A Murder of Crows

This is the first in the Nell Ward Mystery Series where, unusually, the main character and amateur sleuth is an ecologist.

What I enjoy about this book is how the author cleverly uses the skills of an ecologist to solve the mystery and thereby draws a parallel with CSI techniques. We also learn a great deal of fascinating ecological detail (particularly about bats and badgers) and environmentalism tangentially to the storyline, which certainly adds another layer to the reading experience and this is what has stayed with me.

I’ve come full circle by returning to my own book’s genre—crime fiction. This new take on the genre sees an ecologist playing Miss Marple. The author draws upon years of experience in ecology to weave a whodunnit in which main character Dr. Nell Ward finds herself at the center of a murder investigation. She must employ all her skills as an amateur detective and ecologist to clear her name. It’s the first in a series of eco-whodunnits from the author, mixing crime fiction with romance.