A cosy mystery, and from the title obviously a dog at its centre solving the crime and day. My cup of tea. But ultimately this one was not for me. Although there is a cute dog, it sort of gets lost in most of the book. The book started well and there were parts I liked as Emily gets introduced, explains how she ends up with the dog, and settles into village life. But then the search to solve the mystery loses pace. The mystery then disappears into an unrelated sub-plot about the main character’s relationship with an ex boyfriend - and I didn’t find this part of the story interesting at all. I think Emily deserved to be written as more intelligent than this part of the book suggested. Thank you to Oldcastle Books and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

A slightly different style from this author with a lovely cosy crime story featuring the wonderful Poppy - and who is not going to fall in love with her !! Set out in the country we are given Emily as the main character who at times can be a bit wishy-washy but her little doggy Poppy more than makes up for her helping to find out what happened to her recently deceased great aunt. The tale goes along at a good pace and has an ending which I didn't foresee.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

This is a lighthearted quick read so would be a good holiday purchase for many people looking for a cosy mystery. It didn’t hit the spot for me, the main character wasn’t particularly plausible and the plot was slow to get going.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the publishers blurb - you can find that very easily!

I'm afraid I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd expected - mainly because I found Emily (the lead character) incredibly annoying! Without giving too much away, she was stubborn, appeared to have no common sense whatsoever, wouldn't take advice, far too trusting of the wrong people, didn't trust the people she should have trusted...I could go on...

Poppy on the other hand was a delightful little pooch.

I have to admit being rather startled by the turn the book took towards the end - but felt that the plot became somewhat unbelievable from then on (I can't say more without giving away the plot!)

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

After splitting up with her boyfriend Emily suddenly finds out that she has inherited a cottage from her great aunt, with one condition. Moving into the cottage she then finds out what that condition is.
This is a slow, cosy mystery, so not for those who prefer faster paced, grittier stories. Emily comes across as a very frustrating character, too nice for her own good, but determined to find out what had happened to her great aunt. Again showing the downside of living on a small community, plus the upsides, the undoubted star of the book is Poppy, a small dog. The village certainly sound like the kind of place that I'd like to live, unexplained mysteries aside.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influenced my review of the book.

A cozy mystery when Emily inherits her Great Aunt’s house in the sleepy village of Ashton Mead. Emily comes to believe there is something not quite right in the village and investigates her Great Aunt’s death and the possible disappearance of her neighbours daughter. The main character of the story is Poppy the dog who really brings the warmth to this story. Emily is a character who you could love one minute and despair of the next.
Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up.

A Poppy Mystery Tale Book 1

When Emily's boyfriend walks out, she is devastated. As she is puzzling over what to do with her life, she is surprised to learn that her great aunt has died, leaving Emily her cottage in picturesque Wiltshire village of Ashton Mead. This inheritance comes with a condition: 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.

It did take me a little while to get into this book as the plotline takes a little while to get started. Emily's life had hit rock bottom when her great aunt passed away leaving Emily her cottage as long as she looked after her pet. But it's not long before Emily becomes suspicious of her new neighbour. Apart from Emily's ex-boyfriend Ben, the characters are quite likable. Poppy the dog was my favourite though. This is a quick and easy book to read. I will be looking out for the next book in the series.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #CrimeandMysteryClub and the author #LeighRussell for my ARC of #BarkingUpTheRightTree in exchange for an honest review.

"Perhaps, in the end, my only viable course of action was to do nothing at all...There was no point in stirring up old troubles. But I knew that I could not ignore my responsibility to my friend or to my dead relative. One way of another, the truth had to be brought out into the open."

The first in a new cosy crime series with Emily and her new puppy, Poppy. This started well, with Emily inheriting her late great-aunt's cottage in a village outside Swindon. As she gets to know the villagers she begins to suspect her great-aunt's sudden death may not have been an accident,so she begins to investigate. I struggled with this. I didn't take to Emily and her first person narrative, found her rather naive. Supporting characters were mainly caricatures and the plot was rather slow and somewhat predictable, unfortunately. So not for me, I'm afraid.

