A Cast of Falcons: Nell Ward, Book 2

‘A Cast of Falcons’ is Book 2 in Sarah Yarwood-Lovett’s Dr. Nell Ward series of cosy mysteries.I had enjoyed the first book, ‘A Murder of Crows’, and was excited to return for more sleuthing combined with ecology.At the end of ‘A Murder’ Nell’s childhood friend, Lady Persephone (Percy) MacKenzie announced that she was to marry businessman Hawke McAnstruther following a whirlwind romance.At the opening of ‘A Cast of Falcons’ Percy’s original venue had fallen through and Nell has impulsively suggested the wedding be held on her family’s estate. Now with only hours to go Nell is running about trying to make sure the wedding goes well. Then she learns that Percy’s parents fiercely disapprove of the groom.Nell tries to smooth things over with all parties; though soon realises that the Mackenzies have good cause as Hawke is obnoxious. Still, there’s nothing like a body to seriously interfere with everyone’s day. No further details to avoid spoilersThanks to Percy’s invitation in ‘A Murder’, the two men in Nell’s life are also at the wedding. These are D.I. James Clark, which proves handy given the developments, and Nell’s colleague, Dr. Aravindan (Rav) Kashyap, who is also assisting Nell with installing nesting boxes on the property.In ‘A Murder of Crows’ Rav was known as Adam, a name he had assumed in childhood in order to fit in with his British classmates. He now wishes to acknowledge his Indian heritage.At the start of the novel with Percy’s Bridezilla behaviour and Nell trying to be a good friend while juggling multiple roles, this almost could have been the setup for a romantic comedy. Still, soon we were well into cosy mystery territory, though with a touch of romance still evident.Again, I enjoyed this very much finding it a quick and thoroughly engaging read. I appreciated the integration of ecological themes alongside the expected cosy mystery tropes.I was very pleased to see that Book 3, ‘A Mischief of Rats’, will be published in February 2023.4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Characters have depth , plot ticks along nicely with enough to keep you interested so all in all a decent read and will be reading more

These books are great fun to read, real page turners. The eco side is really interesting and compensates for the romance and settings being a bit clichéd - I could definitely see these as midsomer murders, which is not necessarily a bad thing, obviously.

1st book in this series was an eye opener. A book full of ecology and whereas this continues with some mention it does eventually revolve around a barn showing signs of being swept, the proof being scattered owl droppings. Sorry for a bit of a spoiler but there's a lot more to the finale of this book and worth waiting for.Where I found this book let me down was the family feuding. I get lost with all those names and relationships. It's a wedding so expect jealousy and rivalries which to be fair is the whole premise of the theme of this book. The final lift scenario to me is a bit too unrealistic being an engineer at heart I'd need to calculate the strengths and actual physics of holding and securing something in the way explained (simply) in this book..no spoilers here as the details are in the book.All in all an escape, a comfortable summertime read, and I'll read the next in the series to see if ecology is the main theme which was the main presence and evidence seen in the far superior first book of this series.

I enjoyed the first book so much that I downloaded the next in the series immediately and it didn’t disappoint.Nell is now in a relationship with the newly promoted DI James Clark, the policeman who had charged her with murder in the first book of the series. Nell’s best friend Percy (Lady Persephone McKenzie) is getting married and Nell has offered to host the wedding on her family’s estate. Nell has known Percy’s family all her life but she can’t understand why they are all against the marriage, there is a lot of tension around but Percy won’t tell Nell what about the issues. Nell was confused but not too concerned until she met the groom, Hawke. He was self important, brash, intrusive and seemed to think that Nell would welcome his rovinghands as they sat at dinner, she did not. During the wedding ceremony, the bride’s mother objected but the service continue and the couple were declared man & wife. A few hours later the groom was dead.At first they thought it was a tragic accident. As before, Nell felt compelled to investigate, but that irritated James, he was annoyed that she couldn’t understand the necessity of leaving things to the professionals. This time, her colleague Rav, was keen to help her but that just irritated James more and then there was a murder.This was a pacy read with interesting characters and good mystery.

I felt the book was slow developing but I'm glad I stayed with it. The twists are enticing and the romantic turn is great

相当状態の悪い品だった。確か状態良好という名目だったはずだが…

But completely enjoyable. Suspenseful, with plenty of action. Writing veers from topnotch to clunky, though, and sometimes it's distracting. Love the characters though, so 9/10 would recommend.

Loved Book 1 and had to see what happened in the cliff hanger at the end but my beef is that as the series progresses, the author develops the character of Dr Nell and changes that perfectly lovely combination into a disappointing 90% British Royalty and 10% Marty Stouffer. I struggled through Book 2 and gagged on Book 3. Couldn’t do it. So definitely read Book 1, but don’t get too excited and buy the whole series. Way too many murders to be believable.

Wonderful mysteries, great characters and the settings are provocative! Great writing, well paced mysteries are Sarah Yarwood-Lovett’s forte. The English countryside, the castles, manor houses and estates teeming with wildlife are the perfect settings for murder and mayhem. Can’t wait for the next installment of Dr Nell Ward’s, the ecologist, murder mysteries.