Murder & Sullivan

by Sara Hoskinson Frommer

  This is a wonderful book full of twists and turns, plotted around a Gilbert & Sullivan production of spooky 'Ruddigore' by someone who obviously loves G&S.--Alma Connaughton, Mysterious Women

  For The Vanishing Violinist

  Anyone who has ever been involved in the performance of music of an amateur or civic nature will get an extra measure of enjoyment from Sara Hoskinson Frommer's fourth book about Joan Spencer, a sharp and likable woman of a certain age whose interests and concerns are universal enough to win our hearts and unusual enough to capture our minds.--Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune

  A well-plotted tale. . . The novel's highlights, however, are the exceptional descriptions of the musical performances, passages in which Frommer proves herself, at least for a moment or two, a Paganini of prose.--Publishers Weekly

  It's a fun mystery that focuses on the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. It's enjoyable because it is so insightful and exact.--Tom Beczkiewicz, executive director, International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, in Indianapolis Monthly

  A warm cozy with a most appealing heroine. . . . The rhythms of small-town life, a good bit about music and musical competition, and the contrasts of Joan's easy relationship with her son and her fraught relationship with her daughter dovetail nicely with twinned mysteries that turn out, of course, to be connected.--GraceAnne A. DeCandido, Booklist

  Her best to date--Kirkus Reviews

  For Witness in Bishop Hill

  The prize here is the gently effective interpretation of the Alzheimer's scourge. -- Kirkus Reviews

  When Joan and new husband Lt. Fred Lundquist travel to Bishop Hill for a belated honeymoon, the only witness to murder in the small Swedish-American community is Fred's Alzheimer's-afflicted mother. Expect plenty of cosy chills as Joan strives to prevent a vicious killer from striking again. -- Publishers Weekly

  The care and handling of Alzheimer's victims is neatly enfolded into this tale, which also gently treats Swedish Christmas customs, the tender and fraught relationship between Joan's college-age son Andrew, his new step-father, and herself, and the long memories of small towns. Frommer is a brisk and clean writer, and she handles the rueful ambivalence of middle age very well indeed. -- GraceAnne A. DeCandido, Booklist

  Family dynamics and a Midwestern sensibility are the hallmarks of Sara Hoskinson Frommer's Joan Spencer series. So it's no surprise that the author delivers an insightful take on Alzheimer's disease and domestic issues in the well-plotted Witness in Bishop Hill. . . Yet never once does Frommer stoop to a maudlin viewpoint.-- Oline H. Cogdill, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

  For Death Climbs a Tree

  Clashes between environmentalists and builders, struggles in the workplace, and blending families combine to make DEATH CLIMBS A TREE an all too believable contemporary tale.--Molly Weston, Meritorious Mysteries

  "I can't play the concert," violinist Sylvia Purcell informs Joan Spencer, the Oliver Civic Symphony manager, at the start of Frommer's sixth Joan Spencer mystery. "I have to sit in a tree." Sylvia's protest against the development of a wooded area for low income housing turns deadly when she falls out of the tree in front of Joan and her son, Andrew. Evidence Joan finds points quickly to murder, with Andrew a prime suspect. Low key suspense and likable characters.--Publishers Weekly

  Sara Hoskinson Frommer delivers a solidly satisfying, character driven, small town cozy that addresses not only environmental issues but aging, workplace harassment and the impact of death on family and friends left behind. A very enjoyable read. Sally Powers, I Love a Mystery

  And advance praise for Her Brother’s Keeper

  A charming, engrossing, family mystery. With Mozart. To be read with a mug of hot chocolate and marshmallows. What could be better?--Kerry Greenwood, author of The Phryne Fisher Mysteries

  In Her Brother's Keeper, the likable Joan Spencer handles wedding disasters, family secrets, even murder with equal aplomb. Sara Hoskinson Frommer's latest is a thoroughly enjoyable visit to small-town Indiana. I'm already looking forward to the next one.--Beverle Graves Myers, author of the Tito Amato mysteries

  Cover design Susan J. Kroupa