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A Poppy Mystery Tale #1
Barking Up the Right Tree
The launch of a brand new British cozy crime series perfect for fans of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club and SJ Bennett's The Queen Investigates series.
When Emily's boyfriend walks out, she is devastated.
As she is puzzling over what to do with the rest of her life, she is surprised to learn that her great aunt has died, leaving Emily her cottage in the picturesque Wiltshire village of Ashton Mead. This inheritance comes with a Emily must take care of her great aunt's pet. Not knowing what to expect, Emily sets off for the village, hoping to make a new life for herself.
In the village, she soon makes friends with Hannah who runs the Sunshine Tea Shoppe, and meets other residents of the village where she decides to settle. All is going well... until her unknown pet arrives. Then Emily's ex-boyfriend turns up and against the advice of her new friends, she takes him back.
When her next-door neighbor's daughter disappears in mysterious circumstances, Emily decides to investigate, unwittingly putting her own life in danger...
When Emily's boyfriend walks out, she is devastated.
As she is puzzling over what to do with the rest of her life, she is surprised to learn that her great aunt has died, leaving Emily her cottage in the picturesque Wiltshire village of Ashton Mead. This inheritance comes with a Emily must take care of her great aunt's pet. Not knowing what to expect, Emily sets off for the village, hoping to make a new life for herself.
In the village, she soon makes friends with Hannah who runs the Sunshine Tea Shoppe, and meets other residents of the village where she decides to settle. All is going well... until her unknown pet arrives. Then Emily's ex-boyfriend turns up and against the advice of her new friends, she takes him back.
When her next-door neighbor's daughter disappears in mysterious circumstances, Emily decides to investigate, unwittingly putting her own life in danger...
320 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2023
26 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
Leigh Russell
69 books332 followersLeigh Russell has sold over a million books in her Geraldine Steel series of crime novels. Published in English and in translation throughout Europe and in China, the Geraldine Steel titles have appeared on many bestseller lists, including #1 on kindle. Leigh's work has been nominated for several major awards, including the CWA New Blood Dagger and CWA Dagger in the Library.
Leigh has also written a trilogy featuring Lucy Hall, set in the Seychelles, Paris and Rome, and two standalone psychological thrillers.
Leigh serves on the board of the Crime Writers Association and chairs the judges for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger Award.
She is represented by Bill Goodall.
Leigh has also written a trilogy featuring Lucy Hall, set in the Seychelles, Paris and Rome, and two standalone psychological thrillers.
Leigh serves on the board of the Crime Writers Association and chairs the judges for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger Award.
She is represented by Bill Goodall.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
March 22, 2023
I’d rather vote Tory than re-read whatever the heck this was. I’d rather climb Mt Everest in a swimsuit than choose to spend more time with these characters. I’d rather drown in a pool of Donald Trump’s tears than rate this higher than one star.
I’m not sure how this managed to get published (we’re still a few months away from the official release date, but you know what I mean) with writing this juvenile, with characters this half-baked, with a plot this shoddy.
Emily, a 24-year-old marketing consultant, has managed to get through the COVID pandemic pretty much unscathed when, one month after she’s lost her job, her boyfriend breaks up with her. She is devastated and doesn’t know what to do with her life until she learns that her great aunt has died, leaving Emily a cottage in the picturesque but small and quiet village of Aston Mead. Moving out of her London flat and into her new home she learns that in order to properly inherit the cottage, she needs to take care of any pet her great-aunt left behind. This is how Emily finds herself looking after Poppy, an energetic puppy who is also a great judge of character. When her neighbour and her great aunts’ friends begin behaving oddly, Emily starts doubting whether her aunt’s death was a pure accident…
Listen, I love a good cozy crime novel, but this was neither good nor cozy, with the main reason being the novel’s main character. OH MY GOD, this Emily-b*tch was one of the dumbest, most naive, silliest, and quite frankly most boring MCs I have ever come across.
Emily is sooo devastated when her boyfriend breaks up with her (on page 1 btw), only for us to learn that she doesn’t even know what her boyfriend does for a living?? She is literally like “I wasn’t sure exactly what he did, but he worked online from the kitchen table.” GURLLLL, the disconnect??? You don’t even know what job the love of your life is working??? 💀💀
Anyway, she will never be happy again, blah dee blah, so she moves to the middle of nowhere. Soon after, she meets her new next-door neighbour whom she is instantly suspicious of because she doesn’t talk much and has a metal fence in her garden.
You’ve read it here first, folks. People with metal fences are shady. I have read a couple of very unlikely and crazy theories in my life, but I swear to God, you HAVE to be high on something (whatever it is, I need it, NOW) to suspect your neighbour whom you haven’t even had a proper chat with of killing your great aunt simply because they have a metal fence in their garden, I mean, oh lord. And Emily’s crazy theories just get more and more lurid:
When Hannah, her new friend (voluptuous, friendly, pretty, the town’s café owner, so simply your average run-of-the-mill side character) rightly tells her off for being a nosey lil bitch, Emily is SHOOK. Gurl, you’re the SHEIN version of Miss Marple and Sherlock Holmes, and I wouldn’t even hire you if you were for free.
There’s more to say about Emily’s sheer stupidity and naivete, but we need to talk about the writing first: The whole novel reads like a schoolgirl’s diary. Not only because it is written entirely in 1st person POV, but it was so devoid of emotion; there was so much telling instead of showing going on, I was close to losing my marbles. From now on, I propose a ban on all 1st person narratives unless authors who want to keep using it take a leaf out of, oh wait, literally any AO3 writer’s book because my God, this novel can’t hold a candle to 90% of all 1st person POV fanfics I have read in recent years.
To illustrate:
There is no way you could make this more monotone and boring than it already is. HOWEVER, back to Emily. See, she’s instantly attracted to this Toby who seems to be a really nice, attentive, and kind person. But what does Emily do when her neighbour (remember, she is suspicious of her and thinks she killed her aunt) tells her some story about Toby having stalked her daughter? She INSTANTLY believes her. Girl, I know you’re not the brightest light to grace the candelabra but how come you develop the CRAZIEST theories about your neighbour only to believe every single thing she says without fact-checking it?
So her neighbour tells her Toby was once interested in her daughter (which was apparently about 5-6 years ago), and the only thing Emily can think is: “According to Hannah, Sophie was about four years younger than Toby, but it was nothing unusual for an eighteen-year-old boy to go out with a fourteen-year-old girl.” OH. MY. GOD, EMILY. How about everything?? EVERYTHING is unusual about an 18-year-old boy wanting to go out with a CHILD. Bruh, no wonder you decide to take your boyfriend back when he suddenly comes knocking on your door, you are literally blind to every red flag you see. 🤧😭😭🚩
But have I talked about her welcoming her bf back with open arms even though he walked out on her the minute she lost her job and decides to come back the minute she inherited a mortgage-free house?? 🤡
Ben is the most toxic person ever, and he is so purposefully written as unfriendly, money- and self-obsessed that the reader needs just about one brain cell to understand why he wants to be in Emily’s life again. There are about a dozen instances that tell us what a moron he is (oh, he only drinks at pubs that are CAMRA certified, he wants to blackmail two old women for money because he and Emily believe they have killed her great aunt, he calls the dog ‘it’ and wants Emily to give her up, he only drinks expensive wine, demands he is served a full English breakfast even though the café doesn’t serve breakfast after noon, tells Emily to “get [herself] tarted up” and even has a real estate person come into the cottage TWICE WITHOUT telling Emily) and yet Emily just won’t believe her friends when they are like: “it’s a lil weird he is showing up again just when you’ve inherited a house”. I mean, idk what kind of psychotic crisis this girl is going through, but I want no part in it.
When she finally comes to her senses and dumps him, she is the most extra person, saying things like: “‘I will never trust another man […] I never want to have another relationship with a man as long as I live.” Ems, baby, unfortunately, you are stupid AND hetero, we already know that resolution isn’t going to work out.
Goodreads' summary described this as “perfect for fans of ‘The Thursday Murder Club’” but this novel is not just miles, but hundreds of kilometres behind the kind of quality of entertainment and writing Richard Osman delivers. I can’t, in good graces, recommend this book to anyone, not even to my dog.
As always, thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Original review: this was god awful, review to come
I’m not sure how this managed to get published (we’re still a few months away from the official release date, but you know what I mean) with writing this juvenile, with characters this half-baked, with a plot this shoddy.
Emily, a 24-year-old marketing consultant, has managed to get through the COVID pandemic pretty much unscathed when, one month after she’s lost her job, her boyfriend breaks up with her. She is devastated and doesn’t know what to do with her life until she learns that her great aunt has died, leaving Emily a cottage in the picturesque but small and quiet village of Aston Mead. Moving out of her London flat and into her new home she learns that in order to properly inherit the cottage, she needs to take care of any pet her great-aunt left behind. This is how Emily finds herself looking after Poppy, an energetic puppy who is also a great judge of character. When her neighbour and her great aunts’ friends begin behaving oddly, Emily starts doubting whether her aunt’s death was a pure accident…
Listen, I love a good cozy crime novel, but this was neither good nor cozy, with the main reason being the novel’s main character. OH MY GOD, this Emily-b*tch was one of the dumbest, most naive, silliest, and quite frankly most boring MCs I have ever come across.
Emily is sooo devastated when her boyfriend breaks up with her (on page 1 btw), only for us to learn that she doesn’t even know what her boyfriend does for a living?? She is literally like “I wasn’t sure exactly what he did, but he worked online from the kitchen table.” GURLLLL, the disconnect??? You don’t even know what job the love of your life is working??? 💀💀
Anyway, she will never be happy again, blah dee blah, so she moves to the middle of nowhere. Soon after, she meets her new next-door neighbour whom she is instantly suspicious of because she doesn’t talk much and has a metal fence in her garden.
I wondered what might be concealed on the other side of the fence that interested my dog so much. Speculating about the mysterious secret my neighbour could be hiding, it struck me that my great aunt had died as the result of a fall, not long after she had acquired a dog who was keen to tunnel under the metal fence […] Was it possible Poppy was trying to gain access to my neighbour’s garden in order to expose a nefarious secret hidden from the world? The more I speculated about it, the more likely an explanation it seemed both for the unusual metal fence, and for my great aunt’s unexpected fall down the stairs.
You’ve read it here first, folks. People with metal fences are shady. I have read a couple of very unlikely and crazy theories in my life, but I swear to God, you HAVE to be high on something (whatever it is, I need it, NOW) to suspect your neighbour whom you haven’t even had a proper chat with of killing your great aunt simply because they have a metal fence in their garden, I mean, oh lord. And Emily’s crazy theories just get more and more lurid:
It just seems a bit of a coincidence that my great aunt had a fatal accident a couple of months after she brought a dog home with her […] And the postmortem said she died after falling down the stairs at home. But what if Poppy was trying to get under the fence, and my great aunt followed her and discovered what was going on, and Alice needed to get rid of her?
When Hannah, her new friend (voluptuous, friendly, pretty, the town’s café owner, so simply your average run-of-the-mill side character) rightly tells her off for being a nosey lil bitch, Emily is SHOOK. Gurl, you’re the SHEIN version of Miss Marple and Sherlock Holmes, and I wouldn’t even hire you if you were for free.
There’s more to say about Emily’s sheer stupidity and naivete, but we need to talk about the writing first: The whole novel reads like a schoolgirl’s diary. Not only because it is written entirely in 1st person POV, but it was so devoid of emotion; there was so much telling instead of showing going on, I was close to losing my marbles. From now on, I propose a ban on all 1st person narratives unless authors who want to keep using it take a leaf out of, oh wait, literally any AO3 writer’s book because my God, this novel can’t hold a candle to 90% of all 1st person POV fanfics I have read in recent years.
To illustrate:
"Warmer weather had arrived at last, the change in the temperature happening almost overnight. Throughout April the dismal weather hadn’t bothered me much, since I was mostly indoors cleaning, painting walls, and sorting through my great aunt’s belongings, all of which was time consuming and exhausting. I was proud of my achievement, and wished Ben could see me now."
"A customer entered the pub. Noticing Hannah, he waved, and came over to join us. Without realising it, he had just given me another reason to stay in Ashton Mead, at least for the time being. Not the kind of man you would notice in a crowd, Toby was tall and slim and his hair was jet black."
There is no way you could make this more monotone and boring than it already is. HOWEVER, back to Emily. See, she’s instantly attracted to this Toby who seems to be a really nice, attentive, and kind person. But what does Emily do when her neighbour (remember, she is suspicious of her and thinks she killed her aunt) tells her some story about Toby having stalked her daughter? She INSTANTLY believes her. Girl, I know you’re not the brightest light to grace the candelabra but how come you develop the CRAZIEST theories about your neighbour only to believe every single thing she says without fact-checking it?
So her neighbour tells her Toby was once interested in her daughter (which was apparently about 5-6 years ago), and the only thing Emily can think is: “According to Hannah, Sophie was about four years younger than Toby, but it was nothing unusual for an eighteen-year-old boy to go out with a fourteen-year-old girl.” OH. MY. GOD, EMILY. How about everything?? EVERYTHING is unusual about an 18-year-old boy wanting to go out with a CHILD. Bruh, no wonder you decide to take your boyfriend back when he suddenly comes knocking on your door, you are literally blind to every red flag you see. 🤧😭😭🚩
But have I talked about her welcoming her bf back with open arms even though he walked out on her the minute she lost her job and decides to come back the minute she inherited a mortgage-free house?? 🤡
Ben is the most toxic person ever, and he is so purposefully written as unfriendly, money- and self-obsessed that the reader needs just about one brain cell to understand why he wants to be in Emily’s life again. There are about a dozen instances that tell us what a moron he is (oh, he only drinks at pubs that are CAMRA certified, he wants to blackmail two old women for money because he and Emily believe they have killed her great aunt, he calls the dog ‘it’ and wants Emily to give her up, he only drinks expensive wine, demands he is served a full English breakfast even though the café doesn’t serve breakfast after noon, tells Emily to “get [herself] tarted up” and even has a real estate person come into the cottage TWICE WITHOUT telling Emily) and yet Emily just won’t believe her friends when they are like: “it’s a lil weird he is showing up again just when you’ve inherited a house”. I mean, idk what kind of psychotic crisis this girl is going through, but I want no part in it.
"He assured us he was going to make a lot of money importing grains from overseas, and his confidence was contagious. ‘Where will you be importing the grains from?’Toby asked [...]‘Oh, that’s not the point,’ he replied. ‘The thing is, there’s a market for it here and where there’s a market there’s money to be made.’ [...]I wished Hannah had stayed on to hear what Ben said about investing for the future and watching his funds grow.It sounded very impressive and I certainly had no objection to having a wealthy boyfriend."
When she finally comes to her senses and dumps him, she is the most extra person, saying things like: “‘I will never trust another man […] I never want to have another relationship with a man as long as I live.” Ems, baby, unfortunately, you are stupid AND hetero, we already know that resolution isn’t going to work out.
Goodreads' summary described this as “perfect for fans of ‘The Thursday Murder Club’” but this novel is not just miles, but hundreds of kilometres behind the kind of quality of entertainment and writing Richard Osman delivers. I can’t, in good graces, recommend this book to anyone, not even to my dog.
As always, thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Original review: this was god awful, review to come
January 18, 2023
After Emily loses her job and her boyfriend Ben dumps her and leaves. Emily thinks that life couldn’t get any worse. She than receives a letter from a lawyer says that her Aunt that she hasn’t seen in so many years has left her house in her will and she can only keep the house if she looks after her pet.
When she arrives in the sleepy village and enters the house, it is quite rundown full of rubbish and a fish in a fish tank. Emily doesn’t mind looking after a fish but a few weeks later. Her Aunt’s friend arrives and said it is not the fish she should be looking after but a small dog called Poppy. She doesn’t know anything about keeping a dog but agrees and they become the best of friends.
Meanwhile Emily finds her aunts diary with some cryptic messages about her neighbour Alice who is not sociable at all. She has a big metal fence around her garden and Emily is curious to find out what is behind it. So, she tries to be the good neighbour and makes friends with her and find more about her. She senses something is not right.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for copy Barking up the right tree by Leigh Russell. This is a great start to a new cosy mystery series. But I found Emily quite gullible and believing what everyone tells her. To be honest there wasn’t much of a mystery to this story except for the ending but I enjoyed the unique story and will look forward to see how the series develops. 4 stars from me.
When she arrives in the sleepy village and enters the house, it is quite rundown full of rubbish and a fish in a fish tank. Emily doesn’t mind looking after a fish but a few weeks later. Her Aunt’s friend arrives and said it is not the fish she should be looking after but a small dog called Poppy. She doesn’t know anything about keeping a dog but agrees and they become the best of friends.