When Emily inherits a cottage from her great aunt it comes at the perfect time. Her boyfriend has walked out on her after she lost her job, so Emily decides to move to the village of Ashton Mead and start again. Along with the cottage Emily also inherits her great aunt’s pet. Emily quickly settles into village life but when she discovers what the pet is she is initially shocked and worried she won’t be able to look after it.
When her ex-boyfriend turns up out of the blue, she welcomes him back into her life. Things seem to be looking up but there is more going on under the surface of the seemingly idyllic village life than Emily knows and when secrets come to the surface, they could change her life.
This is not a bad start to a new series and there is a lot of scope for the characters to grow. I will definitely be reading the next one.

Emily Wilson, down on her luck inherits from her Great Aunt, and this sets her off on a new path in life.
A cozy crime mystery.
I did not warm to the main character Emily, and a few of the minor characters either. I felt like Emily was immature.
Not really my type of book, but other people may like it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions of the book are entirely my own.

This is a great quick easy fun read. I’m not sure I even realised what a ‘cosy’ mystery was and it’s not normally something I’d go for but because I really enjoy the author’s other work I decided to give it a try and I’m so pleased I did. I’ll definitely be tuning in to see the further adventures of Poppy and Emily

I'm so sorry. I really didn't get on with this book. Usually I love Leigh Russell's work - her previous series and stand alones have been great, but I really couldn't get on board with this one.
I did read to the end, mostly cos it was a quick easy read for me but I will not be carrying on with this series as I found the writing to be rather simple at times and also the main character vacuous. I really didn't get on with her as she was transparent and had no thoughts of her own rather being swayed by others' opinions all the way through.
The plot was a bit thin and mostly predictable which also reinforced the simplicity of the MC as she really didn't pick up on some of the most glaringly obvious clues that were screaming out to her.
So sorry not for me :(

I was attracted to the striking cover design, and I thought this looked like a fun book to read.

This was a fun, entertaining and quirky cosy mystery. I hadn't read any of the other books in this series, so it wasn't familiar with any of the characters, but I found them likeable and warmed to them quickly. The involvement of Poppy in the story, and the bond between Emily and Poppy, was something that I found endearing.

This reminded me a little bit of books by Robert Thorogood and Richard Osman, so possibly fans of their books would also like this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

Emily has lost her job and now her boyfriend, Ben, has walked out on her. With no job or income, Emily doesn’t know what to do. Then she finds out her Great Aunt has died leaving Emily her cottage in Ashton Mead, Wiltshire. The proviso is that she has to look after her aunt’s pet if she wants to keep the cottage.

Emily makes a good life for herself and has new friends. The only blip is her next door neighbour, Alice, who is very anti social.

With Alice’s daughter missing and now believing there was more to her Great Aunt’s death, Emily starts her own investigation.

This was a good cosy mystery that I enjoyed. I liked the characters, apart from Emily’s ex, Ben, he was too smarmy and unlikeable. Emily’s friends, Hannah and Toby were believable characters and I took to them both.

I’m looking forward to reading more in this new series.

My thanks to the author and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

A quick, easy read.
Unfortunately, Emily irritated me so much I couldn't settle in and enjoy this one, although she did make me feel a lot better about my own decision-making abilities. But hey, you can't please everyone all the time. Bit of a Marmite book, I think - you'll either love it or hate it.

An interesting cosy read from an author whose Geraldine Steel thrillers I’ve read with pleasure. I enjoyed the story but did find it became a little long winded/boring in the middle ( might have been me!) .
This may become a series and the characters may become more rounded, it will be interesting to read the next instalment.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book on quite a shallow level. It was very gentle storyline but very predictable all the way through. A totally different level and genre to her usual books. I loved Poppy. What a character. She was really the perfect companion for Emily and Poppy certainly had enough feistiness for them both.

This is the first in a new cosy crime series by Leigh Russell. The main character, Emily, has lost her job and her boyfriend and finds herself starting again in a small English village having inherited a house from her great aunt on condition that she takes care of her great aunt’s dog Poppy.
The mystery in the story surrounds the house next door and the strange woman who lives there. Emily is a very real character in so much as she is extremely irritating at times and her decision making leaves a lot to be desired. The friends that she makes in the village are good, rounded characters with lots of potential and Poppy the dog is extremely likeable.
All in all this book is an easy read if you like English village settings with a dose of mystery and intrigue.

A fun cosy read, fast paced and easy to read. If you want a book that you can sit and devour in one sitting, this is it.

I really enjoyed this one - cosy crime fiction that was fast paced and easy to read.. Finished in a couple of sessions and will definitely read more by this author.