A Murder of Crows cover art

A Murder of Crows

Nell Ward, Book 1

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

A Murder of Crows

By: Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £27.99

Buy Now for £27.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

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....

In the sleepy village of Cookingdean, Dr Nell Ward is busy working in the grounds of a local manor house. Whilst inspecting an old tunnel, she did not expect to overhear a murder. As the only person with any clues as to what happened, Nell soon finds herself in the middle of the investigation.

Desperate to clear her name Nell, along with her colleague Adam, set out solving the murder using their skills as ecologists to uncover details no one else would notice. But it soon becomes clear that playing Agatha Christie is much harder than it might, at first appear....

The start of an exciting new cosy crime series—perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Fiona Leitch, Faith Martin and The Appeal.

©2022 Sarah Yarwood-Lovett (P)2022 Bonnier Books UK Amateur Sleuths Cosy Detective Fiction Mystery Women Sleuths Women's Fiction

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Death at the Auction cover art
Murder at the Dolphin Hotel: A Gripping Cozy Historical Mystery cover art
The Charity Shop Detective Agency cover art
The Engine House: A Black Beacons Murder Mystery cover art
Murder at Everham Hall cover art
A Date to Die For cover art
Mystery on Hidden Lane: An Utterly Gripping Cozy Mystery Novel cover art
The Girls on Chalk Hill cover art
The Bookshop Murder cover art
The Bingo Hall Detectives cover art
A Pen Dipped in Poison cover art
An English Garden Murder cover art
The Dinner Lady Detectives cover art
Murder in Tuscany cover art
The Cornish Wedding Murder cover art
Poison at the Village Show cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
It’s ok written, a few too many “stomach lurches” for my liking. I enjoyed the bits about bats and ecology (why is this book titled about crows…? Colony of bats doesn’t make a good title I guess). But ended up skipping chunks when of main characters going on and on and repeating lines about feeling and angst. Really could have done with some heavier editing. The narrator is generally good, but I had to put her on speed x1.2 at bits as she was too slow and annoying bits.

Hard to finish

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Thought I had made a mistake when the subject of the case had crows as a surname. Felt a bit cheesy ! But it grew on me. I loved the clincher that made the case. Clever and educational !

It grew on me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I tried this on a whim, not sure what to listen to. I'm not usually into murder mysteries, but thought I'd chance this. I was hooked. I think as well that the way it was read was enhancing, the voice actor was so talented I almost thought she'd switched person. Hooked on the series now, about to start book 2.

Hooked

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A fun read for anyone looking to unwind and be entertained. Throws in some extra ecological facts to make things more interesting (not preachy).

Easy listening, decent plot

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The storyline was strong and coupled with the accurate natural history snippets this made rivetting listening. I'm looking forward to more encounters with Nell.

Great first book from Sarah

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I was unsure about listening to this book but am so glad I did. The story and characters were so well written as was the story line!! I would highly recommend giving it a go as I’ve just bought the next one in the series.

Wow unexpected!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I don't always like books where the main character is rich, it removes too many obstacles and can lead to ridiculous things happening. I also don't often carry on with the series when I think a continuing secondary character is an idiot. Exasperation is okay in small doses but when it's overused to extend interest, I lose interest. I don't need a romantic side thing either, not having or feeling in need of one myself, so a continuing "will they, won't they" is wasted on me, but I appreciate others enjoy that.
That saying, I really enjoyed the scientific stuff, that was fascinating. The writing was good and so was the narration.
I've bought the next one and we'll see if my intolerance of the rich and annoyance with Adam (I'm too far in to learn new names, he's Adam now) allow me to get though that. The lure of possible birds of prey is too much not to listen.

Annoyance with a character shows they're well written.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
My first book by this author and must admit it has given me a taste to read more. very twisty tale with excellent environmental information and ecological facts and description, means not only a good read for murder/mystery readers, but also a small lesson in bats and their preservation with a few badgers thrown in. The story's well rounded and accomplished with very likeable characters who inhabit a map of village and landed country with aplomb. Thoroughly enjoyable!!

Lovely twisty tail(tale)!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If you’re squeamish, sensitive or dislike graphic death descriptions (or bat feeding details), you may wish to skim through the first 2 chapters of this book.

However it’s not your usual crime solving novel. It has an unusual approach. Fortunately, it’s not a traditional cozy mystery approach where the civilian , untrained female lead stumbles on a rushes murder and then rushes around contaminating the scene, ignoring the police and then single handedly solves the case, through luck, happenstance and good looks! No. This has police procedure, solicitors, barristers, court cases and sensible police officers.

It’s not Grisham or Connelly, neither is it Christie or Osman. It’s slow, not necessarily character driven, and not necessarily engrossing. I didn’t find it pacy or driven. That may have been due to the very dry (& limited) way that it was narrated (at first I had to speed up the narration, then I had to revert to default, once she found her pace. Also she did not seamlessly switch characters voices), but although it didn’t help, I don’t think that the tale lent itself to excitement or intrigue, despite the red herrings.

The stage is set for the next tale, which I will listen to before making a decision on this series…

Not to everyone’s liking, possibly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed this story, cared quickly for the characters and the ecology side close to my heart without going overboard. The narrators voices were really excellent. Looking forward to more in the series.

Thoroughly enjoyable read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews