About this item
Highlights
- The first book in a series of mysteries involving themes of mental healthThe endearing and unflappable Dr. Annick Boudreau regularly confronts a myriad of mental health issues in her psychiatric practice at the West Coast Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Clinic in Vancouver, British Columbia.
- Author(s): Charles DeMers
- 224 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Mystery & Detective
Description
About the Book
A delightful take on the amateur-sleuth genre, featuring feisty Acadian Dr. Annick Boudreau.
Book Synopsis
The first book in a series of mysteries involving themes of mental health
The endearing and unflappable Dr. Annick Boudreau regularly confronts a myriad of mental health issues in her psychiatric practice at the West Coast Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Clinic in Vancouver, British Columbia. But even Annick is stunned when Sanjay, a young patient who suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, is arrested for the brutal murder of his roommate. While Sanjay is tortured by repeated violent thoughts, he is horrified by them and Annick is convinced that he would never enact one of them in real life. But the police and prosecutor are convinced that they have caught the perpetrator and aren't interested in looking very hard. Unable to talk to the authorities because of doctor-patient confidentiality, Annick feels compelled to investigate on her own, whatever the risks. What she discovers takes her into the dark side of Vancouver, where she uncovers a truth that's very different from what the police and prosecutors imagine.
Primary Obsessions is the first book in a series of mysteries starring Dr. Annick Boudreau and involving themes of mental health. Author (and longtime CBT patient) Charles Demers deftly reveals a particular aspect of psychiatric practice in each book, illuminating shadowy subject matter with masterful sensitivity and sharp wit. Primary Obsessions is an engrossing page-turner and a refreshing reboot of the sleuth genre.
Review Quotes
"A longtime CBT patient himself, Charles Demers brings authenticity to a particular aspect of psychiatric practice Primary Obsessions, illuminating shadowy subject matter with sensitivity, wit, and the kind of narrative storytelling style that engages the reader's full and rapt attention from first page to last. --Midwest Book Review
"Despite the seriousness of the topic, the book is never ponderous and is, on the contrary, a pleasure to read." --Crime Fiction Lover
"As the first of a projected series of mystery novels featuring Dr. Annick Boudreau, Primary Obsessions is a cracking good start. Boudreau is a likeable protagonist and mental illness is a subject surprisingly under-addressed by current mystery writers ... By writing a novel that revolves around relatively common Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, rather than some rare violent psychopathology, Charles Demers brings freshness to a literary genre that has been in danger of turning as ripe as a week-old murder victim." --BC BookWorld