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. This is the third book in the series but is readable as a standalone. Full of interesting and somewhat quirky characters, interesting locations and lots of interesting facts around ecology. A love situation is developing in this book that hopefully won’t derail the quality of these mysteries going forward. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

I loved how this mystery series had an ecologist woven into the mysteries as this is so different to other series and have already the first book but not the second. I found Nell a likable character, but her family history/boyfriends do mean the series might be best read in order. This book ended with an abrupt cliffhanger which I don't like to have happen but it should mean more books in the series. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a great series: I love Nells, how it always makes me learn something new about ecology and environment, the humoour, and the cast of characters.
Now it's the but: love triangle, the bane of cozy mysteries and my pet peeve.
This is a solid mystery that kept me reading and guessing.
It's the best book in this series and I think there will be more as there's a cliffhanger.
It's 4.5 upped to 5, something less due to the love triangle.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Another gripping murder mystery involving the tenacious Dr Nell Ward. I loved the setting of the classic car event and meeting some favourite characters from previous books has made this a great ride. Her mix of botany expertise and detective skills make the perfect character needed to solve the mystery again.

A Mischief of Rats is the third book in the Dr Nell Ward series and I am really loving this series up to now. I'm enjoying reading about the characters and their development. I found it to be a fun read but the ending was a little abrupt and ended on a cliffhanger. I look forward to more books in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for my ARC.

A Mischief of Rats is the third book in the Nell Ward Mystery series by British-born ecologist and author, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett. Despite the stress of running a classic car racing weekend at Finchmere, Dr Nell Ward is up at dawn saving newts in glass jars. Except the newt pond has a car with a dead driver in it, the driver who’s meant to win the race that will publicise the environmentally -friendly Mercedes Benz 200SL Gullwing . Bad boy Jack Rafferty, aka Love Rat made a mess (intentionally?) of the qualifying race, but that did get the attention of the press.

What initially looks like an accident turns out to be murder, so Nel’s ex, DI James Clark is on the scene. There are plenty of twists and turns, lots of mini-dramas for several characters, and it gradually becomes apparent that plenty of those involved in the race and car auctions have a motive to eliminate Jack.

Nell does tend to spread herself too thin and then bemoans the fact that she is so busy and so tired. She’s too busy to spend planned time with Rav’s parents then wonders why they don’t like her. And after DI Clark’s behaviour in the previous book, seriously, who cares about his fate, romantic or otherwise.

This is a cosy mystery heavy on ecology and classic car racing, so may appeal to fans thereof, but the soup of plant and animal species names, and the models of cars, are likely to bore many readers. There is a cliff-hanger ending and there may be three more books in the series, but the ecologist/amateur detective trope has run its course for this reader.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Embla Books

A Mischief of Rats by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett is the third book in the Nell Ward series that is a cross between cozy mystery and police procedural. The story is told from more than one point-of-view, including Nell's as well as DI James Clark. Dr. Ward is an ecologist whose work plays a large role in the mysteries she investigates. In this book, she is doing a survey of newts in a local woodland area when she discovers a submerged car and a dead body. Later her scientific skills come into play when she helps the authorities determine if the man, a well-known race car driver, drowned in the pond he was found in or someplace else. Things become complicated for Nell since James, the lead detective on the case, is her ex-boyfriend. There is also a possible tie to her family since the victim was going to be competing in a race on Nell's family estate.

I've read each of the books in the series and I love how Nell's job as an ecologist is woven into the mysteries. Nell is such a likable character, but there are plenty of characters in the books that aren't, such as Nell's cousin Shannon and Nell's boyfriend's mother. Sometimes Nell's family and relationship dramas play too large of a part in the stories. This book ended with an abrupt cliffhanger that I didn't care for, but it did make me want to find out what will happen in Book 4. I rated this book 3.5 stars, but rounded up.

I received an advance copy of this ebook from NetGalley and Embla Books at no cost. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

Dr. Nell Ward has her usual ecological duties to deal with, but the big thing keeping her extremely busy is the annual Finchmere race.

