The Devil's Making by Sean Haldane

Chad Hobbes, an Englishman recently arrived in Vancouver Canada in May 1768, finds he can only make a living serving in the local police force.  Thus he becomes involved in the murder investigation of a Dr. McCrory, an American 'alienist' who practiced phrenology, Mesmerism, and certain sexual-mystical magnetation methods.  The murder is at first presumed to have been committed by the chief of a local visiting Native American group, but as Chad probes further he finds many in Vancouver have reason to want to kill McCrory.  He also finds that the doctor had discovered several secrets among his patients and used them to his advantage. Haldane provides a convincing picture of life in early Vancouver and the tensions between the Native Americans and the British and American settlers.  There are a few rather unusual plot twists, and a pretty surprising ending to the mystery. 367 pages.