The Finchmere estate, ecologist Dr Nell Ward's family home, is holding its first summer fete over a very busy three days. Delighted with their successful sustainability and rewilding projects and amazed to be trending on YouTube with Following Finchmere, she and partner Rav are hoping to encourage others to take a leaf out of their book and become more environmentally friendly in their own lives.

Things aren't quite as wonderful just beneath the surface as they appear online however, and when fire rips through a property close to Nell's heart and Rav receives some worrying correspondence they turn to their friend DI James Clark for help and advice. When a body is discovered with links to the estate and some of those working there the stakes are raised even higher, but with hundreds of visitors attending the fete how can they find a killer hiding in plain sight before they kill again?

Book five in this series, A Trace of Hares, is one of my favourite reads of 2024 so this had a tough act to follow. Did it succeed? Almost! There were a few jarring and rushed moments towards the end but until about 90% read, I was a page turning dervish! It then stuttered for me and I was a little disappointed. Once again the wildlife information was fascinating, indicating a great deal of knowledge and research while the characterisation was brilliant with all the new faces fitting right in with the main, much loved, protagonists, and I will absolutely be hoping for a seventh outing.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Embla Books, but the opinions expressed are my own. With no spoilers this is a series which does needs to be read in order and I definitely recommend book six to all who love this great series.

Another winner by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett. This series just keeps getting better with each book. Wonderful characters and a nerve wracking storyline it keeps you guessing right to the end. I can’t wait till the next book.

A Swarm of Butterflies is the 6th in the Dr. Nell Ward series. I can’t say that this one worked as well for me as the others.
Nell and Rav are preparing for a Rewilding Fete at Finchmere. Rav’s YouTube channel has been finding more and more fans, one of whom has become obsessed and sees Nell as an impediment.
Yarwood -Lovell provides plenty of red herrings, almost too many. Rav must be truly hot, with the number of women supposedly swooning over him. And there were so many disagreements between the individuals involved with the Fete, it didn’t sound like a pleasant place to be. Of course, by the end of the story, there were going to be a lot fewer folks left to work at Finchmere. was beginning to think of Christie’s And Then There Were None. The final resolution felt forced as there is an attempt to come up with an explanation about why certain people were killed. In fact, it’s never good when the author needs to take pages explaining everything.
One of the main things I like about this series is the healthy doses of nature included. I always feel like I learn something. And this time, there are also a few fun ideas. I love the idea of a Rosemary limoncello. Now, that’s something I’d love to try!
This should not be read as a stand-alone. There’s a lot of backstory in the prior 5 books which doesn't get rehashed here.
My thanks to Netgalley and Embla Books for an advance copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Embla books for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy this series, and look forward to a new release each and every time and this one didn’t disappoint. I loved that it was back at Finchmere - the last book was great but this felt great to be back on normal terrain and with multiple murders. There were so many new characters - although they still stayed on the periphery. Overall, it was great to see the plot develop and the various threads interlink until finally they duo solved the case. Poor James - one day he might solve it himself and not be told the answer by Nell and Rav. These two much be the unluckiest individuals too - they’ve seen more than enough murders for any lifetime.

I enjoy the Dr. Nell Ward series, the series just gets better. The story was very suspenseful with lots of twist and turns. I highly recommend this book and the series, and I look forward to the next.

I've been enjoying the Dr. Nell Ward series, and I was delighted to get the opportunity to read the latest installment thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.. The books keep getting better and better. I don't think this particular book would work well as a stand-alone; I think readers would appreciate the characters and their interpersonal relationships much more if they read the books in order. The story was very suspenseful with threats on Nell's and others' lives, and there were lots of twist and turns and suspicious characters. I highly recommend this book and the series, and I look forward to the next.

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

Finchmere - more deadly than Midsomer

This is the sixth and, it appears to be, final book in the Dr Nell Ward series focusing on an ecologist and heiress who always gets drawn into a crime and has to solve it with her ecological knowledge.

This being the sixth outing for the characters there is a lot of backstory and, although you would be able to follow what was going on without having read the first five books. Over the course of the books there has been a lot of development into a cast of nuanced characters.

The book is a combination of both predictive and unpredictable. I thought I knew how the crime was committed from half way through but it wasn't until the big reveal that I actually knew what had happened. Other things were nicely predictable in the way of a cosy mystery. The author treads a careful line avoiding being overly corny as to be corny but without being too gritty to stop being fun.

The only thing I thought was a shame is there is less ecology in this book, some people will like this, but I thought it was a shame as I felt this really brought something unique to the series.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this and I do hope, if the story allows there might be a seventh outing for Nell and co.

This might well be my favourite book in Sarah Yarwood-Lovett's series about Nell Ward. It moves with great pace and has less introspection than some of the other titles. Nell's professional and personal partner Rav has attracted a stalker who, it seems, will stop at nothing to gain his attention - or to remove Nell from his orbit. The police are quickly mobilised and offer (a perhaps unlikely level of) protection and investigation. Of course, the situation comes to a head during a three-day public event on Nell's parents' estate giving rise to a pressure-cooker of a situation. Equally of course, Nell and Rav put themselves in dangerous situations by ignoring the police's instructions. This was the one thing I still found irritating; I actally heard myself shouting out loud at their stupidity! But that aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.