Lovely cosy crime mystery, set in a sleepy English village as all the best ones are. This comes complete with pretty ramshackle cottage which needs some TLC a local tea shop, little old ladies and a hero who just happens to be a dog.
This is a great easy read, with sub storylines of romance and unfortunately bad ex boyfriends who put in an appearance so can just as easily appeal to fans of chick lit and contemporary romance books as this storyline carries well too.
The plot held my interest well with a few gentle twists and turns along the way and hints towards the ending. Prefect holiday reading or for slowing the pace after a few too many gory and faster paced books. Recommend.

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.

This is a cozy mystery novel telling the story of a young girl, Emily, who has inherited a house from her great aunt in a sleepy English village. However, she soon becomes suspicious of her neighbour, thinking that everything may not be as it seems.
This is an easy read but it does take quiet a while to get going. I found some of the decisions made to be rather irritating. I'd says it's a 3.5 but I've rounded it up to 4.

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 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 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 killed 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.

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.

Enjoyed every minute of this one, read on one sitting! Was well written with the characters and the story! Thank you for the advance copy.

This book did not focus on the crime/mystery as much as I had hoped, it was mainly ramblings from the main character's POV. The pace is a little confusing, not much in the way of mystery happens until the last 10% of the book which feels quite confusing. I enjoyed the story but it felt like it needed some tweaks to the pacing and plot.

I was sent a free transcript of this book in return for an honest review.

This book was written in a different style to the books I normally enjoy, but despite that, I did get into the story and enjoyed the characters, rushed as it all felt. I’d actually like to read the next book!

#Netgalley #BarkingUpTheRightTree

A very lightweight read. Emily inherits a cottage from an aunt and moves in on her own after her boyfriend has left her. A condition of the inheritance is that she looks after her aunts dog, Poppy. She starts to suspect that her aunt didn't fall down the stairs but was pushed. Emily is amazingly dim not picking up certain clues and ignoring obvious dangers. Fortunately it is a short book of about 4 hours reading. Had it been a debut novel, I would have said it had promise, but from an established author I'm not sure.
A lot of people will enjoy it. It's ideal if you have several hours on a long journey and want a simple read.

Barking up the right tree by Leigh Russell

I loved this book, I really wanted to read it as it ticks all my boxes: independent modern woman with a niggling doubt that wont go away.. yep that’s my happy place.

After splitting with her long term boyfriend, Emily finds out that she has inherited her late great aunts pretty English cottage and her cute puppy Poppy. Emily decides to start a new life in the cottage with Poppy but she cannot get the thought out of her head that her late great aunt was murdered..


This is a great little mystery, it is cute, funny and creepy all at the same time, I really enjoyed getting to know Emily and her new friends. I wish that Emily would have followed her gut feelings more and certainly not taken the ex-boyfriend back but other than that a great start to a mystery series that I will be reading.


#BarkingUptheRightTreeThePoppyMysteryTales #NetGalley #mystery #modern

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.

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.

I enjoyed this book! It’s a very sweet story, with a cute dog, idyllic village and a cozy vibe to it.

The main character, Emily, irritated me on and off throughout the books. She treated people badly, was incredibly naive and made some silly decisions. There are however some other supporting characters who I enjoyed reading about.

This book is sold as a story about a dog who solves mysteries which I was looking forward too; and that was not what I got. What I got was a woman solving a crime, with her dog in tow. Still nice, but not what it said on the tin as it were!

Overall, this was a nice enjoyable story, it won’t be for you if you like alot of grit. I would recommend to anyone who’s after an easy read with cozy vibes!

R A T I N G

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved the characters and the plot of the story, I will definitely be reading more from this author.

A week after Emily loses her job, her boyfriend Ben walks out, ending a six months relationship. She’s devastated and looking for a job that doesn’t seem to exist when a letter from a law firm turns her life around. Her great aunt Lorna, a distant relative, has died in a fall and left Emily her house in the small village of Ashton Mead. However, the house will go to a different relative if she doesn’t agree to take care of Lorna’s pet, whatever it is. She does and the pet turns out to be Poppy, a feisty, loyal Jack Tzu (Jack Russell Terrier and Shih Tzu cross). Poppy is, without a doubt, the star of Barking up the Right Tree.

That’s good because Emily is not. She suspects some villagers of murdering her great aunt and nearly ends a new friendship when Ben comes back into her life. Ben is a totally despicable character and it is hard to believe that Emily would fall for him again but she does. Poppy, however, has him figured out. When Emily finds real danger nearby, it’s up to Poppy to save her.

Leigh Russell is the best selling author of the Geraldine Steel police procedural series. This is her first cozy mystery. As expected, her writing is excellent, as are her descriptions of small town life. Although I didn’t like Emily, I think she will become more engaging in the next in this series, Barking Mad. We Poppy fans just want to see more of her! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Crime & Mystery Club and Leigh Russell for this ARC.

An unusual story, it doesn’t feel like the murder mystery it is, but still worth a read. I found the heroine highly irritating, to the point I almost regretted continuing to read at several points, but it was worth continuing, though it did feel a bit unfinished at the end as the author seemed to be building to something that didn’t happen

A wonderful and rather unique read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Bizarre Events..
Reeling from an unexpected break up, Emily is flabbergasted to discover that she’s been left a cottage in a rural and desirable village from a little known great aunt. The cottage bequest comes with strings that Emily has yet to discover. Arriving in the village, a series of bizarre events is about to unfold and Emily finds herself investigating strange goings on - but her aunts little dog Poppy soon becomes an unexpected bonus. A cosy mystery with a nicely drawn cast, a well described village setting and little Poppy is a delight.

Emily is one of the most irritating heroines I've met in a long time!
In the aftermath of the pandemic, she loses her job causing her boyfriend to walk out on her.
Just as she's running out of money, she inherits her great-aunt's house and moves to the village near Swindon where it's situated.
There she cleans the house, realises that the terms of her aunt's will mean she has also inherited a dog, still has little money and uses the dog as an excuse not to find a sensible job.
Instead she mooches around the village and works in her new friend's cafe (very half-heartedly).
And then, on the flimsiest of evidence, she decides her aunt was murdered and that her neighbour is suspicious.
By this time I'd completely lost all interest.
Emily is willing to believe all she's told by people she doesn't really know and accept back her clearly no-good ex.
Obviously she puts her own life at risk by behaving stupidly.
Not a book for me it's safe to say.

With her life in London in turmoil, Emily is stunned to discover she's inherited a house from her great-aunt. But there's strings attached...

Installed in the neglected house (because she hasn't anything better to do), Emily begins to make friends in the village, and investigates what she believes to be a mystery next door.

But life is never that straightforward....

Fabulous - more please!

This is one of those books that has you silently shouting at the characters ‘don’t say that’ ‘don’t go there’ ‘don’t trust them’. The good thing about this is it proves you are rooting for the characters, but boy oh boy is it frustrating! A real change of style for this author as this is definitely a cosy mystery complete with a chocolate box village. The real star here is the amazing Poppy, who you would love to own.