In a bid to make this year’s race a proof of concept for a more environmentally friendly race, Nell has one team enter a rebuilt full wing Mercedes as an electric vehicle. The racing team is on board, but their superstar driver and crud human Jack is disruptive, both on the course and off, and turns up dead in his car in a pond in a nature preserve Nell was helping to check prior to a major assessment.

A big complicated event to run, some ecological work to complete, and a dead body. But that’s not all. Nell also has the added stress of meeting Rav’s parents, already predisposed to not like her because she was involved with murders recently.

The stress is only amped up when Aanya is revealed to have slept with Jack, bringing police notice onto the family, much to her parents' fear and disgust, which they wrongly direct at Nell as a likely unwholesome influence on Aanya and Rav.

DI James Clark is on the case, and there is some discomfort between Nell, Rav and James, and lots of conflict within James' investigative team because of the trajectory of his career, seemingly at the expense of others equally qualified.

So, there's a lot going on, with the Finchmere annual event's reputation, and more importantly, Nell's family's reputation, on the line, ratcheting up the tension.

We see a Nell run off her feet, and trying to find small moments to enjoy the event as well as make a good impression. I like how ecological clues are important for solving the case, which also includes possible fraud, including murder. Author Yarwood-Lovett switches between Nell and James again in this book, giving us a good picture of everything going on, and what the stakes are for Nell.

I enjoyed this third book in the series, but was surprised by the cliffhanger ending. Now I absolutely have to read book four!

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

Nell ward is back and as always death and murder aren’t far behind .
A car racing event is held at the Finchmere estate , Nell’s family estate .
Now Rav and Nell are finally a couple , Rav’s family are invited to the event in order to get to know each other better but as always things don’t go to plan.
A driver is found dead but is it an accident?
Their book as so much going on it’s a real roller coaster of a read with plenty of red herrings .
I like the character of Nell she is a complex character but with each book we see a different side to her .
Looking forward to the next in the series!
Thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books.

I still love Dr Nell Ward and her friends. I felt like I was worried about real friends when they were in trouble. I also really enjoyed learning about biodiversity and native species of plants.

Mystery is my favorite genre, and reading one with the expertise/perspective of someone like Dr Ward makes it even more interesting and unique. Can’t wait for the next in the series to find out what happens next!

I think fans of Dr Ruth Galloway and/or Amelia Peabody would love this series too.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books for an advanced copy of the e-book in exchange for my honest review.

After Nell's spectacular break up' at the end of book 2, she ended up in the arms of Rav, her colleague. Rav's parents don't approve of Nell's involvement in multiple murders, made even worse when she invites them to her family estate where another murder occurs. James, her ex, is dating Nell's gold-digging cousin who is on the scene along with thousands of folks for a classic car race.

Sarah Yarwood-Lovett takes a basic plot like the above and makes it extra engaging by making wealthy Lady Eleanor (Nell) a working ecologist, partnering up with a friend to turn a local pond into a preservation habitat and with a specialist team to convert a vintage Mercedes gullwing into a battery-powered racing vehicle. James, her ex, is a police inspector whose peer is skeptical of his recent promotion and his continued reliance on Nell's expertise.

We're treated to high-speed car chases, racing, vintage cars with fraudulent provenance, bat houses, pond water analysis, adultery, supermodels, and Nell's quick thinking.

This heady mix combines for a page-turner. Keep writing, please! We need more of these!

If you’re into ecology and tree-hugging, as well as a “woke” agenda, then you’ll enjoy reading A Mischief of Rats. by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, the third novel in the Dr. Nell Ward Series. This murder mystery is set in the small village of Finchmere in the UK, and the protagonist, Dr. Nell Ward, a very wealthy heiress is in charge of the annual classic car event sponsored by her family. She is an ecologist, and her boyfriend, Rav, is also an ecologist and works closely with her. While checking on the newts in a local pond, Nell discovers a car submerged in the pond and inside is the body of a very arrogant, irritating and womanizing driver, Jack Rafferty who is kept on the racing team because of his famous father who broke dozens of racing records. There are several suspects including his new wife who is sick of his cheating, as well as the members of the racing team who all hate Jack Rafferty.

