fatal drug from flooding the market…and unleashing a wave of death.

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  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Thomas & Mercer
  4. Publication date
    February 26, 2013
  5. File size
    672 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

When Sula overhears a shocking revelation about a drug being developed by her employer, she s paralyzed with indecision. She desperately needs her job to gain the judge s favor in a custody hearing for her son. Yet hundreds of patient lives could be at stake. Two days later when the drug s lead scientist disappears, Sula is compelled to search for the incriminating data. But Prolabs CEO is a desperate man determined to stop her. Can Sula get the proof and expose the drug s fatal flaw before the CEO risks everything to silence her?

About the Author

L. J. Sellers is a native of Eugene, Oregon, the setting of her thrillers. She is a former award-winning journalist and editor, and current standup comic, cyclist, social networker, and mystery-conference attendee-as well as a skydiving and thrill-seeking fanatic. A long-standing fan of police procedurals, she numbers John Sandford, Michael Connelly, Ridley Pearson, and Lawrence Sanders among her favorites. Her own novels, featuring Detective Jackson, include The Sex Club, Secrets to Die For, Thrilled to Death, Passions of the Dead, Dying for Justice, Liars, Cheaters, & Thieves, and Rules of Crime. She's also penned three standalone thrillers: The Baby Thief, The Gauntlet Assassin, and The Lethal Effect.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0089OE9WO
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas & Mercer (February 26, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 26, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 672 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 161218622X
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 646 ratings

About the author

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L. J. Sellers

L. J. Sellers

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L.J. Sellers writes the bestselling Detective Jackson mysteries—a four-time winner of the Readers Favorite Awards. She also pens the high-octane Agent Dallas series, the Extractors series, and provocative standalone thrillers. A woman of many words, L.J. also writes thriller scripts, including the true story of how she rescued her grandchildren from a cult in Costa Rica.

L.J. resides in Eugene, Oregon where many of her 30 novels are set, and she’s an award-winning journalist who earned the Grand Neal. When not plotting murders, she enjoys standup comedy, cycling, and zip-lining. She's also been known to jump out of airplanes.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
646 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book great, excellent, and believable. They describe the plot as decent, compelling, and fast-moving. Readers also mention the book is interesting, entertaining, and has great characters. Opinions differ on the ease of reading, with some finding it easy to read and understand, while others say there are numerous small grammar and editing mistakes.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

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Plot qualityReadabilityInterestCharacter developmentPaceEase of reading
39 customers mention "Plot quality"32 positive7 negative

Customers find the plot quality of the book decent, compelling, and enjoyable. They say the fast-moving plot keeps them enthralled from beginning to end. Readers also mention the book is easy to follow and a great medical thriller.

"An excellent book that taps into a person's emotional drama as the story proceeds in hopped up action...." Read more

"...Even the plot is promising. Where the novel falls apart, however, is at the end...." Read more

"...Spellbinding, thrilling, action packed, suspence filled, and more. Confession, I am a nurse and just LOVE medical thrillers...." Read more

"...I recommend this book to any that prefers an easy-to-follow thriller." Read more

38 customers mention "Readability"38 positive0 negative

Customers find the book great, excellent, and believable. They say it's enjoyable and captivating. Readers also mention the author is very interesting.

"An excellent book that taps into a person's emotional drama as the story proceeds in hopped up action...." Read more

"...As it relates to both central themes the book seems fairly believable...." Read more

"Awesome book. Sula is a public relations representative for a drug company. They are testing a new drug for depression...." Read more

"This is a fantastic read! It kept my attention all of today non-stop! Spellbinding, thrilling, action packed, suspence filled, and more...." Read more

24 customers mention "Interest"24 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enthralling, entertaining, and addictive. They say it's a good casual read with a great subject.

"...However, the line does not suffer. A Good read that holds your interest." Read more

"The premise is really good, and the characters are interesting enough to draw me in as a reader. Even the plot is promising...." Read more

"...It kept my attention all of today non-stop! Spellbinding, thrilling, action packed, suspence filled, and more...." Read more

"...The characters, especially Sula, the heroine, were believable and captivating. I recommend this book to any that prefers an easy-to-follow thriller." Read more

15 customers mention "Character development"12 positive3 negative

Customers find the characters great.

"The premise is really good, and the characters are interesting enough to draw me in as a reader. Even the plot is promising...." Read more

"...The characters are extremely well written. You can relate to them all very well, even Karl Rutker...." Read more

"...I finished it in one day. The chapters were short. The characters were described well. If one walked up to me, I think that I would know them. :)..." Read more

"...The flow of the story was a bit choppy. The character development was limited- although the author tried but not in a way that gave you a sense of..." Read more

6 customers mention "Pace"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book fast-paced and say it moves at a good pace.

