When her childhood friend announces that she is to be married, Nell Ward offers the use of her family home as the venue. The groom turns out to be a handsome but unpleasant businessman who antagonises Nell and many at the wedding. He is killed shortly afterwards and so is another guest. Nell's partner and her colleague are also at the wedding and between them they try to solve the mystery.
At its heart this is a straightforward murder mystery which is a play on teh 'locked room' genre. however it is marred by the fact that there is just too much thrown in the plot. Every box is ticked in order to be PC, there is a huge cast of characters and their relationships become too confusing. It could have been much better with decent editing!

The second book in this series which can be read as a stand-alone. A good mystery book with lots of characters to keep the reader guessing.

I’ve now read two of the books in this series. The best summary I can give is that they are a bit silly and easy to read. Think itv cozy mystery’s for a Sunday afternoon but in book form. The plot (esp the end) is extremely implausible and a difficult to picture the solution.
The characters likeable and it’s very easy to follow. I did find myself continuing to the end to find out who did it and didn’t guess which is always good (although I’m not sure I was invested in finding out as much as just reading along). Has silly romantic subplot but is not by far the worst way to spend an afternoon. Read through netgalley

Dr. Nell Ward, an ecologist, is hosting the wedding of her best friend at her family's estate. Unfortunately, all of the bride's family hates the groom and even Nell finds him offensive. When the groom is found dead, Nell's friend becomes a prime suspect. Of course, Nell is determined to prove her friend innocent.

I found this book cluttered with family relationships and a love triangle. There was all the drama of the bride's family conflict with their daughter about her choose of groom to the point of threatening to disinherit her. Most of her friends agree the man is bad news. Meanwhile, Nell is having family drama of her own and is stuck in a love triangle. All of this fills the book and the murder comes a bit far down way. I just thought all the drama, while it made for plenty of suspects, just distracted from the mystery.

The mystery itself wasn't bad. I liked the way the writer included ecology and ornithology information that was actually important to solving the mystery. I felt that the writer knows how to spin a story and how to develop characters and relationships. It just felt the relationship dramas took too much of center stage.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This installment of the Dr. Nell Ward Mysteries felt like a callback to a Golden Age story where a series of murders happen in a manor house. Nell is hosting the wedding and associated activities for her best friend Percy, whose precipitous decision to marry a man her family hates causes much upset and well, murders.

Nell. James and Rav are all on the scene, James as Nell's boyfriend, and Rav as her best friend (and kicking himself for taking too long to divulge his feelings for her). (I was gritting my teeth again every time James appeared in a scene, as I really didn't like him in book one.)

Of course James is involved with the investigation, though in a lesser capacity as he has a conflict of interest through his relationship with Nell. Nell keeps finding herself discussing points of the case with Rav, and the two end up discovering an ugly mess of secrets and dirty business practices as they sleuth their way through the guests' motives.

I really enjoyed this instalment, and learned a little more about barn owls (Nell and Rave opened the book by setting up a safe spot for a pair of owls to roost.) I love the way the highly observant Nell and Rav are able to deduce their way to the truth, despite the many obstacles in their way.

When's the next book out because I want to read it.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Embla Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Wedding Turns Murderous…
After a fabulous start to a new series in ‘A Murder of Crows’, we are now treated to the second in this well written and engaging series. The wedding of her best friend brings detectives to the door of Dr Nell Ward, an ecologist highly regarded in her field, once again when the day’s finale turns murderous. With a host of suspects, a plethora of motives and subterfuge galore.- the action is non stop. Billed as a cosy mystery but is so much more with ecological references and police procedural aspects aplenty. With a credible and colourful cast of characters, a compelling plot and a solid narrative this is, once again, a wholly immersive one sit read.

Nell and her trusty side kick Rav are back for the second book in the series.
I enjoyed the first in the series although I enjoyed this title even more .
Nell is in charge of the organisation of the wedding of her old friend Persephone ( Percy ) and a charismatic business man Hawke McAnstruther.
The wedding is taking place at Nell’s family estate and the wedding is the start of a web of lies, deceit and murder.
The writing is excellent and flows easily making the book an easy and enjoyable read.
The characters are amiable and Nell’s character is developing and she is more relaxed and less anxious than in the first book.
A great easy and enjoyable read! Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books.

I fell in love with this series after reading the first book and couldn't wait to read this one. The main character, Dr. Nell Ward, is an ecologist. The author is an ecologist, so there are a lot of details about the work Nell and her colleague, Rav, do out in the field. The first book dealt with bats and this one involves barn owls (and a falcon) which I found very interesting. I think Nell's background and the scientific facts included in the stories make the book and the series something unique.

In this book, Nell's best friend is one of the prime suspects in a murder and Nell will do whatever it takes to prove her innocence. She is able to easily find several other suspects, but finding the necessary proof is more difficult. Nell gets a helping hand from Rav, which makes DI James Clark, very jealous. I was happy to see this developing love triangle seems to have wrapped up and in a way that had me cheering. This book showed that one of the men was the most worthy of Nell's affections by far, but am afraid the author may have been hinting at future obstacles.

I liked the murder investigation and the way Nell and Rav worked together to get evidence. The life or death drama in the story had me on the edge of my seat. There are some very unpleasant side characters in this book and they bring out the worst in some of the other characters which made part of the story a little hard for me to take. However, overall I liked this book almost as much as the first one in the series and would rate it 4.5 stars. I really enjoy Nell's character and am already looking forward to the third book in the series which is scheduled to be released next year!

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of Embla Books. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

Having read and enjoyed the first book in this series, A Murder of Crows, I was looking forward to this one. It can easily be read as a stand alone book as well. Some of the characters from the first book are back and the new ones keep it fresh and interesting. I really enjoyed the style of writing and the plot and was kept guessing right till the end. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla books publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review.

Two days it took me to read this. I really enjoyed it. I hadn’t read the first one in the series but it can be read as a stand alone and is just as enjoyable. I really connected with the characters in this book, the depth of them and the side stories kept me jumping and guessing until almost the end of this murder mystery thriller.

As for the authors writing style, it is expressive and yet traditional. There is no use of expletives but feels modern still. This is definitely a series I can get hooked on so I’m going looking for book one and preordering the third ready for it coming out.

*DNF’d at 30%*

A CAST OF FALCONS is book two in the Dr Nell Ward mystery series. I read and enjoyed the first book in the series, A Murder of Crows.

I ended up DNFing this installment due to the pacing and side stories. It's a slow start: the body doesn’t appear for quite some time, and the murder plot is slowed down by the romance and friends/family subplots. Some readers might enjoy the slower pacing and extra stories, but as someone who prefers a strong mystery above all, this just didn’t work for me. Plus, the love triangle that was established in the first book is still going strong in this one, and felt tired and overdone.

This would be a great book for the right reader, but it wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Embla Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A Cast of Falcons is the second book in the cosy mystery series featuring Dr Nell Ward and I am really enjoying this series up to yet. This one kept me guessing all the way through and I really enjoyed the writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for my ARC.

The main character in this delightful series, Lady Eleanor Ward-Beaumont aka Dr. Nell Ward, is an aristocrat and ecologist. She is hosting the society wedding of her good friend, Lady Persephone "Percy" MacKenzie, at her familial estate, Finchmere. She is there with her work partner, Rav, and her boyfriend, DI James Clarke, Shortly after the wedding the odious groom is killed and from there the action and danger ramps up. I enjoyed the fast-pace and the mystery as well as the background of Nell's ecology job. I wasn't a big fan of the romance angle setting up a seeming love triangle with Nell's simmering feelings for her work partner.

I love a good cosy mystery and this one did not disappoint. This was book 2 of the Dr. Nell Ward series devoured and I’m eagerly awaiting book 3 now!
Thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books rid the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This is the second book in The Nell Ward series and it doesn’t disappoint.Some of the characters from the first book The Murder of Crows are back and the new ones add great depth to the story line. The plot is riveting and keeps you guessing right till the end.I eagerly await book 3 in this delightful series.

Book 2 of the Dr. Nell Ward series does not disappoint! Rather, it raises the bar. Nell and Rav and James are caught up in their love triangle at Nell's estate where she's hosting best friend Percy's rushed wedding to a total cad, who ends up murdered just after the reception.

There's romance, English manor old school murder with a limited cast of characters, and the ecology. Nell and Rav work with barn owls and observe otters. James is on the scene as a guest but also helps out his department which is disgruntled after his recent promotion. Percy's parents threaten to disown her, and the elderly Duke is a bombastic racist and misogynist.

It's a fascinating book and I tore through it. Now I'm impatiently waiting for the next!

4.3/5

DNFd at 10%. I'm afraid this one really wasn't for me. I had read the first book in the series and had mixed feelings but this one seemed to be less of what I liked about the first book and more of what I didn't like. The romance element wasn't to my taste and although I flicked forward to where the first murder happened I couldn't find the interest to carry on reading. Such a shame as I really liked the idea of an ecologist as an amateur sleuth. Although this wasn't for me, I'm not saying it's a bad book, and other people may like it fine. I've had to give a star rating as Netgalley demands this but I'd have preferred not to.

Thanks to the publishers, Embla Books, and Netgalley for kindly providing me with an advance release copy. All opinions are my own.

cozy-mystery, law-enforcement, eco-awareness, small-town, rural, ecologist, amateur-sleuth, wedding-madness, family-business, family-drama, family-dynamics, relationships, relationship-issues, relatives, country-house, closed-circle-mystery, murder, murder-investigation, jealousies, Scotland, soap-opera, graphic-wounds, thriller*****

Nonstop!
The one I rooted for as Victim of the Year was the first body (splat!). Everything else went on in rapid succession with more red herrings (of the romantic variety, mostly), plot twists (more bodies), and an underlying continuous plot. There isn't a single character who is boring! Some of the graphic medical descriptions may bother some (not me, I used to work trauma intake). I don't see why it can't be read as a stand alone.
I requested and received an e-book copy from Embla Books via NetGalley Thank you!

Thanks to Sarah and NetGalley for allowing me to read A Cast of Falcons before the publication date.
This is a cosy crime mystery with shades of Cluedo and stereotypical characters.

Dr. Nell Ward is conflicted between her feelings for her colleague , Rav and her boyfriend, DI James Clarke.

When her childhood friend Lady Persephone MacKenzie ( aka Percy) asks for her help to host her marriage at Finchmere, Nell has no idea what she is being drawn into.

In the 24 hours following Percy’s marriage to Hawke McAnstruther, 3 people will die and Nell finds herself in ICU.

This is an easy read with a smattering of romance and lies, twists, turns and red herrings galore before the truth is revealed.

The second book in the Dr Nell Ward series packs a lot into a mystery spread over a couple of days. At times, I felt as there was too much and the story was rushed in parts. Nell is hosting her best friend's wedding at her familial estate while balancing her new beau with her unacknowledged attraction to her work partner. When the groom is found dead hours after the ceremony, there's no shortage of suspects., and Nell and pal Rav leap into action, much to the dismay of the newly minted DI boyfriend.. While the mystery was interesting, the book would have been improved with fewer side stories. There's a third book planned in the series, and I hope the narrative gets back on track in that.

Thanks to Embla Books for access to a digital ARC on Netgalley.com.