Meanwhile Emily finds her aunts diary with some cryptic messages about her neighbour Alice who is not sociable at all. She has a big metal fence around her garden and Emily is curious to find out what is behind it. So, she tries to be the good neighbour and makes friends with her and find more about her. She senses something is not right.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for copy Barking up the right tree by Leigh Russell. This is a great start to a new cosy mystery series. But I found Emily quite gullible and believing what everyone tells her. To be honest there wasn’t much of a mystery to this story except for the ending but I enjoyed the unique story and will look forward to see how the series develops. 4 stars from me.
March 8, 2024
This book is awful. Erm, the only good thing about it is the vocabulary used.
January 11, 2023
I received this book from the publisher via net galley in exchange for an honest review.
This isn’t really a cosy mystery / crime book for like 80% of it, it’s the ramblings of a frankly paranoid and shallow character who has very little to redeem her. While there is something to her paranoia the basis for it is just not enough to justify it!
Additionally the writing is heavy handed and clunky. Everything’s pretty surface level and just felt like it needed a good style edit.
Nothing happens at all til right at the end either, so the pacing feel so off.
I had read one of Leigh’s earlier books before and felt similarly, but much time had passed and she was getting blurbed but some great authors so I was hopeful for improvement, plus making it a cosy mystery felt like it could have changed it up enough for me to enjoy. Sadly, no. I just don’t think her writing is for me, and I won’t be trying again :(
This isn’t really a cosy mystery / crime book for like 80% of it, it’s the ramblings of a frankly paranoid and shallow character who has very little to redeem her. While there is something to her paranoia the basis for it is just not enough to justify it!
Additionally the writing is heavy handed and clunky. Everything’s pretty surface level and just felt like it needed a good style edit.
Nothing happens at all til right at the end either, so the pacing feel so off.
I had read one of Leigh’s earlier books before and felt similarly, but much time had passed and she was getting blurbed but some great authors so I was hopeful for improvement, plus making it a cosy mystery felt like it could have changed it up enough for me to enjoy. Sadly, no. I just don’t think her writing is for me, and I won’t be trying again :(
April 17, 2023
This was, without a shadow of a doubt, the worst book I've ever read in my life.
It went from being ridiculously stupid to infuriatingly bad.
The main character was just plain stupid and her decisions made no sense whatsoever! All side character had been assigned the total of on single defining feature each and most of them were annoying to the point of wanting to throw the book out the window rather than keep reading their horrible dialogue.
Oh! And the mystery was a disappointing nonsense!
Avoid!
It went from being ridiculously stupid to infuriatingly bad.
The main character was just plain stupid and her decisions made no sense whatsoever! All side character had been assigned the total of on single defining feature each and most of them were annoying to the point of wanting to throw the book out the window rather than keep reading their horrible dialogue.
Oh! And the mystery was a disappointing nonsense!
Avoid!
August 11, 2023
signed up for an easy & cosy mystery ft. a cute dog
received the most annoying & stressful protagonist ft. a cute dog
received the most annoying & stressful protagonist ft. a cute dog
June 24, 2024
I was quite worried when I went to track this book on here and saw it was rated less than 3. But I would agree it’s a 3 at most. It was a very easy and simple book to read but probably a little too simple. I know it was trying to create the small, quiet town narrative, but with that it all became a little too basic. Extra star for the dog being the centre of the story though.
April 20, 2024
An audiobook which was easy listening but an incredibly stupid tale, it’s book one of a trilogy but this particular story line ended and I will not listen/read another.
The heroine inherits a house on condition that she looks after the deceased’s pet - which turns out to be a Jack Russell/ShihTzu puppy. The aunt’s death is somewhat suspicious as is the neighbours’ behaviour. Feminists would have a fit as the heroine seems incredibly feeble whilst possessing a vivid imagination. Family relationships are strained and revolve around women finding husbands to support them because that is the woman’s role and only means of finding true happiness.
Characters are shallow and extreme. The author is reputedly a master of the psychological thriller and this is her first venture into something lighter - I am not tempted to try her usual genre.
That said it was undemanding, nicely read and pleasant company whilst I made cards.
The heroine inherits a house on condition that she looks after the deceased’s pet - which turns out to be a Jack Russell/ShihTzu puppy. The aunt’s death is somewhat suspicious as is the neighbours’ behaviour. Feminists would have a fit as the heroine seems incredibly feeble whilst possessing a vivid imagination. Family relationships are strained and revolve around women finding husbands to support them because that is the woman’s role and only means of finding true happiness.
Characters are shallow and extreme. The author is reputedly a master of the psychological thriller and this is her first venture into something lighter - I am not tempted to try her usual genre.
That said it was undemanding, nicely read and pleasant company whilst I made cards.
November 12, 2023
Emily’s life is at a crossroads, no job and now no boyfriend, but out of the blue she inherits her great aunt’s cottage in the countryside. The caveat being that she can only inherit the cottage if she looks after her great aunt’s pet, Poppy the dog. She does and then as she adjust to life, finds herself asking questions about her great aunt’s death and her reclusive neighbour.
I really wanted to like this book, but there were quite a few problems. She inherits this cottage from her great aunt that she used to write to but never saw. Why? Wouldn’t it have been good to understand why this great aunt felt such a connection with Emily that she trusted her with her cottage and her pet? The series suggests that the dog is going to play a big part, but has very little impact. And Emily, I’m not sure I like her.
I really wanted to like this book, but there were quite a few problems. She inherits this cottage from her great aunt that she used to write to but never saw. Why? Wouldn’t it have been good to understand why this great aunt felt such a connection with Emily that she trusted her with her cottage and her pet? The series suggests that the dog is going to play a big part, but has very little impact. And Emily, I’m not sure I like her.
September 26, 2023
Good idea, terrible execution. No main character could be that dumb. Poppy (the dog) is the best in it
March 24, 2023
*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author, Crime & Mystery Club and Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
This is a great cosy mystery series starter – far-fetched, fluffy and fun!
Emily might be the main character, as village newcomer and amateur investigator, but Poppy the puppy obviously steals the show every time she pops up on the page. The side characters are interesting too – ex-boyfriend Ben, new bff Hannah and potential romantic interest Toby… but who can be trusted when Emily can’t tell what is a real threat and what is her very active imagination at work!
I did get a little bit frustrated with her at times in that respect, as she blows so hot and cold with everyone, changing her feelings towards people based on rumours and imaginings rather than their behaviour towards her, but as the story unfolded and her character began to develop and start to trust her instincts, I realised that her heart was in the right place and that Poppy would help her straighten her out.
The plot was quite a surprising mystery – different from most – and did keep me guessing most of the way through. The climax almost veered into the horror genre for a while and I got chills more than once during the big reveal. It was a huge contrast to the softer side of the story, with Emily’s adjustments to her new life and companions, yet it totally worked – I couldn’t stop reading!
This is one of those books that gets you hooked on the characters so quickly that you can’t wait to see them in action in another plot straight afterwards. There is just so much potential in Ashton Mead, Emily and Poppy and I look forward to following their future adventures.
Anyone looking for a pinch-of-salt light mystery read with an adorably fuzzy hook and lots of scope for development in the future should give this book a go. And those already sold will be thrilled to hear that book 2, Barking Mad, will be unleashed this summer!
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
This is a great cosy mystery series starter – far-fetched, fluffy and fun!
Emily might be the main character, as village newcomer and amateur investigator, but Poppy the puppy obviously steals the show every time she pops up on the page. The side characters are interesting too – ex-boyfriend Ben, new bff Hannah and potential romantic interest Toby… but who can be trusted when Emily can’t tell what is a real threat and what is her very active imagination at work!
I did get a little bit frustrated with her at times in that respect, as she blows so hot and cold with everyone, changing her feelings towards people based on rumours and imaginings rather than their behaviour towards her, but as the story unfolded and her character began to develop and start to trust her instincts, I realised that her heart was in the right place and that Poppy would help her straighten her out.
The plot was quite a surprising mystery – different from most – and did keep me guessing most of the way through. The climax almost veered into the horror genre for a while and I got chills more than once during the big reveal. It was a huge contrast to the softer side of the story, with Emily’s adjustments to her new life and companions, yet it totally worked – I couldn’t stop reading!
This is one of those books that gets you hooked on the characters so quickly that you can’t wait to see them in action in another plot straight afterwards. There is just so much potential in Ashton Mead, Emily and Poppy and I look forward to following their future adventures.
Anyone looking for a pinch-of-salt light mystery read with an adorably fuzzy hook and lots of scope for development in the future should give this book a go. And those already sold will be thrilled to hear that book 2, Barking Mad, will be unleashed this summer!
