This cozy-ish mystery follows Dr. Nell Ward, an ecologist, as she becomes a prime suspect in a murder. After spending hours evaluating the grounds of a manor, the last thing Nell expects to overhear is a murder. But with no other suspects and with Nell providing ample proof that she was at the location during the time of the murder, mere feet away from the scene of the crime, the police are very suspicious of her. In order to clear her name, Nell and her fellow ecologist, Adam, set out to uncover the truth of what happened that night.
TW/CW: stalking, revenge porn
I'd categorize this as a cozy-ish mystery because we do partially follow the police during their investigation. I'd say 70% of the book centers Nell and her investigation and the other 30% follows the police so this really didn't feel much like a police procedural. I haven't read a ton of cozy mysteries, but the more I read the more I really like them and this one was no exception. I think Nell is a really great main character and I really believed how she gets involved in the investigation. I know a common complaint of cozy mysteries is how the main character getting involved is sometimes a bit of a stretch and a little unbelievable. In this case, however, I think Nell's characterization was so consistent that I didn't for one second question why she would keep sticking her nose in the investigation. Also, I can completely see her continuing to do so which makes me really excited that this is the beginning of a series.
I loved the characters but did find some of the side characters to be a little less useful than I was expecting. I'm sure they'll play a bigger role going forward in the series, but they just felt a little flat in this book. I could see exactly why they were in the book, but it didn't feel like there was much more to their character than that reason. I'm hoping we continue to see them going forward and maybe have their characterization and relationships fleshed out a bit more. Nell is a fantastic character and even if the next book didn't have any other side characters, I'd still read it. I thought her background was really smartly woven into the narrative so we would learn more about her without it getting into info-dump territory. There is a bit of a love triangle by the end of the book which normally isn't my thing but I did feel like both potential partners for Nell were well developed so I could completely see her choosing either person. I also loved the amount of character development we get from Nell in this book but there's still an obvious path forward for her personal growth as well for the future books.
The ecology angle was a really interesting aspect to the book and I think it really added a great layer to the reading experience. Yarwood-Lovett spent 16 years as an ecologist and all that knowledge and passion really comes across on the page. There were so many little details that really added to the overall narrative that felt seamless. I think this aspect really tapped into my inner love for nature documentaries of all sorts. There's also some great information in the end of the book where Yarwood-Lovett gives some more details about some of the ecological-based twists and reveals in the book and how they're based in reality, even if they seem a little far-fetched at the time. I think Nell's investigation was really well balanced between the ecology side as well as some good old fashioned sneaking around so this didn't feel overly science-y.
I did find the ending to be a little info-dumpy but I don't think there was really a better way to get all the information across to the reader. I think the reveals were presented in the most entertaining way, even if it was a little heavy-handed. I did enjoy the mix of interpersonal, character reveals alongside the reveals of the mystery and since we basically knew all the main details by the ending, I was more intrigued in the interpersonal reveals. The last 20% of the story was really fast paced with a lot of pieces falling into place. There were a number of threads outside the main murder mystery that suddenly ended up being connected which made the main mystery more complex than I was expecting. Since a lot of these initial reveals came really fast and didn't give the reader a lot of time to adjust to them, I think having a slower explanation really helped clear up some foggy bits for me.
Overall, this was a really great cozy-ish mystery. I loved the characters and the investigation path. The ecology angle worked so well and I cannot wait to continue on in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books for the ARC
Expected publication date is July 1, 2022
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