"...This book is fast paced and you won't want to put it down." Read more

"...I would recommend buying it. It is a very fast read. I finished it in one day. The chapters were short. The characters were described well...." Read more

"The books by L.J.Sellers that I have read move at a good pace. They hold your interest . I think that anyone who likes mysteries will like the book." Read more

"...Loved the characters and the fast pace. I hated to see the series come to an end." Read more

12 customers mention "Ease of reading"7 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's ease of reading. Some mention it's easy to read and understand, concise, detailed, and believable. However, others say there are numerous small grammar and editing mistakes, the writing often seems very basic, and the story is unbelievable.

"...This story is well written. It is concise, detailed, and believable. The author has her big Pharma knowledge well versed...." Read more

"...Other reviews have been right. There are a multitude of small grammar & editing mistakes...." Read more

"For 2 bucks it was an OK, easy, one day read...." Read more

"...The few glitches with this book were grammatical errors, not forgetting to mention Rudker an obnoxious character in this book who swore a lot using..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Carl J. Foreman
5.0 out of 5 stars Emotions in The First Order
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2013
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An excellent book that taps into a person's emotional drama as the story proceeds in hopped up action. The story brings out and highlights real life mental issues. However, the line does not suffer. A Good read that holds your interest.
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M. DeKalb
4.0 out of 5 stars Greed & Big Pharm.
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2012
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A pretty decent story that hinges on the ideas of a) corporate greed & the shady characters you commonly see within that realm and b) big pharm.

As it relates to both central themes the book seems fairly believable. The "know no bounds" greed and selfishness displayed by K. Rudker is one of the most salient features of todays business men. This gives him a very real quality that most of the other characters in the book don't really have.

Pharmaceuticals are a huge industry, that's a given. They also have a lot of pull, being they can throw insane amounts of cash at doctors, lawyers, city staffers and the government amongst others who may stand in the way of their flights-of-fancy.

When greedy corporate exec who runs big pharm is overheard by a lowly PR person discussing the possibility of an increase in suicides in a certain body of people (Hispanics) based on currently being conducted drug trials of Nexapra (a new, fake, antidepressant) everyone's paranoia hits the top. This of course after the always common "the drug cannot empirically be linked to the suicide" because "we work w/ a population already predisposed to this condition" and "I won`t stop the trials even if you can prove it".

The book does raise a good questions: with drug trials conducted for so short a duration in people (after they've been tested in rats), and with the sample size being so small and misrepresentative of the general population, could it be that the metabolism of a certain drug will one day severely mess up a whole race / culture of people? Be it for monetary gain, population control or even by accident. We all have seen how lax the FDA can be...

With interesting convergent storylines, the gradual & suspenseful release of information about the main-character's past, a riveting last few chapters and the moral fortuity of the main-character the story comes together pretty well.

Other reviews have been right. There are a multitude of small grammar & editing mistakes. An extra word here repeated, a missing word there, an apostrophe `s' when it should be an apostrophe `d'. Small things like that which your mind almost automatically corrects anyhow in the heat of the read.

Because this story is nothing entirely unique and it doesn't have many special qualities about it, I rate it such: High 3; Low 4.
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Justia
3.0 out of 5 stars Yes...and then, no...
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2014
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The premise is really good, and the characters are interesting enough to draw me in as a reader. Even the plot is promising. Where the novel falls apart, however, is at the end. There's too much of a rush to wrap up the storyline and it just doesn't feel as well thought-out as it might be. I'd rather live with a bit of ambiguity rather than have every loose end tied up into improbably neat bows.

Without giving away plot points, it doesn't seem likely that the protagonist would acquiesce on something that seems to be at the heart of what what sustains drive and focus. Similarly, the introduction of a superfluous character as a point of interest seems forced, and had I been editor, would have suggested cutting because neither the character nor the potential plot developments resulting from this character benefited the overarching trajectory of the novel. Finally, while the antagonist was presented as someone who had multiple character layers, only one layer was developed throughout.

All of this said, I would enjoy reading other work by this author.
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awesome read
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome read
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2014
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Awesome book. Sula is a public relations representative for a drug company. They are testing a new drug for depression. She over hears a conversation with the head of the company and the doctor ho invented the drug. The new drug has lethal side affects for Latinos. It causes them to commit suicide. The doctor is found dead. Suspected of being killed by a homeless man. Sula decides she must stop the stag 3 testin of this drug or more people will die. This book is fast paced and you won't want to put it down.
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Dorothy
4.0 out of 5 stars The Suidice Effect is a Slam Dunk Winner
Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2013
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This is a fantastic read! It kept my attention all of today non-stop! Spellbinding, thrilling, action packed, suspence filled, and more. Confession, I am a nurse and just LOVE medical thrillers. BUT, I would have loved this no matter what. Yes, it is just that good.

This story is well written. It is concise, detailed, and believable. The author has her big Pharma knowledge well versed. I wish it were not true, but this is how big Pharma works. It is written so that it is easy to read and understand. For those who don't like bloody gore, there is none. For those who don't like sex scenes, there are none.

The characters are extremely well written. You can relate to them all very well, even Karl Rutker. I especially like how the author gave her characters in this story humanity. They have strong points, weakness, and are trying to overcome their weaknesses. And the characters of Sula Moreno is my hero. I say this for what she goes through in the story, and at the end with her son. Read it and you will know what TRUE mother love is.

I recommend this highly.
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zugor
3.0 out of 5 stars easy, one day read
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2014
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For 2 bucks it was an OK, easy, one day read. I've been immersing myself in long books about politics and the Great Recession of 2008 and needed a break from that sort of thing, a simple bit of fiction and this fit the bill.
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Brenda L. Bays
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable thriller
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2016
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I've never read anything by this author previously, but will now note her as one to follow. The story line of this book, greedy pharmaceutical companies, is one I'm afraid is all too true. The characters, especially Sula, the heroine, were believable and captivating. I recommend this book to any that prefers an easy-to-follow thriller.
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Top reviews from other countries

kindler
4.0 out of 5 stars Overall A Good Read But With Some Flaws.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2012
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As another reviewer mentioned, this book needs some proof reading / editing for typos and obvious word confusions that even MS Word should pick up. I don't know if this is an issue with transcribing it to Kindle or if these are also present in the hard-copy but it's poor editing either way. However, as much as I am a grammar Nazi, these errors were infrequent enough that they didn't put me off the book completely. I have seen a lot, lot worse in the Free Kindle Download Chart.

The story is gripping, something of a page-turner. There are a few obvious clues thrown in, but it's not all obvious and I for one did not see a few of the turns of events before they unfolded. I feel it suits most levels, really. Not a difficult read - just an easy, exciting read.

I think the pill-popping culture that another reviewer scorned at was intentional, as a remark upon the American pharmaceutical industry and how many westerners take prescription medication willy-nilly. That's how I read it, anyway. The entire plot seems to concur with my view - mega drugs corporations out to make money and invent the next big drug for the American market, and how morality and sanity quickly start to fall by the wayside.

The protagonist, Sula, gets on my nerves a bit because she's quite a weak female lead. But I suppose that's fine with most people, judging by the success of Twilight and other best-sellers featuring pathetic women! But the feminist in me wants to slap her quite a lot throughout the book. Though she has her moments to shine, she can be quite annoying.

I will definitely be checking out other books by this author. She also appears on Kindlegraph if you want your copy digitally signed!
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Pamela Watson
5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling tale.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 30, 2012
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The Suicide Effect
I have loved all the L J Sellers books I have read so far, The Detective Jackson Mystery/Thriller Series and The Baby Thief (A Romantic Thriller), and this is no exception. Sellers is an excellent creative writer, the senarios and characters credible and her books are certainly page turners. This book, not a part of the Detective Jackson series, is a tense thriller, with a very likable heroine, set in the now somewhat familliar Eugene. It is a very good read and I would highly reccommend it. Looking forward to the next Detective Jackson book very much.
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janey b
3.0 out of 5 stars not amazing but ok
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 23, 2013
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This was a fairly ordinary book and an easy read. The characters are quite wooden and fall into typical stereotypes,eg the mad bad guy,the damaged heroine etc. It was pretty obvious from the word go what was going to happen and I found the story a bit too neat and unbelievable eg the dr in Brazil was very keen to help and the main character just trusted her totally. I think it could have been made more gripping very easily. I was a bit suprised that 90% of the characters seemed to be on some form of anti depressant or medication.
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caroline ryan
4.0 out of 5 stars Another great read by L J Sellers
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2013
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The second I've read by this author. Again,a totally different scenario, this time a pharmaceutical company and an antidepressant drug they want to trial, but there have been some deaths in a few Hispanic people, that might scupper the whole operations if word gets out. Doesn't immediately sound lie a set up for a crime thriller but believe me it is. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be reading another by L J Sellers.
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stormincat
5.0 out of 5 stars The Suicide Effect - L J Sellers
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 15, 2011
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This Authors books are an easy read and you very quickly get into the stories. I have read all of this Author's books and would buy more in the future. I would recommend this book to others who enjoy Murder/Suspense books, but not for those who like blood and guts as these books are not that type. All in all - a great excellent read! I look forward to more from L J Sellers.
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