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
February 27, 2023
Emily has lost her job, her boyfriend leaves her and all seems to be going wrong until she discovers she has inherited a large house in the country from her great aunt, on the proviso that she look after whatever pet inhabits it.
Emily seems to decide very quickly to move in, she makes friends with Hannah and Luke and tries her hardest to get to know her strange neighbour Alice. She also discover the pet she is to look after isn't the goldfish she originally thought but a little dog, called Poppy, the absolute star of the book.
Emily was likeable but infuriatingly naive and a bit stroppy at times. Hannah was very patient and I'm not sure I'd have stuck things out as long as she did if I was treated that way.
Ben, Emily's ex, was odious, written to be exactly that and it's safe to say Leigh nailed his character. A despicable narcissistic money grabbing arrogant (insert sweary words here!!)
Emily suspects her neighbour is up to no good and tried to investigate exactly what she's up to, which leads to quite an explosive finale. An interesting look at familial relationships, particularly those between mother and daughter, mother and son and amongst female siblings. I recognised a lot in the descriptions.
Overall a really enjoyable read and I can't wait for the next installment.
Emily seems to decide very quickly to move in, she makes friends with Hannah and Luke and tries her hardest to get to know her strange neighbour Alice. She also discover the pet she is to look after isn't the goldfish she originally thought but a little dog, called Poppy, the absolute star of the book.
Emily was likeable but infuriatingly naive and a bit stroppy at times. Hannah was very patient and I'm not sure I'd have stuck things out as long as she did if I was treated that way.
Ben, Emily's ex, was odious, written to be exactly that and it's safe to say Leigh nailed his character. A despicable narcissistic money grabbing arrogant (insert sweary words here!!)
Emily suspects her neighbour is up to no good and tried to investigate exactly what she's up to, which leads to quite an explosive finale. An interesting look at familial relationships, particularly those between mother and daughter, mother and son and amongst female siblings. I recognised a lot in the descriptions.
Overall a really enjoyable read and I can't wait for the next installment.
October 13, 2025
I never thought I’d be rating a Leigh Russell book so low, but honestly I really disliked this book. The main protagonist was so dry and boring, not to mention a damn fool when her toxic ex came back. Nothing felt well established, characters felt very one dimensional and fleeted in and out of the narrative. The only redemption was the sweet puppy, but even then it wasn’t enough to redeem the book.
Such a shame bcos her other books have been fab and I was drawn to this because of that, but it just fell so flat for me.
The main “wild moment” was over in a flash, with no real depth, honestly dragged this out because couldn’t face finishing it - I’m so sorry Leigh :(
Such a shame bcos her other books have been fab and I was drawn to this because of that, but it just fell so flat for me.
The main “wild moment” was over in a flash, with no real depth, honestly dragged this out because couldn’t face finishing it - I’m so sorry Leigh :(
January 7, 2023
This is a really fun, cosy mystery. Emily loses her job and then her boyfriend walks out. Whilst she's pondering life choices, she inherits a house from a distant relative. She heads over to the little village to tidy up the house and decides to stay. She makes nice friends and gets a job but her immediate neighbour behaves very oddly.
Emily reads her relative's diary and tries to make sense of some of the entries with very 'imaginative' ideas.
The ending is unexpected and very satisfied, I'll be delighted to read more as they come out.
Thanks to netgalley and crime and mystery club for my arc
Emily reads her relative's diary and tries to make sense of some of the entries with very 'imaginative' ideas.
The ending is unexpected and very satisfied, I'll be delighted to read more as they come out.
Thanks to netgalley and crime and mystery club for my arc
March 6, 2024
A delightful, cozy mystery all about a young girl who moved into her new home and ends up investigating the mystery of her aunts death and the disappearance of her next door neighbour’s daughter, aided by her pet, the sweet little Poppy the puppy! 🐶
It’s a lovely book, easy to read, relatively light and enough happening to keep you engaged. It’s not going to change your world, but it’s a bit of fun.
It’s a lovely book, easy to read, relatively light and enough happening to keep you engaged. It’s not going to change your world, but it’s a bit of fun.
April 14, 2024
#Suffolklibraries #BorrowBox #discovereadsbookgroup
The first in this series. A delightful easy read.
I'm looking forward to listening to more in the series.
A definite recommendation 😀
The first in this series. A delightful easy read.
I'm looking forward to listening to more in the series.
A definite recommendation 😀
September 16, 2023
Surely this should have been a young adult book? I'm giving it two stars because I listened to it and the reader was good! I kept snorting at the daftness of it all.
May 19, 2024
3.5 stars
June 25, 2023
CAWPILE 5.57
A very easy read, quick paced- yes some things are unbelievable, yes some things are cringy and convenient for the plot but if you need an easy fuss free read that you don't take too seriously then I did enjoy it.
As a dog owner, I loved Poppy the dog and her antics.
Will I pick up any sequels...tbd- but I will keep it in mind if I'm struggling to read or need a book with a lighter tone.
A very easy read, quick paced- yes some things are unbelievable, yes some things are cringy and convenient for the plot but if you need an easy fuss free read that you don't take too seriously then I did enjoy it.
As a dog owner, I loved Poppy the dog and her antics.
Will I pick up any sequels...tbd- but I will keep it in mind if I'm struggling to read or need a book with a lighter tone.
January 7, 2023
A cosy crime novel. Poppy the dog is the star of the book, whom Emily inherits from her great aunt, along with her beautiful cottage. I disliked Emily intensely and couldn’t have any sympathy with her - she is rude, short tempered and unlike able - I’m surprised her new ‘friends’ in the village didn’t cast her out. Not my favourite book I’m afraid.
March 10, 2023
When Emily worked all through the Covid lock-down but, just as life is beginning to return to normal, her boss is forced to make cutbacks and makes her redundant. At first Emily is not concerned because she’d already considered making a change. However, a week after she loses her job, her boyfriend, Ben, announces that he is leaving and moves out of their shared flat in London. Emily is devastated and her confidence is badly damaged, She is also worried about how she can afford to pay the rent now she is jobless and alone. She is afraid that it will be necessary to return to her parents’ home. Although she loves her parents, she dreads the thought of living with them because her mother is always certain she knows best and holds the old-fashioned belief that her daughters need to be married in order to be secure and settled for life. Emily’s mother had always been charmed by Ben and Emily knows she will blame her for the break-up and urge her to try and get Ben back. Because of this, Emily wishes to keep the news of Ben’s departure from her parents for as long as possible, but she does confide in her older sister when Susie phones her. Susie has never liked Ben and upsets Emily by showing how pleased she is that he is out of Emily’s life.
After a depressing day, job hunting, Emily is surprised to receive a letter asking her to contact a firm of solicitors. When she does she is told that her Great Aunt Lorna has died, following a fall, and Lorna’s will names Emily as her sole heir and her inheritance includes a cottage in a village in Wiltshire. Emily has not seen her great aunt since she was a small child, and this stroke of good fortune comes as a total surprise. Only one stipulation in the will worries her: Emily must care for any pets that her great aunt had owned. Emily has not had to look after any pets before but if she fails to comply with this she will lose her inheritance.
Emily goes to visit the village of Ashton Mead. She finds the cottage delightful, although in need of a thorough cleaning, and the village small and friendly. Rather than selling the cottage and using the proceeds to pay her rent for the London flat, Emily decides to live in the cottage. She is relieved that the only pet in evidence is a goldfish, which she feels she can deal with. However, a couple of weeks later, an elderly woman arrives with a small white and brown puppy and tells Emily that she had been a friend of her great aunt and had taken Lorna’s dog, Poppy, home to stay with her and her sister until Lorna’s heir arrived and had a chance to settle down. Emily is horrified at the responsibility that is so suddenly thrust upon her but she knows she has to keep Poppy if she wants to retain possession of her inheritance.
Soon Emily comes to love Poppy as much as she loves her new home. She settles into the village, makes friends and gets a job as a waitress at the village tea shop. Most of the villagers are welcoming, especially Hannah, who owns the tea shop, and Hannah’s friend, Toby, but Emily’s next-door neighbour, Alice, is initially reserved to the point of rudeness. Emily feels sorry for Alice, who is obviously lonely and missing her daughter, Sophie, who has gone away to travel round the world. Although Alice remains easily offended, after a while, she invites Emily into her to house listen to the letters she has received from Sophie, although this invitation does not extend to Poppy, who appears to dislike Alice as much as Alice does the usually friendly little dog.
