Just before World War II, Violet and her parents visit the legendary Sulphur Springs Hotel. Famed for its curative waters, the spa attracts a diverse crowd. Some desperate for a cure, others for more intangible things.

During her time at the hotel, curious young Violet begins to suspect something devious is going on behind the luxury façade. It’s not until she unwittingly becomes party to a murder that she realizes how desperate people really are.

But it is never too late to make peace with your ghosts. At eighty-four years old, Violet travels back to the hotel, now in ruins, to recover clues to the forgotten murder. Her return brings back memories of her family, a much-missed girlhood friend, and of her own sexual awakening. But what happens when the past brings hurtful truths with it?

Jeffrey Round is the Lambda-Award winning author of the Dan Sharp mystery series. Twice nominated for a ReLit Award for both poetry and fiction, he also penned the comic Bradford Fairfax mystery series and the stand-alone mystery Endgame, dubbed a “punk rock reboot” of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. His first two books, A Cage of Bones and The P-town Murders, were listed on AfterElton’s Top 100 Greatest Gay Books. You can find him on Facebook and at http://jeffreyround.com.

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“In The Sulphur Springs Cure, Violet, an intrepid eighty-four-year-old woman, sets out to solve the mystery of a murder that took place seventy years ago, when she was only fourteen. Together with a favourite niece, she travels back to the scene of the crime, a health spa in Dundas Ontario, now in ruins from a long-ago fire. There, Violet embarks on a journey to recollect those weeks with her parents at the spa, introducing the reader to a wonderful cast of unique and engaging characters. As the ruins prompt old memories, slowly the layers of the mystery peel back to reveal a shocking truth that will satisfy readers like me, who love to follow the clues. With clarity and elegance, Round deftly moves between the past and present day, beautifully recreating the late 1930s time period leading up to WWII. A beguiling read.”

Melodie Campbell, author of <i>The Merry Widow Murders</i> and <i>The Goddaughter</i>

“It’s a brisk, fun read, and the overall atmosphere of the setting and the precocious characters reminded me of the movie Atonement. I enjoyed it, and you will, too. After all, who doesn’t like a good mystery?”

My Gay Toronto

“With wry humor and a distinct sense of time and place The Sulphur Springs Cure is not only a mystery, but an intriguing story of a woman's search for truth and redemption.”

Cozy Up With Kathy

“Author Jeffrey Round takes a determined octogenarian and her niece on an adventure in The Sulphur Springs Cure.”

Novels Alive

“The joys and pitfalls of both age and youth are cleverly unpicked here, with Violet the catalyst to everything that ensues as the pages turn and then turn again. This is an immersive read with a leading lady who stays wholly realistic, whatever her age. … Jeffrey Round is skilled at pacing, keeping the reader on tenterhooks as the pieces of this complicated jigsaw gradually fall into place and reveal a surprising final picture. Another author to add to the ‘to be looked out for’ list, methinks!”

Crime Fiction Lover

"Time and loneliness are dramatic agents in this mystery novel that grows in momentum and cleverness. A veritable page-turner from a versatile Canadian writer!"

Keith Garebian, author of <i>Three-Way Renegade</i>

“I have long been a fan of Jeffrey Round's elegant and thought-provoking novels. Round's latest novel, The Sulphur Springs Cure, is a welcome addition to the books on my ‘most-loved’ bookshelf.”

Gail Bowen, author of the Joanne Kilbourn Shreve series

“In 84-year-old Violet McAdams, The Sulphur Springs Cure has its own sleeping murder and its own Miss Marple — or an aged-to-perfection Nancy Drew, complete with faithful sidekick. Dusted with William Trevor and a dash of The Thursday Murder Club, it even sports an Old Dolls aquafitness group that helps Violet work out her clues. Long-buried surprises, dead reckonings — this is sulphurous ground for even Marple to tread, but it's just as much fun to watch Jeffrey Round dig it up.”

Dawn Rae Downton, author of the memoir <i>Seldom</i>, chosen as one of the best books of the year by the Editors at Amazon

“An effective and engrossing mystery that is also a well-crafted historical piece focusing on tensions at home as the drums of war beat increasingly loudly in Europe. A strong sense of character and place make for an extremely satisfying reading experience.”

Toronto Star

“a taut, provocative mystery”

Robert McGill, author of <i>A Suitable Companion for the End of Your Life</i>