The Wiltshire village of Ashton Mead--quiet, friendly, traditional--is the setting for much of this amusing English mystery. Fans of the Bridget Jones Diariy will probably enjoy the tale, which focuses on a naive young woman from London, Emily Wilson. BARKING UP THE RIGHT TREE shows that sometimes we get it wrong and sometimes we get it right.

Lorna Lafferty, Emily’s great aunt, has recently passed away and she leaves her cottage to Emily. This coincides with the effects of the pandemic closing businesses and forcing others to send employees to work from home. The stress became too much for Emily’s boyfriend, Ben. He leaves the relationship, so Emily has no partner or job, and if she can’t manage the rent, no home. Moving back with her interfering mother doesn’t appeal. I don’t see why Emily even hesitated about accepting the cottage – the stipulation that she takes care of Lorna’s pet is entirely reasonable, and a senior lady isn’t likely to keep anything large. But she’s never kept a pet, so she’s apprehensive. The goldfish Emily at first thinks is the pet, is soon replaced by a puppy called Poppy. This is the real star of the story.

Poppy knows who can be trusted, with her doggy instinct. When the ex, Ben, reappears, Poppy doesn’t much like him – nor did I, but Emily promptly turns into a doormat. I have to think this story is intended as a cautionary tale for young women readers about to enter relationships. There must be plenty of guys like Ben. Folk in the village include Hannah, who runs the teashop, Toby, a local man, Catherine, a senior lady, and the next-door neighbour, Alice Thomas. Alice isn’t outgoing and her daughter Sophie has not been home in several months. Emily starts imagining that Sophie has vanished through some nefarious deed. This is probably just an overactive imagination. Nobody else shares her suspicions. But Poppy might.

Poppy is a crossbred between a Jack Russell terrier and a Shi Tzu, called a Jack Tzu. I hadn’t heard of them before but can well imagine the bright and active little dog. Emily comes across as much younger than the mid-twenties she’s supposed to be, but possibly her mum made all the decisions in her life previously. This account is a reflection on the mother-daughter relationship, experienced by Emily and reflected through the missing Sophie. Leigh Russell is an accomplished author of mysteries, but seems to be reaching for a younger readership with BARKING UP THE RIGHT TREE, which is first in the Poppy Mystery Tales.