Yarwood-Lovett does a good job of developing the characters; they are believable and fit well in the story. The story goes back and forth in the different chapters from the ecology stuff (absolutely boring), and the racing which is fun to read. There are also family problems: Rav’s parents don’t approve of Nell even though she has done nothing wrong. As the story progresses to the dénouement there is some suspense that builds, but the suspense is lost during the ecology chapters. There is surprise ending, not only as to who the murderer is, but readers are left with a cliffhanger that will need to be resolved in the subsequent novel.

Readers who are into “saving the newts” will enjoy this novel, but those of us who aren’t into hugging trees should probably skip this one.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I’ll admit to being drawn to the Nell Ward series for her unusual career as an ecologist. This time, Nell is managing a classic car race at her family’s estate. She also has a vested interest in a classic car that was made over using an electric engine. One of the racers is found dead, in an apparent car accident when his car goes off the road and ends up submerged in a pond. Nell is helping her friend Mai count newts at the woodlands pond when they discover the car. The dead driver, Jack Rafferty, had a reputation as a ladies man and a reckless racer. There were plenty of people with reasons for wanting him dead.
Nell is a well formed character. Yarwood-Lovett does a great job of giving the reader a feel for her career. The secondary characters are also well fleshed out. The story proceeds at a nice pace with a mix of police interviews mingled with the racing milieu and the ecology project Mai is working on. The story moves between Nell’s and DI James Clark’s POVs, which helps keep the pace up. There’s just enough of Nell’s personal life mixed in, as the race is meant as an opportunity for her to get to know her boyfriend’s parents. The writing is clear and it’s easy to envision each scene. I found the ending a bit overly dramatic and I’m not a fan of cliffhangers, which this has.
This is the third in the series and I have yet to read the first two. But it worked fine as a stand-alone.
My thanks to Netgalley and Embla Books for an advance copy of this book.

The third book in the Nell Ward series, this is another fantastic cosy crime book. I love the writing, characters and the story, in fact I love everything about this book. Can’t wait for the next in the series, the cliffhanger at the end of this one had me on the edge of my seat. Highly recommended

Another enjoyable cosy detective where a rather alpha-male classic car racing driver ends up in a pond. Nell Ward is on the case, her family run these classic races and there is a lot hanging on them; she's also an ecologist and it is really good to see some accurate science in such a book. Nell has to mulit-task with running the races, meeting boyfriend's disapproving family, helping out with an ecological survey, mitigating the environmental hazards caused by the death, dealing with some prima donnas, fraud and an old boyfriend with his new sniping girl-friend. Well written, plenty of rich context but a somewhat cliff-hanging ending - these I do not like. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

#AMischiefofRats #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for the E-arc copy of the novel, A Mischief of Rats! I would highly recommend to anyone who love mysteries! It is a great read.

As other reviewers have said, this does end on a cliffhanger, although it in no way affects the plot of this book. These books are a delightful mix of romance, mystery, ecology and police procedural. What I really enjoy is how the author shows the suspicion felt about the landed gentry. This is not a book where if you are titled and wealthy, people value you more. Great characters that I have become invested in over the three books. I eagerly await the next one.

Classic Car Conundrum..
After a fabulous start to a new series in ‘A Murder of Crows’ and the follow up of ‘A Cast of Falcons’, we are now treated to the third entry in this well written, intelligent and engaging series. When a death occurs at a classic car event can Dr Nell Ward, an ecologist highly regarded in her field, once again uncover the truth? 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.

Third in the series, and another winner.
I have become a fan of cosy crime of late = nothing too brutal or graphic, and with lots of lovely people to get to know. Sarah Yarwood-Lovett seems to have cracked the genre, with the ongoing tale of the professional, personal and romantic life of protagonist Nell., her family, her lover and her ex, police officer James.
The crimes are themselves robust and well-crafted, with the solution to whodunnit cleverly wrapped in ecological know-how.
And I am loving the learning about our very own, fragile, countryside, and the role our ecologists play in protecting it.

Third book in this detective series. A good paced murder mystery which makes it a good read, unfortunately it ended on a cliff hanger, which does spoil it somewhat. Hopefully the next book won’t be too long in coming out.