“If you expect me to read it, you better put a murder in it.”

This is what Canadian author Nicole Lundrigan’s mother told her, when she said she was going to write a novel. Like all good crime fiction lovers, Nicole followed her mother’s advice and now she’s ten books deep into her career as a crime author. Her latest book is The Case Study, which came out earlier this year, and is a psychological thriller not only because it plays on the psychology of the reader, who won’t quite know what to expect, but because its main characters are connected by a famous psychological case study.

One of those characters is Lainey, the subject of the case study, who was kept in a psychiatric institution up to the age of 21. Now, some years after her release, her case is being republished and Lainey will be talking to the doctor who authored it once gain. Mia, his wife, has always been interested in the case study and is magnetically drawn to Lainey and her story. She also happens to spy on his therapy sessions…

Both women have secrets and now, as she gets closer to her doctor and his family, Lainey is about to unburden herself of the past, and things are going to get very tense indeed for both characters.

Originally from Newfoundland, Nicole is now based in Toronto and has twice been nominated for Best Novel in the Crime Writers of Canada annual awards, for An Unthinkable Thing (2022) and Hideaway (2019). We invited her to join us on the site to talk about The Case Study.

What are crime fiction lovers going to love about The Case Study?

My books are often described as ‘not your typical thrillers’. They are slow-burn, gothic-infused, with morally grey characters and a creeping sense of dread. The Case Study follows a renowned psychiatrist, a troubled patient, and an impulsive wife who secretly watches her husband’s online therapy sessions. So plenty of deviousness and onion-peel reveals. All the breadcrumbs are there for the plot twists… if the reader can find them!

Who is Mia?

Mia is the wife of Dr Morrison. It’s worth mentioning how they met. She read an article about a murderous teen with a rare delusion and was so fascinated by the details, she sought out the lead psychiatrist. That meeting sparked a relationship, and they eventually married. Twenty years later, he announces his famous case study will be republished, and he’s reconnecting with his former patient. This news reignites Mia’s true crime addiction. 

And who is Lainey, because she’s a key character too, isn’t she?

Lainey is the patient. She was accused of murdering her uncle as a teen, and after developing Cotard’s Syndrome, was institutionalised and treated by Dr Morrison. While Mia is spying on their current-day sessions, Lainey is playing her own eerie game by spying on her doctor’s family. Both women have hidden agendas and are not particularly trustworthy. Lainey can also be a touch volatile… but she has good reasons.

What are Lainey and Mia up against?

Mia is up against a pervasive boredom or dissatisfaction with her life, which worsened after discovering her husband’s affair. She uses escapism and takes dangerous risks to make herself feel more alive. In some ways, Lainey is up against herself and her distorted memories. When she was initially treated by Dr Morrison, she lied about everything, but has now decided to be honest about what happened all those years ago. She genuinely starts therapy with good intentions, though things soon shift.

It sounds like a really interesting set up. How did you come up with it?

It’s a mystery. I usually write on instinct, and don’t have a clear sense of where the story is going. My books often begin with an image and an emotion, and I roll out from there. For The Case Study, the initial glimmer of inspiration was two-fold. A discussion with my agent where she mentioned a criminal case from the 1950s – I can’t say which one as that would be a spoiler. And I happened across a reference to Cotard’s Syndrome, also known as walking corpse syndrome. I assume those ideas jelled and started to percolate?

Looking at some of your past novels, you love building up psychological tension. What do you want your readers to feel as they read?

I suppose I’d like readers to feel how I do when I write – curious, tense, occasionally shocked, and sometimes amused. 

There’s a bit of a true crime vibe here, even though this is fiction. What are some of the aspects of true crime that interest or inspire you?

I do have an itch for true crime, though mine remains a healthy preoccupation. When reading or watching true crime documentaries, I’m keenly interested in behaviours and drives. What compels a seemingly normal person to do terrible things? Though not everything can be explained by childhoods, I’m also interested in digging around there. Plus the methodology used in investigations (and how it can fall short), as well as the science (or pseudoscience). 

What are the wider themes you wanted to explore in this particular novel?

I’m not consciously exploring themes as I write, but I do see the threads. Trauma, for instance, particularly within dysfunctional family structures. The Case Study also examines both obsession and voyeurism. In my books, love often emerges as a defining theme. Or perhaps it’s distortions of love. At their core, many of my characters crave love, and don’t know how to secure it, so to speak. So there is manipulation and fixation. Sometimes a little murder.

What other crime books and/or authors have inspired you most, and why? What are you reading at the moment?

One of my all-time favourite writers was Timothy Findley. Apparently, he never viewed himself a psychological thriller writer, but I think his books have it all. Complex characters, multilayered storylines, and a shoulder-hiked degree of tension. 

I’m currently reading Robyn Harding’s Strangers in the Villa. It keeps me on edge. I sense something terrible is going on but can’t figure out what. Hannah Mary McKinnon’s A Killer Motive and Karma Brown’s Mother is Watching are next on my TBR pile. 

What’s next for Mia and Lainey (if anything) and what’s next for Nicole Lundrigan?

At the end of The Case Study, both Mia and Lainey end up where they are meant to be. While it may seem settled, I have a feeling bad things are still in the pipeline for the psychiatrist, Dr Morrison. Probably better if I don’t know. As for me, with each novel I write, I learn a little more. And I’m taking those book ten lessons and slowly working on attempt number 11.

The Case Study is out now and you can order a copy using our buttons below.