Two things mar Emily’s pleasure in her new home. One is her mother’s disapproval of her decision to remain in the village and her refusal to beseech Ben to come back to her, but Emily is used to being the focus of her mother’s displeasure and accepts her complaints philosophically. The other problem is more serious and one that Emily does not feel she can ignore. She discovers her great aunt’s diary, which contains guarded references that lead Emily to believe that Lorna suspected that someone in the village had done something very wrong. Emily puts this information together with the fact that Lorna’s death had been caused by injuries sustained when she fell down the stairs in her cottage and believes it is possible that Lorna had been pushed, which means she had been murdered. As this suspicion grows in Emily’s mind she knows she owes it to her great aunt to discover the truth, even though her new friends dismiss her tentatively expressed fears, telling her that she has an over-active imagination.
When different people in the village tell her very different things, Emily does not know who she can trust and pushes away those who might have made good allies. Although she is distracted by Ben’s sudden reappearance in her life, she continues to investigate, oblivious to the fact that those who provoke the attention of a murderer place themselves in deadly danger.
Barking Up the Right Tree is the first in a cosy crime series featuring Emily, Poppy and the other residents of the village of Ashton Mead. It has a delightful village setting and some lively, likeable characters, notably the adorable Poppy, who effortlessly steals every scene in which she appears. This is a contemporary novel that has the atmosphere of classic cosy crime and one of the most delightful canine characters in crime fiction.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron
For Lizzie Sirett (Mystery People Group)
After a depressing day, job hunting, Emily is surprised to receive a letter asking her to contact a firm of solicitors. When she does she is told that her Great Aunt Lorna has died, following a fall, and Lorna’s will names Emily as her sole heir and her inheritance includes a cottage in a village in Wiltshire. Emily has not seen her great aunt since she was a small child, and this stroke of good fortune comes as a total surprise. Only one stipulation in the will worries her: Emily must care for any pets that her great aunt had owned. Emily has not had to look after any pets before but if she fails to comply with this she will lose her inheritance.
Emily goes to visit the village of Ashton Mead. She finds the cottage delightful, although in need of a thorough cleaning, and the village small and friendly. Rather than selling the cottage and using the proceeds to pay her rent for the London flat, Emily decides to live in the cottage. She is relieved that the only pet in evidence is a goldfish, which she feels she can deal with. However, a couple of weeks later, an elderly woman arrives with a small white and brown puppy and tells Emily that she had been a friend of her great aunt and had taken Lorna’s dog, Poppy, home to stay with her and her sister until Lorna’s heir arrived and had a chance to settle down. Emily is horrified at the responsibility that is so suddenly thrust upon her but she knows she has to keep Poppy if she wants to retain possession of her inheritance.
Soon Emily comes to love Poppy as much as she loves her new home. She settles into the village, makes friends and gets a job as a waitress at the village tea shop. Most of the villagers are welcoming, especially Hannah, who owns the tea shop, and Hannah’s friend, Toby, but Emily’s next-door neighbour, Alice, is initially reserved to the point of rudeness. Emily feels sorry for Alice, who is obviously lonely and missing her daughter, Sophie, who has gone away to travel round the world. Although Alice remains easily offended, after a while, she invites Emily into her to house listen to the letters she has received from Sophie, although this invitation does not extend to Poppy, who appears to dislike Alice as much as Alice does the usually friendly little dog.
Two things mar Emily’s pleasure in her new home. One is her mother’s disapproval of her decision to remain in the village and her refusal to beseech Ben to come back to her, but Emily is used to being the focus of her mother’s displeasure and accepts her complaints philosophically. The other problem is more serious and one that Emily does not feel she can ignore. She discovers her great aunt’s diary, which contains guarded references that lead Emily to believe that Lorna suspected that someone in the village had done something very wrong. Emily puts this information together with the fact that Lorna’s death had been caused by injuries sustained when she fell down the stairs in her cottage and believes it is possible that Lorna had been pushed, which means she had been murdered. As this suspicion grows in Emily’s mind she knows she owes it to her great aunt to discover the truth, even though her new friends dismiss her tentatively expressed fears, telling her that she has an over-active imagination.
When different people in the village tell her very different things, Emily does not know who she can trust and pushes away those who might have made good allies. Although she is distracted by Ben’s sudden reappearance in her life, she continues to investigate, oblivious to the fact that those who provoke the attention of a murderer place themselves in deadly danger.
Barking Up the Right Tree is the first in a cosy crime series featuring Emily, Poppy and the other residents of the village of Ashton Mead. It has a delightful village setting and some lively, likeable characters, notably the adorable Poppy, who effortlessly steals every scene in which she appears. This is a contemporary novel that has the atmosphere of classic cosy crime and one of the most delightful canine characters in crime fiction.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron
For Lizzie Sirett (Mystery People Group)
March 28, 2023
Ben, our protagonist’s (MPs) boyfriend sounds huffy and a little premature as he packs his clothes into her suitcase to move out from the home they’ve shared for only six months and within one week of her losing her job. His reasoning is that he won’t be able to work from the kitchen worktop with her around all day but how she’ll pay the rent with the scant pay-out from a job she’s been in for only six months isn’t mentioned.
I would love to have learnt the MPs name in the prologue. Her dreams of her ideal home give us insight into character and her age is inferred by their carefree lifestyle before the company she worked for went bust. I had to guess at her age but alongside her thoughts of them settling down together we learn on page eleven that she’s twenty-four. Finsbury Park is a young and trendy part of North London, all of which suggests that the author, Leigh Russell has researched character and setting or is writing with knowledge of the area.
Her Mum feels Emily’s already on the shelf and Mum likes Ben because he’s shown an interest in her daughter and because, to her unenlightened eyes he represents the right gender. Sister, Susie, ten years older and close to Emily is less enamoured with Ben but lives in Colchester, too far away to offer anything other than telephone support.
One afternoon, after another depressing job search, she arrives home to a letter from her Great Aunt Lorna’s executors to say that she’s her sole heir. Initially supposing the letter to be a scam – she’s hasn’t ever received a response to the years of letters she wrote at her aunt’s behest. Yet the contact details appear accurate, so the following day she travels to their West End offices. It is therefore on page thirteen that we learn our MP is called Emily Wilson, one of the few times in the book when her name is used. When Emily’s told the address of the property she’s inherited, she appears not to have any familiarity with it, despite years of writing to her great aunt at – presumably – the same address in Wiltshire.
Alighting from a bus in the centre of the village she’s faced with a small array of shops, any of which might provide her next employment. Her phone tells her that the tiny village is made up of six streets which fan out from the river. It sounds idyllic and the house is beautiful from the outside but inside is gloomy and the electricity appears to have been disconnected despite the fact that her aunt has only been gone from the house for a few months.
There’s no immediate signs of the pet mentioned in the will and I wondered if this was because it was being looked after by a friend rather than being cared for in a more expensive kennels? The state of the house and that no money was mentioned alongside the house, suggested GA Lorna lived off her pension and had no savings.
Finally, in the kitchen Emily finds a goldfish bowl with a live occupant, so someone’s got a key and has been coming into the house to feed it. The intrigue deepens. Sometime later, an older woman turns up with a puppy which she says she’s been looking after for Lorna. The puppy’s barks have disturbed her goldfish, so she’s left it at Lorna’s and popped back to feed it.
Once Poppy, the puppy, moves in she scrabbles and barks at the high metal fence which separates Emily’s garden from her neighbour’s. Emily is curious about her recalcitrant neighbour whose daughter has gone travelling. She imagines that the daughter has been killed by her mother and buried in the back garden, which she thinks is prompting the dog’s wary and unfriendly behaviour both to the neighbour and to the fence.
Her neighbour seems totally reclusive, keen to keep her distance from her which further adds to Emily’s concerns and her thoughts that Lorna’s diary references to not seeing ‘S’ might relate to daughter, Sophie’s disappearance and that her aunt could have shared her suspicions and been pushed down the stairs by the neighbour, Alice.
In conversations Emily always drifts off into her own world and despite a degree in marketing she zones out of a conversation Harriet, her boss at the local tea shop, has about increasing customer numbers to afford a valuable extension to the business Emily now works in as a waitress.
Is she a fantasist as well as an unreliable narrator? Is Emily, barking up the wrong tree as her new friends laughingly assure her? Or is there something sinister hidden behind Alice’s evasiveness and behind the high metal fence which separates their properties …
Fans of cosy romantic crime and YA fiction readers will love this first book in the cosy crime series about Poppy and Emily.
