CELIA HARWOOD

BUXTON SPA MURDER MYSTERIES-BOOKS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6

WIDOW'S PEAK
THE FIRST BUXTON SPA MYSTERY

In May 1920, Major Edward Giffard, DSO, still recovering from war injuries, is convalescing in the spa town of Buxton accompanied by his wife, Isabel. He receives an anonymous letter advising him to enquire into his father's Will. The Major has not been in contact with his father for twenty-five years and is afraid that someone in Buxton knows something to his disadvantage. When the Major retains a local Buxton solicitor, Eleanor Harriman, to investigate she uncovers a dark family secret and a trail of deceit, fraud, and murder which leads from a hill station in Darjeeling, India to a mansion in Buxton.

AUTUMN'S PEAK
THE SECOND BUXTON SPA MYSTERY

In October 1921, Buxton is eargerly anticipating the visit of Princess Mary, the King's daughter, for the laying of the commemoration stone at the Devonshire Hospital, when various incidents disturb the town's usual tranquillity and then people begin disappearing. Eleanor Harriman, a local solicitor, decides to investigate and finds herself uncovering secrets that some people would prefer to remain hidden.
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WATERS SPEAK
THE THIRD BUXTON SPA MYSTERY

In May 1922, Mr Walter Steen has great plans for Buxton Spa and the distribution of its famous water to a wider market but there is mounting opposition to his project and increasing animosity towards him from various groups within the town, including members of the Burbage Ladies' Golf Club.

When a visiting archaeologist from the University of Liverpool is attacked and left for dead, local solicitor Eleanor Harriman begins an investigation which requires her to solve a murder and save the golf course from destruction.

FALSE SPEAK
THE FOURTH BUXTON SPA MYSTERY

A large fortune waiting for a missing beneficiary, a soldier killed in France in 1917 and returned from the dead, and
an innocent woman being blackmailed. In the town of Buxton Spa in the winter of 1923, Eleanor Harriman of Harriman & Talbot, solicitors at Hall Bank, has three clients wanting answers. In the course of searching for clues and entangling interwoven threads, Eleanor exposes family secrets, deception, and fraud, all of which have remained hidden for many years and, ultimately, lead to murder.

SHADOW PEAK
THE FIFTH BUXTON SPA MYSTERY

Early on a summer morning in June 1923, a beautiful young woman is found lying face down in a shallow ornamental lake in the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton, with no identification. The post mortem report concludes that she drowned, but eliminates all the possible reasons as to how or why this might have happened. The young woman’s death presents an irresistible puzzle for Eleanor Harriman, a local solicitor, who keeps asking questions until she is satisfied that she knows the truth.

HIGH PIQUE THE SIXTH BUXTON SPA MYSTERY
The Well-Dressings Festival, a highlight of the summer in Buxton Spa since 1841, was cancelled in the summer of 1915 because of the War. During the five years since the end of the War, the town has been divided between supporters and opponents of the festival. Each year, reasons have been put forward for postponing its revival. Although the focus of the festival is the blessing of the water in the wells, which is performed by the Vicar, some residents regard the event as dangerously close to the ancient rites intended to honour pagan gods and celebrate the spiritual power of water. This year’s decision has not yet been announced. A body is found on the site of an ancient Celtic temple beside the River Wye. That sets off a chain of events. The newly appointed Superintendent of Police is keen to make a name for himself as a detective, but loses the plot. Eleanor Harriman, a solicitor in her father’s firm of Harriman & Talbot, steps in and successfully unravels the strands, identifies the suspects, and solves the mystery.