Sarah Yarwood-Lovett

In the quiet folds of the English countryside, where hedgerows hide secrets and shadows stir beneath the underbrush, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett has carved out an unexpected space for crime. Not with flashing lights or high-speed chases, but with the rustle of leaves, the flight of a crow, and the knowing eye of an ecologist who’s spent years decoding nature’s quiet language.

Before she wrote a single line of fiction, Sarah spent over sixteen years as a wildlife specialist, tracking nocturnal mammals, studying animal behavior, and collecting data that would later shape her fictional worlds. That life—spent crouched in woodlands and poring over soil samples—didn’t just teach her patience; it trained her to notice what others might miss. It's this attentiveness that makes her mystery novels sing with authenticity. Her debut, A Murder of Crows, introduced readers to Dr. Nell Ward, a fellow ecologist who can spot a lie as easily as a deer trail. The book quickly soared to Kindle’s Top 5, earning acclaim for its smart, environmentally grounded twist on the classic whodunit.

Set against pastoral landscapes and tangled estates, her series weaves murder mysteries with ecological insight, from A Cast of Falcons to A Swarm of Butterflies. Each installment balances page-turning suspense with the quiet marvels of the natural world—owl pellets, rare moths, invasive plants—elements that most cozy mysteries would never think to weaponize. And yet, in Sarah’s hands, they don’t just add flavor; they often solve the crime.

Raised near the South Downs and now living in the Pacific Northwest, Sarah continues to draw inspiration from her surroundings. She’s spoken at schools about the stranger sides of science (yes, someone really did ask if bats wee on their faces) and even contributed to legal cases as an expert witness. But it’s through fiction that she’s found a home for her dual love of storytelling and science.

Readers who enjoy the atmospheric charm of Elly Griffiths or the sly wit of Richard Osman will feel right at home in Sarah Yarwood-Lovett’s world—where every twig snap might be a clue, and every birdcall might be warning of something darker in the woods.

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