I would love to have learnt the MPs name in the prologue. Her dreams of her ideal home give us insight into character and her age is inferred by their carefree lifestyle before the company she worked for went bust. I had to guess at her age but alongside her thoughts of them settling down together we learn on page eleven that she’s twenty-four. Finsbury Park is a young and trendy part of North London, all of which suggests that the author, Leigh Russell has researched character and setting or is writing with knowledge of the area.
Her Mum feels Emily’s already on the shelf and Mum likes Ben because he’s shown an interest in her daughter and because, to her unenlightened eyes he represents the right gender. Sister, Susie, ten years older and close to Emily is less enamoured with Ben but lives in Colchester, too far away to offer anything other than telephone support.
One afternoon, after another depressing job search, she arrives home to a letter from her Great Aunt Lorna’s executors to say that she’s her sole heir. Initially supposing the letter to be a scam – she’s hasn’t ever received a response to the years of letters she wrote at her aunt’s behest. Yet the contact details appear accurate, so the following day she travels to their West End offices. It is therefore on page thirteen that we learn our MP is called Emily Wilson, one of the few times in the book when her name is used. When Emily’s told the address of the property she’s inherited, she appears not to have any familiarity with it, despite years of writing to her great aunt at – presumably – the same address in Wiltshire.
Alighting from a bus in the centre of the village she’s faced with a small array of shops, any of which might provide her next employment. Her phone tells her that the tiny village is made up of six streets which fan out from the river. It sounds idyllic and the house is beautiful from the outside but inside is gloomy and the electricity appears to have been disconnected despite the fact that her aunt has only been gone from the house for a few months.
There’s no immediate signs of the pet mentioned in the will and I wondered if this was because it was being looked after by a friend rather than being cared for in a more expensive kennels? The state of the house and that no money was mentioned alongside the house, suggested GA Lorna lived off her pension and had no savings.
Finally, in the kitchen Emily finds a goldfish bowl with a live occupant, so someone’s got a key and has been coming into the house to feed it. The intrigue deepens. Sometime later, an older woman turns up with a puppy which she says she’s been looking after for Lorna. The puppy’s barks have disturbed her goldfish, so she’s left it at Lorna’s and popped back to feed it.
Once Poppy, the puppy, moves in she scrabbles and barks at the high metal fence which separates Emily’s garden from her neighbour’s. Emily is curious about her recalcitrant neighbour whose daughter has gone travelling. She imagines that the daughter has been killed by her mother and buried in the back garden, which she thinks is prompting the dog’s wary and unfriendly behaviour both to the neighbour and to the fence.
Her neighbour seems totally reclusive, keen to keep her distance from her which further adds to Emily’s concerns and her thoughts that Lorna’s diary references to not seeing ‘S’ might relate to daughter, Sophie’s disappearance and that her aunt could have shared her suspicions and been pushed down the stairs by the neighbour, Alice.
In conversations Emily always drifts off into her own world and despite a degree in marketing she zones out of a conversation Harriet, her boss at the local tea shop, has about increasing customer numbers to afford a valuable extension to the business Emily now works in as a waitress.
Is she a fantasist as well as an unreliable narrator? Is Emily, barking up the wrong tree as her new friends laughingly assure her? Or is there something sinister hidden behind Alice’s evasiveness and behind the high metal fence which separates their properties …
Fans of cosy romantic crime and YA fiction readers will love this first book in the cosy crime series about Poppy and Emily.
March 23, 2023
"...what if poppy was trying to get under the fence, and my great aunt followed her and discovered what was going on, and alice needed to get rid of her?"
things are all going wrong for emily. her job has cut her position. her boyfriend has decided to leave her. so when she gets a letter telling her that her aunt has left her a house in the will, with a single condition, there's nothing stopping her from packing up her life and moving the the quaint village of ashton mead. but is there more to her secretive and invasive neighbour?
rating: ⭐⭐⭐
my thoughts: majority of the book is entirely focused on emily’s daily life after inheriting her long absent great-aunt’s house, rosewood, and her working alongside café shop owner hannah and lusting after toby with the cosy crime/mystery part of the book only happening within the last 15 minutes of the book.
i struggled on with this book for that reason, wanting and begging for the book to just start giving me the cosy crime/mystery that I was craving. yes, we get glimpses of what may have occurred through emily’s paranoia and beliefs that something happened to her aunt, as well as the fact that her neighbour seems to keep to themselves and is a little odd, but nothing solid at all.
i found our heroine to be extremely gulliable, with immediately stalking through her aunt’s personal diary, and believing that there must be something wrong with her neighbour, just because she has a metal fence!
not only that, but she seems to be blind to everything that is going on in her life, not even knowing what her ex-boyfriend’s job entailed, to the red flags that surround their relationship when he comes wandering back into her life (we know as a reader that he’s only after the house and money, come on, red flag!), as well as not seeing that there was anything wrong with the rumour that toby was 18 dating a 14 year old!
throughout the book, emily is most certainly determined, throwing out accusations at her neighbours and not once refusing to give up on finding out how her great-aunt truly died, despite endless protests from her new-found ‘friends’ in the village.
i have to admit i did love Leigh Russell's description of ashton mead, the town as to where this book is set- the quaint houses and small town feel where everyone knows everyone, and in fact reminded me of a lovely little area near me called betws-y-coed, and could imagine emily walking poppy alongside the river and over cute stone bridges.
for a book that was meant to hinge on the mystery, it felt quite empty and in close to 300 pages, not much happened. being the first in the series, i am excited to see where this is planning to go, especially when the next novel in the series, Barking Mad seems to focus on her new neighbour and his ‘attractive son’ (the blurbs words, not mine!) and the actual murder of a member of the village.
things are all going wrong for emily. her job has cut her position. her boyfriend has decided to leave her. so when she gets a letter telling her that her aunt has left her a house in the will, with a single condition, there's nothing stopping her from packing up her life and moving the the quaint village of ashton mead. but is there more to her secretive and invasive neighbour?
rating: ⭐⭐⭐
my thoughts: majority of the book is entirely focused on emily’s daily life after inheriting her long absent great-aunt’s house, rosewood, and her working alongside café shop owner hannah and lusting after toby with the cosy crime/mystery part of the book only happening within the last 15 minutes of the book.
i struggled on with this book for that reason, wanting and begging for the book to just start giving me the cosy crime/mystery that I was craving. yes, we get glimpses of what may have occurred through emily’s paranoia and beliefs that something happened to her aunt, as well as the fact that her neighbour seems to keep to themselves and is a little odd, but nothing solid at all.
i found our heroine to be extremely gulliable, with immediately stalking through her aunt’s personal diary, and believing that there must be something wrong with her neighbour, just because she has a metal fence!
not only that, but she seems to be blind to everything that is going on in her life, not even knowing what her ex-boyfriend’s job entailed, to the red flags that surround their relationship when he comes wandering back into her life (we know as a reader that he’s only after the house and money, come on, red flag!), as well as not seeing that there was anything wrong with the rumour that toby was 18 dating a 14 year old!
throughout the book, emily is most certainly determined, throwing out accusations at her neighbours and not once refusing to give up on finding out how her great-aunt truly died, despite endless protests from her new-found ‘friends’ in the village.
i have to admit i did love Leigh Russell's description of ashton mead, the town as to where this book is set- the quaint houses and small town feel where everyone knows everyone, and in fact reminded me of a lovely little area near me called betws-y-coed, and could imagine emily walking poppy alongside the river and over cute stone bridges.
for a book that was meant to hinge on the mystery, it felt quite empty and in close to 300 pages, not much happened. being the first in the series, i am excited to see where this is planning to go, especially when the next novel in the series, Barking Mad seems to focus on her new neighbour and his ‘attractive son’ (the blurbs words, not mine!) and the actual murder of a member of the village.
April 2, 2023
Leigh Russell’s Barking Up the Right Tree is a charming, delightful and gripping cosy mystery that I couldn’t read fast enough.
Everything seems to be going wrong for Emily. Her boyfriend has just walked out leaving her devastated, dejected and heartbroken. As she wonders what the future might hold for her, she receives news that her great-aunt has died and left Emily her cottage in a picturesque village in Wiltshire called Ashton Mead. This inheritance comes with a condition that compels Emily to look after her aunt’s pet and although she has no idea just what’s in store for her, Emily packs her bags and heads off to Wiltshire, hopeful of making a fresh start for herself.
