A Mischief of Rats
-
-
4.3 • 3 Ratings
-
-
- $19.99
Publisher Description
When a driver dies during a glamourous classic car event at her family's estate, Dr Nell Ward is in a race against time to uncover the truth and prevent the killer from making a speedy getaway...
Back in her natural habitat, Dr Nell Ward heads to a woodland pond to survey local newt populations. She's shocked to discover a car submerged in the water - with the driver dead behind the wheel.
Nell recognises the dead man as professional racing driver, and tabloid love rat, Jack Rafferty, whose performance on (and off) Finchmere's racetrack had earned him enemies.
Suspecting this isn't the tragic accident it appears DI James Clark calls upon Nell and her ecological skills to help find the murderer. But she soon finds that more lurks under the surface than she could ever have imagined. Despite the danger, Nell is determined to dredge up the truth from the murky depths of this case, before it's too late...
Customer Reviews
An entertaining mystery with an ecological twist
A Mischief of Rats is the third entertaining cosy mystery in Sarah Yarwood-Lovett's series featuring heiress-ecologist Dr. Nell Ward. The plot in this instalment revolves around the annual classic motor racing event held at Nell's family's estate, Finchmere.
Nell and her friend Mai are distracted from an ecological survey of greater crested newts in a woodland pond when they discover a body in a submerged crashed car. The deceased had been due to drive a high-spec electric vehicle in the upcoming Finchmere classic, which Nell is heavily involved in organising.
While I have to admit that motor racing leaves me cold, I found that that element of the narrative was well integrated into the plot and I remained interested throughout. As in previous books, Nell's work as an ecologist gives her a unique perspective on the evidence, which again proves pivotal in solving the mystery.
I had the sense that A Mischief of Rats featured more ecological content than its series predecessor, and less of the aristocratic hi-jinks which I found quite irritating in the last book. This is proving to be an engrossing series, and I'm looking forward to reading book #4, A Generation of Vipers, scheduled for publication on 15 August 2023.
I'd recommend A Mischief of Rats to readers who enjoy action-packed cosy mysteries with a bit of a twist. Readers with an interest in ecology and natural sciences will find this a particularly stimulating read. [N.B. There are no actual rats in the story, the reference is an analogy for the behaviour of some of the human characters!]
My thanks to the author, ecologist-author Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, publisher Embla Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this and other titles in the series.