ISBN: PB: 9781800310018

Legend Times Group, Legend Press

September 2021

288 pp.

19,7x12,9 cm

PB:
8.99 GBP
QTY:

Categories:

Primary Obsessions

Shortlisted for the 2021 Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award


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. 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.

"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.

About the author

Charles Demers is an author, comedian, actor, playwright, screenwriter and political activist. He is one of the most frequently returning stars of CBC Radio's smash-hit comedy "The Debaters", with a weekly listening audience of 750,000. His collection of essays, "Vancouver Special" (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2009), was shortlisted for the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize. He is also the author of "The Horrors" (Douglas & McIntyre, 2015), "Property Values" (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2018) and "Primary Obsessions" (Douglas & McIntyre, 2020). The latter is Demers' first book in the "Doctor Annick Boudreau Mystery Series", for which he draws upon his own long-time experience with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Demers lives in Vancouver, BC.