Emily immediately begins to feel at home in Ashton Mead. The villagers welcome her with open arms and she begins to make friends with the locals, including Hannah who runs the Sunshine Tea Shoppe. Everything seems to be going swimmingly for Emily – until a face from her past makes a very unwelcome appearance: her former boyfriend. While her new friends advise her to give him a wide berth, Emily decides to take him back. And there’s even further trouble afoot when her neighbour’s daughter goes missing. Emily decides to do some sleuthing of her own and ends up putting her own life in danger! Can she solve this case? Or will her curiosity end up costing her everything?
As a big fan of Leigh Russell’s Geraldine Steel series and cosy mysteries, I had pretty high expectations for Barking Up the Right Tree – and I was not disappointed. Witty, fast-paced and packed with tension, intensity and red herrings galore, Barking Up the Right Tree is a terrific cosy mystery with a brilliant heroine I just couldn’t bear to put down.
Leigh Russell’s Barking Up the Right Tree is an enjoyable mystery that is a must-read for Richard Osman fans.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Everything seems to be going wrong for Emily. Her boyfriend has just walked out leaving her devastated, dejected and heartbroken. As she wonders what the future might hold for her, she receives news that her great-aunt has died and left Emily her cottage in a picturesque village in Wiltshire called Ashton Mead. This inheritance comes with a condition that compels Emily to look after her aunt’s pet and although she has no idea just what’s in store for her, Emily packs her bags and heads off to Wiltshire, hopeful of making a fresh start for herself.
Emily immediately begins to feel at home in Ashton Mead. The villagers welcome her with open arms and she begins to make friends with the locals, including Hannah who runs the Sunshine Tea Shoppe. Everything seems to be going swimmingly for Emily – until a face from her past makes a very unwelcome appearance: her former boyfriend. While her new friends advise her to give him a wide berth, Emily decides to take him back. And there’s even further trouble afoot when her neighbour’s daughter goes missing. Emily decides to do some sleuthing of her own and ends up putting her own life in danger! Can she solve this case? Or will her curiosity end up costing her everything?
As a big fan of Leigh Russell’s Geraldine Steel series and cosy mysteries, I had pretty high expectations for Barking Up the Right Tree – and I was not disappointed. Witty, fast-paced and packed with tension, intensity and red herrings galore, Barking Up the Right Tree is a terrific cosy mystery with a brilliant heroine I just couldn’t bear to put down.
Leigh Russell’s Barking Up the Right Tree is an enjoyable mystery that is a must-read for Richard Osman fans.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
March 25, 2023
As soon as Emily Wilson loses her job in marketing, her boyfriend Ben who moved in six months ago promptly leaves her. Fortunately fate steps in and Emily discovers her Great Aunt Lorna, estranged from the rest of her family, has left her a home in the village of Ashton Mead near Swindon, but with one condition – she must take on any pets that Lorna had when she died. Believing it to be a goldfish, Emily is taken aback to be presented with Poppy, a Jack Russell cross Shih Tzu puppy. As Emily sets about cleaning up the house, she falls in love with little Poppy and takes a job at the Sunshine Tea Shoppe, making great friends with the owner Hannah and local chemistry teacher Toby amongst others. She even befriends her initially hostile new neighbour Alice and, putting two and two together from excepts from Lorna’s diary, she starts to imagine something sinister has befallen both her great aunt and the neighbour’s daughter. Is this her vivid imagination working overtime or does Emily have something to fear from her new found friends?
Emily is a very sweet girl but rather dim when it comes to trusting the wrong people, in particular her good looking but incredibly shallow money-grabbing and controlling ex-boyfriend. Thank goodness Poppy is a better judge of character. It’s a real feel-good cosy mystery with a most endearing and star of the show character in the adorable Poppy as Emily learns life is not all about the bright lights of London but more about where the heart is and caring friends live. With an exciting and shocking ending which I didn’t expect, this is very different from this author’s crime stories but I’m sure it will have a universal appeal to animal and cosy story book lovers alike, and I am looking forward to more adventures starting with book 2, Barking Mad, due out in July 2023. 4.5*
Emily is a very sweet girl but rather dim when it comes to trusting the wrong people, in particular her good looking but incredibly shallow money-grabbing and controlling ex-boyfriend. Thank goodness Poppy is a better judge of character. It’s a real feel-good cosy mystery with a most endearing and star of the show character in the adorable Poppy as Emily learns life is not all about the bright lights of London but more about where the heart is and caring friends live. With an exciting and shocking ending which I didn’t expect, this is very different from this author’s crime stories but I’m sure it will have a universal appeal to animal and cosy story book lovers alike, and I am looking forward to more adventures starting with book 2, Barking Mad, due out in July 2023. 4.5*
March 17, 2023
DNF @ 23%
Barking Up the Right Tree is advertised as a new British cosy crime series, and in the book description it proclaims to be for fans of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club, one of my personal favourites. I was very let down by the 23% of the book I managed to get through, and whilst I hate DNF-ing a book, I couldn't continue with this one, even with it being such a short, quick read.
The book was poorly written and the first person narrative felt very juvenile and bland. I disliked Emily from the first few pages; her outlook and behaviours were strange, coming across as extremely paranoid and absurd. The intrigue in her neighbour because of a metal fence... it was just too ridiculous to entertain.
I have seen other reviewers say that the only saving grace of this book is the dog Poppy, but Emily's attitude towards Poppy was the defining reason I didn't finish this book. The quote/straw that broke the camel's back was "my curiosity to find out more about Alice and her absent daughter overcame my qualms about abandoning my dog." Emily isn't an animal-lover yet the book is advertised almost exclusively about Poppy, the cover, the title, the name of the series. This didn't sit right with me as personally my dog is my child and I'm a proud dog-lover. Even if their relationship improved further into the book, I just detest Emily and as the main character, written in first person narrative, there was no chance that I would enjoy this book. After reading other reviews on goodreads, I don't think I missed out on much at all.
1/5 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley, Oldcastle Books and Leigh Russell for a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Barking Up the Right Tree is advertised as a new British cosy crime series, and in the book description it proclaims to be for fans of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club, one of my personal favourites. I was very let down by the 23% of the book I managed to get through, and whilst I hate DNF-ing a book, I couldn't continue with this one, even with it being such a short, quick read.
The book was poorly written and the first person narrative felt very juvenile and bland. I disliked Emily from the first few pages; her outlook and behaviours were strange, coming across as extremely paranoid and absurd. The intrigue in her neighbour because of a metal fence... it was just too ridiculous to entertain.
I have seen other reviewers say that the only saving grace of this book is the dog Poppy, but Emily's attitude towards Poppy was the defining reason I didn't finish this book. The quote/straw that broke the camel's back was "my curiosity to find out more about Alice and her absent daughter overcame my qualms about abandoning my dog." Emily isn't an animal-lover yet the book is advertised almost exclusively about Poppy, the cover, the title, the name of the series. This didn't sit right with me as personally my dog is my child and I'm a proud dog-lover. Even if their relationship improved further into the book, I just detest Emily and as the main character, written in first person narrative, there was no chance that I would enjoy this book. After reading other reviews on goodreads, I don't think I missed out on much at all.
1/5 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley, Oldcastle Books and Leigh Russell for a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 17, 2023
Ben, the beau of our protagonist Emily, leaves her shortly after her employers sack her. Broken-hearted, Emily's financial situation looks on the up when her Great Aunt's will makes her beneficiary of her cottage; if she accepts her great Aunt's pet, the cover indicates a dog. So the story has the outline of a cosy mystery, but it is not a cosy mystery.
The characters in the book are generally well-rounded. Emily has the feel of an insecure modern woman. Many readers may be able to relate to her struggles of not feeling enough and parents who re-enforce the feeling from societal tropes instead of being deliberately hurtful. I am pleased to say that the author doesn't rush the romance with Toby. A realistic balance exists between the idea (not the attraction) and the start of a new relationship. Hannah, Emily's new BFF, is street smart, with her own business and a solid character where she eventually works.
Emily's curiosity about her neighbour and pet's interest in the bottom of the garden leads to the mystery in the story, where the trepidation builds. But that is not horror in the story for me. It is the casual acceptance by Emily of a relationship between an 18-year-old young man and a 14-year-old girl child. There is so much wrong with that situation, and one the former marketing executive Emily ought to be able to see. Emily's inability to see her self-worth raises the question of her marketing executive competence. But returning to the central mystery, it wasn't believable.
The book did win my emotional investment. Still, I may read the second book in the series, as I want to see Emily grows up.
There are far better actual cosy reads, but I like the British setting.
