An Evil Tale I Heard

An Evil Tale I Heard is the sequel to The Devil's Making in which the English policeman Chad Hobbes solves the mystery of the discovery of the mutilated body of a British settler on Vancouver Island, in the Pacific in 1869. In 1871 Chad and his Tsimshian wife Lukswaas are on their way to England when Chad is asked to solve a new murder on another British island, Prince Edward Island, in the Atlantic. Its Mi'kmaq name is Abegweit: 'Cradled on the Waves'. The Mi'kmaq are now outnumbered by French and English-speaking settlers and the island is in debt and under pressure to join Canada. Marie Évangéline, the daughter of one politician and wife of another, is found savagely beaten to death. Who is trying to kill whom?  Who is in love with whom? These questions reveal great goodness, but 'an evil tale'. Having travelled from sea to sea, Chad is again pulled between law and justice in a world where secrets are well hidden and protected.

Dr Seán Haldane in his historical and contemporary crime novels draws on his experience as a neuropsychologist in health services and the criminal justice system, first in Canada (Prince Edward Island and British Columbia) then in the UK from 1990 to 2020. From 2012 to 2020 he was in private practice based in London as an expert witness, working about 2/3 with police and crown prosecution services (via the National Crime Agency), and 1/3 with defence lawyers.