Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
The main protagonist is a conservation ecologist and it's a profession which she shares with the author. It's an oft-said proverb that authors should write what they know, and Dr. Yarwood-Lovett has done just that; describing the realities of crawling through brambles to map badger setts and collecting and analyzing bat poop with gleeful abandon. Did you know bat droppings are (logically enough) full of insects and they crumble, whilst rodent poo *squishes*? I didn't, and now we both do. It's relevant to the story. Nell, I can see where you are. You're still sharing your location with me from doing the survey. What the bloody hell are you doing?' A dark, stormy atmosphere pervades the book and just adds to the mystery and tense feeling to it. I loved it. One of the surprising things about the lists of terms of venery is that they sometimes give different names to the same animal depending upon where they are. The police focus on Jerome as their chief suspect, but are not able to prove anything. We learn that a large pool of blood is found by police, but where did it come from? Perhaps Alice knows. But Alice can’t remember. The plot is extremely convoluted. The story contains a number of inconsistencies. Much of the writing seemed stilted to me, with odd adjectives and adverbs used such as: “He smiled witheringly . . . “ How does one smile “witheringly”?
A Murder of Crows by Ian Skewis | Goodreads A Murder of Crows by Ian Skewis | Goodreads
I really didn't enjoy the format of the novel as it's extremely choppy and some of it irrelevant to the main thrust of the plot. Each chapter is a third person narrative from a different point of view which I find distracting and prevents me from getting fully involved, just as I get settled into one character the viewpoint changes and I have to adjust. The plot which can get hidden in all this swapping is interesting and well thought out but the clever ending is extremely unsatisfactory with nothing tied up in a nice bow. I think that this novel is a bit literary for me. I like a nice straightforward police procedural and this is anything but. ABOUT 'A MURDER OF CROWS': Dr Nell Ward is an ecologist, not a detective. But when she’s the prime suspect in a murder, only her unique set of skills could help to clear her name… The plot was a conundrum. A missing persons case initially, it turned into something more. The reveal of the criminal surprised me, as I'm sure it was meant to do. Yet somehow I felt manipulated and dare I say... used.I love action and K. Ancrum makes sure that the reader is never bored during this story. I also liked the relationships between the characters. THE AUTHOR: After spending sixteen years as an ecologist, crawling through undergrowth and studying nocturnal habits of animals (and people), Dr Sarah Yarwood-Lovett naturally turned her mind to murder. She may have swapped badgers for bears when she emigrated from a quaint village in the South Downs to the wild mountains of the Pacific Northwest, but her books remain firmly rooted in the rolling downland she grew up in. A Murder of Crows was an enjoyable read, revolving around a British ecologist’s efforts to extricate herself from suspicion of murder. The plot is overshadowed by the attraction triangle of the MC and a male colleague and (of course) the handsome detective investigating the crimes. There is so much drama and ridiculous convoluted *unnecessary* sighing and angst which could be resolved with a one sentence explanation that I had to just power through. There are many readers who enjoy that in their books and they'll be in raptures.
A Murder of Crows | Sarah Yarwood-Lovett | 9781471412424 A Murder of Crows | Sarah Yarwood-Lovett | 9781471412424
You did?' An exhale puffed down the line. 'I'm so relieved you told them. So now they'll realise you may be in danger. Offer some protection instead of treating you like a . . .' I'd recommend A Murder of Crows to readers who enjoy cosy mysteries with a touch of will they-or-won't they romance, especially readers with an interest in ecology and the environment as a subplot. I'm intrigued to hear that Sarah Yarwood-Lovett already has two additional books featuring Dr. Nell Ward scheduled for future publication, and will be interested to read them on release. He’s a freelance inquisitor. . . I don’t want him after me. Because he’s completely insane and kills for fun and Heneage protects him, gives him completely free rein.’ It’s like reading gossip magazines that are several hundred years old. Whole power structures rose and fell on the jealousies of the nobility and the notoriously moody whims of rulers. What we’re experiencing in today’s politics is nothing new.I think Murder of Crows is a great book for people who don’t read many mysteries but would like to start. It’s fast-paced and easy to get pulled into the world. A Murder of Crows is the début instalment in Sarah Yarwood-Lovett's brand new series featuring ecologist, Dr Nell Ward and its set in a village called Cookingdean, near Pendlebury, south-east England. And that's not the only game afoot. Tig has caught the attention of the town's local armchair detective group, the Murder of Crows. They're obsessed with Hollow Falls' dark past and fixated on a dangerous search for the missing body of the town's founder. There are rumors about what's buried with the body that could be life-changing for whoever finds it, and with a mission like that underway, it's not long before a member of the Murder of Crows turns up dead. As I said the characters are all oddballs. Most of them are well drawn and as the novel progresses explanations for their behaviour are slowly revealed but it's all a bit OTT in the one novel. Dodd is increasingly frustrated that he can’t just slit someone’s throat and steal his horses because he’s been wronged (as he would have done at home), but at last he hears the glorious words
A Murder of Crows by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett | Goodreads
Despite those quibbles, I found myself looking for more opportunities to listen to the book rather than read my physical one. I got home from work one evening and immediately cleaned the kitchen! The story was engaging and of course, Kristen Atherton’s excellent narration helped. I was listening to it through my library’s digital loans app, and it was the first time in a long time I didn’t need to extend a loan beyond the initial 14-day period.
Games
My biggest gripe is that this felt like a load of red herrings were thrown into the plot to disguise the obvious nature of the murder. The victim felt very much like the second Mrs De Winter in Rebecca, Nell seemed a little like Temperance Brennan in Kathy Reichs' books (without the social awkwardness) and I'm not sure how this is going to develop into a series, I mean how many murders in a small town would require an ecologist to shed light on the scene? There's just something about K. Ancrum's writing that appeals to me. I love everything she writes and this was no exception. I truly made me want to listen to the podcast, and I never have. But this was just too good and these characters were amazing, I want more from them.
Great Deal 
New Comment