The characters in the book are generally well-rounded. Emily has the feel of an insecure modern woman. Many readers may be able to relate to her struggles of not feeling enough and parents who re-enforce the feeling from societal tropes instead of being deliberately hurtful. I am pleased to say that the author doesn't rush the romance with Toby. A realistic balance exists between the idea (not the attraction) and the start of a new relationship. Hannah, Emily's new BFF, is street smart, with her own business and a solid character where she eventually works.
Emily's curiosity about her neighbour and pet's interest in the bottom of the garden leads to the mystery in the story, where the trepidation builds. But that is not horror in the story for me. It is the casual acceptance by Emily of a relationship between an 18-year-old young man and a 14-year-old girl child. There is so much wrong with that situation, and one the former marketing executive Emily ought to be able to see. Emily's inability to see her self-worth raises the question of her marketing executive competence. But returning to the central mystery, it wasn't believable.
The book did win my emotional investment. Still, I may read the second book in the series, as I want to see Emily grows up.
There are far better actual cosy reads, but I like the British setting.
March 28, 2023
I am a huge fan of Leigh Russell’s books and I was looking forward to seeing how she would get on tackling cosy crime. I was pleasantly surprised as sometimes I find cosy crime a bit twee but Leigh manages to balance the sweet aspects of Poppy with the darker mystery at hand. It was a solid start to a new series and I will be looking out for its follow-up!
Emily hasn’t had the best lockdown experience, she has lost her job and then her boyfriend suddenly dumps her. As she is contemplating what to do with her life she finds out that her great aunt has died and left Emily her house in the charming rural Wiltshire village of Ashton Mead. But there is a catch, Emily has to agree to look after whatever pet is living there. Emily decides that this is fine and moves into the house. The pet turns out to be a lovely dog called Poppy. She begins to make friends in the village, settling in a new job when her ex-boyfriend turns up on her doorstep wanting another chance. Plus, her next-door neighbour’s daughter has gone missing and no one seems to care but her…
At times I found Emily stupidly naive in her mindset but then she is meant to be young and slightly unaware of what's happening around her so it balance of her character did work. She did think outside the box, especially when it came to her neighbour but at times she was horrid to her friend Hannah! But then makes for a nuanced and layered character. The star of the show was of course Poppy - who doesn't love a dog in a cosy crime series?! I wonder if I could team up with my wee dog Lily and go around Glasgow solving crimes.
Let me know if you read this one!
Emily hasn’t had the best lockdown experience, she has lost her job and then her boyfriend suddenly dumps her. As she is contemplating what to do with her life she finds out that her great aunt has died and left Emily her house in the charming rural Wiltshire village of Ashton Mead. But there is a catch, Emily has to agree to look after whatever pet is living there. Emily decides that this is fine and moves into the house. The pet turns out to be a lovely dog called Poppy. She begins to make friends in the village, settling in a new job when her ex-boyfriend turns up on her doorstep wanting another chance. Plus, her next-door neighbour’s daughter has gone missing and no one seems to care but her…
At times I found Emily stupidly naive in her mindset but then she is meant to be young and slightly unaware of what's happening around her so it balance of her character did work. She did think outside the box, especially when it came to her neighbour but at times she was horrid to her friend Hannah! But then makes for a nuanced and layered character. The star of the show was of course Poppy - who doesn't love a dog in a cosy crime series?! I wonder if I could team up with my wee dog Lily and go around Glasgow solving crimes.
Let me know if you read this one!
June 28, 2025
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
There are so many parts of this story that don't add up that I gave up half way through due it's lack of credibility:
Emily's great-aunt dies but there's no mention of a funeral. She later claims to be next of kin so she'd have been informed early in the arrangements, even if the solicitor was the executor
Her great-aunt had a puppy but was apparently so elderly and incapable she couldn't keep up with cleaning cobwebs, ants or mice droppings that it took Emily 2 weeks and tons of cleaning products to clean up
Her great-aunt died of a fall but there was no mention of the coroner
She had to 'apply for a copy of the death certificate' - who has it then as this is required for burial or cremation as well as for transferring details of the house to Emily's name?
The paramedics 'attempted to resuscitate her' even though she'd been dead for around 24 hours - paramedics are highly trained and would not have done this, recognising that the death would need to be investigated, preferably before the surrounding area was disturbed very much
Emily is extremely unlikeable, not wanting to work in the cafe and unable to make her mind up whether she likes Toby or not.
I thought the narrative style requires polishing, with the story jumping about between suspicions relating to her great-aunt and the next door neighbour then flitting to her work in the cafe and the puppy's antics. It became so boring and repetitive I gave up.
There are so many parts of this story that don't add up that I gave up half way through due it's lack of credibility:
Emily's great-aunt dies but there's no mention of a funeral. She later claims to be next of kin so she'd have been informed early in the arrangements, even if the solicitor was the executor
Her great-aunt had a puppy but was apparently so elderly and incapable she couldn't keep up with cleaning cobwebs, ants or mice droppings that it took Emily 2 weeks and tons of cleaning products to clean up
Her great-aunt died of a fall but there was no mention of the coroner
She had to 'apply for a copy of the death certificate' - who has it then as this is required for burial or cremation as well as for transferring details of the house to Emily's name?
The paramedics 'attempted to resuscitate her' even though she'd been dead for around 24 hours - paramedics are highly trained and would not have done this, recognising that the death would need to be investigated, preferably before the surrounding area was disturbed very much
Emily is extremely unlikeable, not wanting to work in the cafe and unable to make her mind up whether she likes Toby or not.
I thought the narrative style requires polishing, with the story jumping about between suspicions relating to her great-aunt and the next door neighbour then flitting to her work in the cafe and the puppy's antics. It became so boring and repetitive I gave up.
April 4, 2023
What a lot of fun this book was! Our intrepid hero Emily, having lost her job and been dumped by her prat (I’m being polite or my review will get rejected) of a boyfriend Ben, has inherited her late aunt’s house in the depths of Wiltshire. But in order to keep the house, she has to agree to look after her aunt’s pet. Only she has no idea what it is. It could be a poisonous snake, a tarantula (eek), a stick insect (I hate those) or even a leopard (now I jest).
Phew! It’s only a goldfish. Except that turns out to be temporary. It’s actually a cute puppy called Poppy. She’s a Jack Tzu (Jack Russell crossed with a Shih Tzu – we have another name for those) and she’s friendly, playful and fluffy. Emily has no idea how to look after a pooch, but how difficult can it be? Bit of food – she’s only small – and two walks a day.
Emily soon makes friends in the village of Ashton Mead. There’s Hannah who runs the Sunshine Tea Shoppe and Toby who lives in Swindon, but cares for his disabled mum nearby. Emily is loving it in her new home, that is until Ben turns up and she takes him back. Nooo! I hear you cry. Hannah doesn’t trust his motives, Toby thinks he’s an idiot and Poppy hates him. And dogs know best, don’t they? If only she could talk.
Poppy also gets spooked by Emily’s next-door neighbour Alice, who is very unfriendly, except when it comes to talking about her daughter Sophie, who has gone travelling.
Emily’s new friends worry about her, She’s suspicious of everyone, not just Alice. She thinks her aunt’s death wasn’t an accident but has no proof of anything untoward, except her aunt saying she feared for her life – the day before she died.
Barking Up The Right Tree is an easy read, a cosy mystery, with a lovable dog at its core. I can’t wait for the next instalment of the Poppy Mystery Tales.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
Phew! It’s only a goldfish. Except that turns out to be temporary. It’s actually a cute puppy called Poppy. She’s a Jack Tzu (Jack Russell crossed with a Shih Tzu – we have another name for those) and she’s friendly, playful and fluffy. Emily has no idea how to look after a pooch, but how difficult can it be? Bit of food – she’s only small – and two walks a day.
Emily soon makes friends in the village of Ashton Mead. There’s Hannah who runs the Sunshine Tea Shoppe and Toby who lives in Swindon, but cares for his disabled mum nearby. Emily is loving it in her new home, that is until Ben turns up and she takes him back. Nooo! I hear you cry. Hannah doesn’t trust his motives, Toby thinks he’s an idiot and Poppy hates him. And dogs know best, don’t they? If only she could talk.
Poppy also gets spooked by Emily’s next-door neighbour Alice, who is very unfriendly, except when it comes to talking about her daughter Sophie, who has gone travelling.
Emily’s new friends worry about her, She’s suspicious of everyone, not just Alice. She thinks her aunt’s death wasn’t an accident but has no proof of anything untoward, except her aunt saying she feared for her life – the day before she died.
Barking Up The Right Tree is an easy read, a cosy mystery, with a lovable dog at its core. I can’t wait for the next instalment of the Poppy Mystery Tales.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
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