Barking up the Right Tree by Leigh Russell

 Barking up the Right Tree by Leigh Russell


The first in the new Poppy Mystery Tales

Barking up the Right Tree by Leigh Russell is published on 23rd March 2023 by Crime & Mystery Club/ Oldcastle Books My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.




Synopsis

After losing her job and her boyfriend, Emily 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.

But there is one condition to her inheritance: she finds herself the unwilling owner of a pet.

Not knowing what to expect, Emily sets off for the village, hoping to make a new life for herself.

In Ashton Mead, 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 Emily's ex-boyfriend turns up and against the advice of her new friends, she takes him back.

When Emily decides to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her next - door neighbour's daughter , she unwittingly puts her own life in danger...





My Review

This was  a good cosy mystery to read on a grey , drizzly February day when you need an excuse to light the fire, make a cuppa, grab the choccie biscuits, curl up on the sofa and read.

As the first in the new Poppy Mystery series by Leigh, the book doesn't disappoint in providing a few hours of easy reading with the requisite number of twists, turns and love interests. However, as a heroine I found Emily a bit too gullible and flakey as she has a tendency to change her mind on a whim that has you thinking "Really!!!!!! ".

However, the ending was not as I was expecting, even though I had guessed the culprit very early on,  and it will be interesting to see how the rest of the Poppy series develops.

As with a lot of cosy mystery series Leigh has created the feeling of idyllic village life, with a slightly sinister feel, and you do wonder what will happen in the following books as the characters develop. 

One aspect I did like is that Poppy has more common sense than her owner and it is a nice touch to have a dog as the principal character thanks to Emily's great aunt.



About the Author

Alongside her popular DI Geraldine Steel detective novels, Leigh Russell is the author of the Poppy Mystery Tales, a brand new cosy crime series set in an idyllic English village. The stories feature Poppy, a lively puppy who helps her owner solve mysteries.

Leigh has an MA in English literature from the University of Kent. She has been shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger Award, the CWA Dagger in the Library, and the People's Book Prize. Keen to support new writers, Leigh chairs the CWA Debut Dagger Judges, and is a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund. 

Leigh lives in London, near her two daughters and granddaughter. and one of her daughters has a puppy who inspired the Poppy Mystery Tales.




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