The Sulphur Springs Cure

Eighty-four-year-old Violet’s unexpected return to the scene of a murder she was inadvertently involved with seventy years earlier brings up long-buried memories, a much-missed girlhood friend, and of her own sexual awakening. But the past brings hurtful truths, leaving Violet to think that perhaps some mysteries are better left unsolved …

In 1939, fourteen-year-old Violet and her parents arrive at the Sulphur Springs Hotel, drawn in along with other desperate guests by legends of the waters’ restorative properties. Here, curious young Violet strikes up an instant friendship with the hotelier’s worldly daughter, Julia. Together, they attempt to solve the mysteries behind the hotel’s luxury façade — including the cases of the brownie thief, the secretive hotel director, and the flirtatious gardener.

But when one of Violet’s investigations leads her to commit an act of treachery, she unwittingly aids a murderous plot. Seventy years later, the killer has yet to be caught.

In 2009, a widowed Violet returns to the hotel, now in ruins. Her intention is to solve this cold case. The scene of the crime reveals new clues and revives old memories, including that of her lost family and her own sexual awakening. Now, confronting her final years, Violet is desperate to make peace with her ghosts, even if she may be seventy years too late.