“Dr. Annick Boudreau is an investigator with intelligence, compassion, and curiosity who never leaps to an early diagnosis. Demers writes sharp, witty dialogue and delivers a nuanced portrayal of the stigmatization of mental illness in collision with crime.”
Nathan Ripley, author of Find You in the Dark
“Primary Obsessions is a welcome addition to the accidental psychologist/detective genre. Dr. Annick Boudreau is a smart, caffeinated heroine whose reckless but earnest drive to save her patient from a murder charge makes for a fast and exciting read from start to finish…I look forward to her next case!”
Iona Whishaw, author of the Lane Winslow series
“In Primary Obsessions, Charles Demers captures the way that the pain of mental illness is made even worse by stigma and ignorance. This is a page-turning mystery that’s ultimately about trying to help our loved ones through their darkest days.”
Kelly Hrudey, Hockey Night in Canada and Sportsnet analyst and mental health advocate
“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.”
John Moore, BC BookWorld
“Primary Obsessions by Charles Demers launches a new series of deftly crafted mysteries starring Dr. Annick Boudreau and involving themes of mental health. 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.”
Clint Travis, Midwest Book Review
“...it’s surprisingly nimble-footed and bright, with a romp-like atmosphere: Crime solving as a breezy adventure.”
Brett Joseph Grubisic, The Vancouver Sun
