Sara Hoskinson Frommer Death Climbs a Tree

Death Climbs a Tree

Sara Hoskinson Frommer

St. Martin's, Aug 2005, $23.95

ISBN: 0312329210

Joan Spencer, manager of the Oliver Civic Symphony in Oliver, Indiana, is concerned that her first violinist Sylvia Purcell is sitting in a tree to obstruct Walcher Construction from a project that she feels is hostile to the environment. Joan's son Andrew, a junior at Oliver College, is one of those providing food to the protester.

When Sylvia falls out of the tree and dies at Andrew's feet it is discovered that she was murdered. Joan's husband police Lieutenant Fred Lundquist knows he must stay out of the official investigation because his stepson is a prime suspect, but that does not keep Joan from sleuthing as she sees others with motives like Tom Walcher who needed the project to remain on schedule or even the growing militant The Erath Freedom Fighters. One thing she believes is that her son would not harm Sylvia, who he recently met at college and admired.

Sara Hoskinson Frommer provides a fabulous amateur sleuth starring an intrepid woman who believes in her son's innocence in spite of the evidence, much of which she finds that affirms his guilt. The storyline is action-packed as Joan ignores her spouse and conducts an investigation into who killed her first violinist only to find a lot of folks with motives and opportunity. Readers will enjoy this fine who-done-it because the heroine makes her inquiries seem desperately real especially as one clue after another enhances the case against her son.

Harriet Klausner