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Published May 2015
368 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
In the ramshackle capital of one of the last colonies in North America, a few thousand settlers aspire to the values of the Victorian age while coexisting beside a population of native Indians that vastly outnumbers them. Their cautious peace is challenged when a body is discovered: Dr. McCrory, an American alienist whose methods included phrenology, Mesmerism, and sexual-mystical magnetation.
Chad Hobbes, recently arrived from England, is the policeman who must solve the crime. At first it seems the murderer was an Indian medicine man who has already been arrested. It would be easy for Hobbes to let him swing for the murder, but his own interest in an Indian woman from the same tribe causes him to look at the case in more detail. And once he does, he discovers that everyone who knew McCrory seems to have something to hide.
Winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel, Sean Haldane's The Devil's Making portrays a frontier where cultures clashed on the eve of a new country's birth.
"Starred Review. A host of intriguing characters combine with Haldane's firm grasp of the period to make this an enthralling read." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Haldane's first mystery, evocative and elegantly written, is a deeply philosophical look at a relatively unknown historical period." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. Haldane never shies away from period-specific language and attitudes, which make readers feel as though they are walking the dirty streets of Victoria by his side. Historical whodunit fans will relish this exciting trip to 19th-century frontier Canada." - Library Journal
"An absolutely worthy winner [of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel]… Haldane makes the reader feel as if they've been dropped into the daily lives of those living in 1869-era Victoria, and refuses to shy away from the truth in favor of a more politically correct approach to historical fiction." - National Post (Canada)
"Truly an extraordinary narrative of nineteenth-century detective work... Haldane's ability to bring to life nineteenth-century British Columbia and portray with such fine precision the attitudes, prejudices, and beliefs of the period is a remarkable achievement." - Ottawa Review of Books
This information about The Devil's Making was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Seán Haldane was born in England, grew up in Northern Ireland, and moved to Canada where he lived until 1994. He now lives in London, England. He has worked in Canada as a psychologist and neuropsychologist, mainly in memory clinics, and in the UK, most recently as head of neuropsychology in the NHS in East London. He is author of psychology books, literary studies, and poetry.
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