Marcia Muller: The Tree of Death (USA 1987)

From the Publisher:
A FATAL ART ATTACK
Wealthy patron Isabel Cunningham didn't know mach about art. But she knew what she liked. Too bad it was a garish eight-foot-tall "Tree of Life." Elena Oliverez, curator of the new Museum of Mexican Arts, put Isabel's gift in the same league as a portrait of Elvis on velvet. But her boss, Frank De Palma, who knew more about fund raising than art, told her to put it on display-prominently-for the museum's opening. And hot-tempered Elena was mad enoush to kall him for it.

So when somebody did murder Frank, using the "Tree of Life" as an instrument of death, guess who the Santa Barbara cops nabbed as suspect number onel But this savvy Chicana art expert turned sleuth isn't about to get left hanging by a clever Killers frame-up... she's going to find out who made an art of murder most foul...

Marcia Muller: The Tree of Death. In a chick Southern Califonia museum, bad taste is simply murder! Signet, ISBN: 0451147499 (March, 1987), 192 p., $3.50.

Marcia Muller: The Tree of Death (USA 1983)

From the Publisher:
The Museum of Mexican Arts in Santa Barbara has the usual problems -- chronic budget deficits and wealthy patrons who like to meddle. When Isabel Cunningham, descendant of one of the oldest Spanish land-grant families, donates a garish Tree of Life, the museum's greedy director accepts at once. Frank De Palma knows how to curry favor and raise funds, but in matters of taste, Elena Oliverez recognizes his limitations. The young curator despises the huge ceramic object and considers it an eyesore, while Frank views it as the key to future donations from a very rich patron. In addition, Franks pompous, vain manner is as offensive as his lack of respect for good art.

On the eve of the opening of the museums new quarters, Frank is found crushed beneath the monstrosity he acquired. Elena Oliverez is every. one's suspect. The continual feuding between Elena and her boss was public knowledge, and everyone had heard her threats when Frank forced the unpopular tree into the museum's permanent collection.

Despite Frank's murder, the museum's opening proceeds as scheduled. Later, when Elena is made acting director, she's even more a key suspect. So the art historian turns sleuth, poking through Frank's files and puzzling over a long string of clues. All too soon she's convinced that the murderer is close by... and ready to strike again.

Now Elena's problem is to convince a skeptical police department that her deductions are valid. Lt. Kirk disregards key clues: several suspects have a history of suffering at Frank De Palma's hands and may have scores to settle; a museum employee has been taking a number of mysterious trips of late.

The Tree of Death is rich in Southern California lore and features an inside look at what happens behind the scenes in the world of fine arts. It also introduces us to a clever young Mexican-American heroine, whose lively curiosity and love for Spanish art and history make for a memorable amateur sleuth.

Marcia Muller: The Tree of Death. Walker & Co., ISBN: 0802755763 (October, 1983), 174 p., $12.95.