Death Climbs a Tree — Sara Hoskinson Frommer

Just before a big concert, Joan Spencer, manager of the Civic Symphony in Oliver, Indiana, learns that she will be minus her first violinist, Sylvia Purcell. The young woman, an environmental activist, has taken up protest against a large construction project by sitting high up in a tree. Adding to Joan's problems, her college-student son, Andrew, is supporting Sylvia's cause and providing food and water.

But the protest turns deadly--when Sylvia plunges to her death. It's soon clear that her fall was no accident. Sleuthing for answers, Joan is caught between the hard-nosed developer and local militant activists. Worse, Andrew resumes Sylvia's spot in the tree and becomes the police's prime suspect. Only a dangerous confrontation with a killer can supply the missing pieces--if Joan lives long enough to put them together.