A Mischief of Rats: A totally addictive British cozy mystery novel


 
 Cover
 
 Title Page
 
 Contents
 
 The Dr Nell Ward Mystery Series
 
 Copyright
 
 Dedication
 
 Map
 
 Chapter 1
 
 Chapter 2
 
 Chapter 3
 
 Chapter 4
 
 Chapter 5
 
 Chapter 6
 
 Chapter 7
 
 Chapter 8
 
 Chapter 9
 
 Chapter 10
 
 Chapter 11
 
 Chapter 12
 
 Chapter 13
 
 Chapter 14
 
 Chapter 15
 
 Chapter 16
 
 Chapter 17
 
 Chapter 18
 
 Chapter 19
 
 Chapter 20
 
 Chapter 21
 
 Chapter 22
 
 Chapter 23
 
 Chapter 24
 
 Chapter 25
 
 Chapter 26
 
 Chapter 27
 
 Chapter 28
 
 Chapter 29
 
 Chapter 30
 
 Chapter 31
 
 Chapter 32
 
 Chapter 33
 
 Acknowledgements
 
 The Nature of Crime
 
 Coming Summer 2023
 
 About the Author
 
 About Embla Books 
 
 Title Page
 Cover
 
 Title Page
 Contents
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 Title Page
 The Dr Nell Ward Mystery Series
 Copyright
 Dedication
 Map
 Chapter 1
 Chapter 2
 Chapter 3
 Chapter 4
 Chapter 5
 Chapter 6
 Chapter 7
 Chapter 8
 Chapter 9
 Chapter 10
 Chapter 11
 Chapter 12
 Chapter 13
 Chapter 14
 Chapter 15
 Chapter 16
 Chapter 17
 Chapter 18
 Chapter 19
 Chapter 20
 Chapter 21
 Chapter 22
 Chapter 23
 Chapter 24
 Chapter 25
 Chapter 26
 Chapter 27
 Chapter 28
 Chapter 29
 Chapter 30
 Chapter 31
 Chapter 32
 Chapter 33
 Acknowledgements
 The Nature of Crime
 Coming Summer 2023About the AuthorAbout Embla Books 
 The Dr Nell Ward Mystery Series
 A Murder of Crows 
 A Cast of Falcons 
 A Mischief of Rats 
 First published in Great Britain in 2023 by
 
 Bonnier Books UK Limited
 4th Floor, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1B 4DA
 Owned by Bonnier Books
 Sveavägen 56, Stockholm, SwedenCopyright © Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, 2023
 All rights reserved.
 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
 The right of Sarah Yarwood-Lovett to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
 This is a work of fiction. Names, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
 ISBN: 978-1-4714-1252-3
 This book is typeset using Atomik ePublisher
 Embla Books is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK
 www.bonnierbooks.co.uk 
 For Aunty Glad:
 Gladys Eleanor Ward.
 Regimental sergeant major in WW2; cordon bleu chef; roof-raiser in the NAAFI.
 Your gold standards, moral compass and humour inspired the best in people.
 With your lifetime of adventure, my heroine is named in your honour for a million reasons.
 I’m so lucky to have known you.
 ‘That’ll do won’t do.’ 
 Chapter 1
 
 Friday 19th April – 6 a.m.
 Knowing she was late, Dr Nell Ward floored the accelerator and whooshed along the swooping country lane in the electric Porsche Taycan. With the window down, the dawn breeze whipped through her pixie-cut hair. She couldn’t hold back her grin as she chased the sunrise blazing across the sky.
 This was Nell’s favourite weekend. The Classics at Finchmere – four days of classic-car racing at her family’s estate – was a popular event, and this year she had an ambitious project to oversee, one she hoped would be the catalyst for change. While it hadn’t got off to the best start on qualifying day yesterday, the optimism of a spring morning was infectious. A new day, a new chance to get things right.
 She inhaled the fresh scent of the stirring morning, her mood lightening with the sky. And over the hum of the engine, birdsong clamoured in the woodland flanking the narrow road. She needed to get a move on, or this morning’s survey would be jeopardised, and her favour to Mai, squeezed in before Nell’s busy day at the racetrack, wouldn’t be so helpful after all.
 Even if this visit would be fleeting, it would be great to see Mai again. Nell couldn’t help smiling at the thought of seeing her. It had been two years since she’d been Nell’s intern at EcoLogical Solutions consultancy, before moving on here to help manage Little Smitington Wood, but the memory of Mai’s infectious energy remained sharp in her mind: