Lesley Thomson’s The Mystery of Yew Tree House is a gripping page-turner perfect for fans of Elly Griffiths and Ann Cleeves.

1940 and recently widowed Adelaide Stride lives in Yew Tree House where she is single-handedly raising her two daughters. Times are tough and life is anything but easy, but Adelaide has got a lot more to worry about than most people. It is not the threat of Nazi invasion that keeps her up all night, but the fact that she does not know who she can trust. One false move and Adelaide stands to lose everything, and despite of her vigilance and reserve, she cannot shake off this feeling deep in her gut that something terrible is about to happen.

2023, Stella Darnell is enjoying a well-earned holiday at Yew Tree House when a shocking discovery is made: a skeleton in a pillbox has been found at the bottom of the garden. The bullet hole in the skull proves beyond doubt that the victim had been cruelly assassinated and Stella finds herself plunged in an unpredictable mystery stretching back decades.

The more she digs, the more Stella realises that Adelaide was right to worry because even though in wartime most of the fighting was done on foreign soil, the enemy was far too close to home…

Lesley Thomson’s crime novels are written with great verve, ingenuity and intelligence and she has hit the jackpot yet again with her latest thriller, The Mystery of Yew Tree House. Complex, layered and packed with unexpected twists and turns that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, The Mystery of Yew Tree House is a tense, exciting and chilling crime thriller from an extremely gifted writer who always delivers: Lesley Thomson.

A dual timeline cleverly written and very twisty. I loved this one as I love mysteries. Being a dual timeline made it more enjoyable and I was intrigued to find out what happens. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for approving me to read this. A very good read that had me hooked, once started I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend

1941. In the pleasant countryside of Bishopstone lies a house with a pill box in the backyard. Here, Rupert and Adelaide Stride raise their two daughters, Clare and Rosa, alongside a young evacuee, Henry. But when war calls, Rupert dies on the beaches of Dunkirk, leaving his family to fend for themselves as bombs drop and food is rationed.
2023. Decades later, held afloat by state pensions and unable to heat the large house – nor able to afford to leave – Clare and Rosa have retreated to the annex, where they remain single and trapped in the place they were raised: Yew Tree House.
I really enjoy stories told in dual timelines and this book was one of the best. Reliable narrators, interesting historical information and a stunning ending. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and Lesley Thomson

When I requested this book I was unaware that it was apart of a series, one that requires you to read the previous books for this one to make sense. I am unable to read all the previous books along with this one before the publish date. Therefore, I will rate this a fair 3/5 stars and will adjust the rating and review when I am able to read all the books in the series along with this one.

This got off to a slow start for me but after I was invested (after a few different tries to begin it), I was involved. I very much enjoyed the children's perspective within the story and the old mystery tying into WWII was right up my alley. The twist was not expected but very much appreciated!

Some of these parts did read jerkily for me so I'm unsure if there will be more editing done beforehand or not.

I will explore more works by this author.

Favorite Quote: "Stella knew how a tragedy, even one handed down to younger generations, could blight lives."

I’ve read one other novel in this series and was drawn to the synopsis of The Mystery of Yew Tree House; I love a dual timeline novel and this is set in 2023 and the 1940s.
I found this a struggle to read from the beginning and came back to it many times, the style of writing felt very clunky and disjointed and just didn’t flow for me. This made it very difficult to immerse myself in the characters and storyline and so sadly this wasn’t for me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.
2.5 stars

Cold case murder magnets Stella and Jack are on vacation with Jack’s kids, twins Milly and Justin, and Stella’s dog Stanley. The last time I hung out with Stella and Jack, Stella’s dad Terry had died, and Stella decided to solve Kate Rokesmith’s murder. So, clearly a lot has happened between “The Detective’s Daughter” (book 1), and this novel (book 9).

This vacation has multiple purposes: it’s an opportunity for Stella to gauge whether she can spend an extended time with the twins, a chance for the adults to make a decision about their relationship, and a little pilgrimage to Jack’s mother Kate’s grave (and the place Terry died).

They’re at Yew Tree Cottage, which is next to the home of a pair of elderly sisters, Stevie and Rosa, and next to the very elderly vicarage where and the vicar Snace, who seems a little creepy. Milly and Justin and Stanley are on a walk, and stumble onto, or into, a WWII bunker. And a long dead murdered guy in there. See? Jack and Stella—murder magnets.

Much as Stella wants the vacation to be just a vacation, Jack wants to investigate, and between finding old daggers, and receiving visits by a chatty police detective, the pair begin delving into the WWII history of the town, and specifically the Home Guard, a secret group made up of townsfolk who patrolled and prepared to defend and kill, if necessary, to protect the town. The Official Secrets Act ensured members of the group could not speak of their work, but as they were not soldiers, received no pay or pension for their contribution to the war effort.

Stevie’s widowed mother Adelaide’s boarder, Henry, and local Jimmy were members of the Home Guard, with Snace in charge of the boys and men. Snace was abusive and cruel, and Henry and Jimmy hated him, and were joined in their hatred by Stevie and Adelaide. We find this out through scenes set during this time, and gradually begin to get a possible picture of who the dead man could be, and his killer. Except, author Lesley Thomson complicates things, with another murder during this period, and conflicting alibis.

I am so glad that I read book one, "The Detective's Daughter" before this, as there are little references to that book throughout. Though I've missed gobs of events between the first and now ninth books, I loved how both Stella and Jack's characters had developed from that first book. Stella still loves to clean, and finds comfort in it in moments of stress. She is now better at dealing with others, including the twins' mother Bella. Stella has made huge strides in her ability to connect with others, and I just love how much more open and caring she is.

The mysteries are complex, and it's fun trying to figure out who the killer is, as author Thomson kept me guessing. There is also plenty of humour present in this entry, between the twins' antics, Stella's desperation to keep this a nice, normal vacation, and the inclusion of Lucie May, Terry's former girlfriend. I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and to Aria & Aries for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I started this and then realised I needed the back story.
So I bought the first 2 in the series, but they are just much too long with FAR too much cleaning.
I thought the 2nd would tone it down a bit, but no, so not for me....

"Eighty years of secrets. A body that reveals them all"
...

To date, I have only read the two most recent episodes #8 and #9 of this, 'The Detective's Daughter' series, although I do have several of the earlier stories still languishing on my Kindle. Would I take the time to go back and begin Stella's story from the beginning? Definitely, as there are still one or two loose ends regarding the relationship between Jack and Stella that I would like cleared up, although when taken at face value as excellent murder/mystery stories, they do work well as stand-alones and on the whole, the pertinent facts of the backstory were seamlessly woven in as I read. But, Hey! I never need an excuse to read a good 'whodunnit'!

So, what mess have Stella and Jack got themselves into this time?...

...

Daughter of late detective Terry Darnell and joint owner of her own highly successful cleaning business, Stella, is one of an increasingly popular band of female amateur sleuths, who have male companions, in Stella's case, underground train driver, Jack Harman. Stella and Jack have been in an on/off relationship for many years and have decided that it is now make or break time, as far as their future together goes. Especially as Jack hopes to have increased access to his seven year old twins, Justin and Millie and he needs to know that Stella is as committed to them as he is. Stella is petrified that helping to raise two young children is going to be too much for her at her time of life, given that she has never had children of her own, so a month alone, just the four of them together on holiday in the picturesque Sussex village of Bishopstone, is going to be the ultimate test for her.

However, nothing could have prepared Stella for the speed at which she would have to put her parenting skills into practice, even though she was still busily swatting up on the theory of it all. Millie is definitely the boss and ring-leader of any scrapes the twins get into, so when, within just a few hours of arriving at Yew Tree House she discovers a skeleton in one of the old wartime 'pill boxes' located near to the property in the adjoining Beggars Woods, the relaxing break Stella and Jack had envisioned, is over before it's begun. The police and press camp out on the doorstep; Stella's friend, journalist and her father's ex-girlfriend Lucie May arrives in her camper van; and to top it all off Bella, Jacks ex-wife and the twins' mother, decides that she should come and take her children home, away from the bad influence of Jack and Stella.

Much to their mutual surprise, Stella and Bella find themselves getting along famously, so rather than packing the children's bags to take them home, Bella finds herself clearing her diary and hunkering down to spend some valuable time coming to terms with an entirely new situation in her otherwise ultra organised life - and rather enjoying it into the bargain!

When a fresh new body is discovered, the finger of suspicion points in many opposing directions, which, as Yew Tree House itself begins to give up its long buried secrets, also includes both Stevie and Rosa Stride, proud spinster sisters who were brought up in the house and who now live in the annexe, using rental income from the main property to support their lifestyle of genteel poverty. The victim is the very elderly Reverend Snace, who was a very popular and respected figure in the local community, by everyone that is, with the exception of the Stride sisters, who have every reason to wish the 'Snace the Snake' harm. Did they commit the final sinful act, or do they have protectors who have always looked out for them?

Just how are both the Darnell / Harman murder victims linked to a separate wartime incident in Esher, Surrey. And will the outcome of this investigation help finalise Stella's decision about her future going forward with Jack and his children, or even if there is to be a shared future?

...

'The Detective's Daughter' series offers a slightly tongue-in-cheek, modern day slant to the traditional murder / mystery, although one of the main disadvantages of not having joined Stella and Jack on their previous cases, was that I found it very difficult to age either of them. As Jack's twins are only seven years old, I was trying to horseshoe Stella into the thirty-something age group, although the way she acted made her appear much older. I was actually gobsmacked when her true age was revealed in a conversation towards the end of the book, changing my perspective completely, hence my desire to revisit some of the earlier episodes.

This is a dual timeline story, which frequently alternates between the present day and the 1940s, at the height of WWII. The chapters are however, short and well signposted, so the journey back and forth is always a relaxing and easy one to take, although many of the events, especially those from the wartime period, are quite difficult to come to terms with and read about, as they encompass several trigger point social issues, including: stalking, coercive behaviour and domestic violence. The past and present definitely collide, although it does take a while before Stella and Jack realise that dovetailing the two timelines together, is going to be the key to solving everything.

This well-structured, multi-layered, twisty storyline, is tense, whilst at the same time and despite several seriously dangerous turns of events during the course of the investigation, has some moments of sheer exuberance, joy and laughter, especially when the twins are involved. Their forthright and open thought processes and powers of reason are right in your face and to the point, which sometimes subliminally showed Stella and Jack the way forward with their deducements, although it was never obvious at the time, only to the children themselves, who couldn't understand why it was taking the adults so long to catch up.

This particular investigation turned into something of a 'family affair', with Stella, Jack, Bella, Lucie and the twins - Oh! and not forgetting Stella's dog Stanley, all chipping in to help the local detectives solve this series of murders, which began way back during the war. With no one certain exactly how many suspects they were searching for, the list of names was inevitably rather long and the relationships between them complicated, made even more so by the fact that most of them were nonagenarians and centenarians, so sorting out fact from fiction, imagination from reality, and the tacit vow of silence and 'stiff upper lip' they shared between them, was never going to be a straightforward or trustworthy exercise.

I actually had guessed correctly, the identity of one of the murder suspects, however, life was never going to be that simple and the complicated decades old turns of events, totally evaded me until explained, with the final sting in the tail of this story being totally unexpected. This was definitely a journey to get involved, immersed and engrossed in, as much as a case to be solved and I loved going along for the ride.

The well drawn cast of characters, with the exception of one or two dubious specimens, were on the whole, although quite complex, most amenable, engaging and easy to connect with. The range of ages, separated as they were by several decades, definitely didn't harm either the authenticity or integrity of the ever-evolving and fluid storyline, which was totally addictive.


With the exception of a couple of mentions for Esher in Surrey, this story took place exclusively in the village of Bishopstone, Sussex, a real place which I could check out and get to know virtually, for myself. As a confirmed 'armchair traveller' this is always a treat and adds so much authenticity to the overall reading experience. I could tell that Lesley had undertaken plenty of extensive research to ensure that her facts were accurate, so that, together with some wonderfully descriptive passages, completely pulled me into the day to day vibrancy of the location and the lives of the people I met along the way.

This is a good series, always entertaining and compelling. This one was the best i read so far I appreciated the dual timeline, the tightly knitted plot and the solid mystery that kept me guessing.
I was glad to catch up with the characters and liked this story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I started reading this not knowing it was part of a series - in fact, this is the ninth book! Following Stella and Jack who from
what I can gather are amateur detectives.

This story uses a dual timeline, the present day and 1940’s during the Second World War.

I really enjoyed it and working out the clues as to ‘whodunnit’ in time with Stella. I have since downloaded the entire previous books and can’t wait to get stuck in!

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria and Aries for my eARC

I didn't realise this was part of a series but it didn't feel like i had to read all the others to get this. I think there are some bits i missed because i wasn't aware of previous books. I thought the writing was okay and the plot moved along at an okay pace but i didn't love this entirely. I feel like certain sections dragged more than they should've done. I think that this had good moments but something was just missing for me.

A mystery set in the village of Bishopstone in Sussex in the present time with flashbacks to the 1940’s.
Stella travels to Bishopstone with Jack and his two children to have a holiday in an old cottage located in Church Lane near an old rectory and a cemetery.
Stella and Jack’s family holiday gets interesting when Jack’s young daughter finds a skeleton not far from their holiday cottage.
This was a creepy story about murders, cemeteries and old houses with locked doors and secrets waiting to be discovered.

The Mystery of Yew Tree House is the ninth book in Lesley Thomson's Detective's Daughter series. I haven't read the previous novels but having thoroughly enjoyed The Companion, I decided it was worth taking a risk and jumping in here. I'm so glad I did because despite a little initial confusion as I made sense of the relationships between the returning characters, this is such an enjoyable read with a cleverly plotted dual timeline mystery.
The narrative alternates between the present day and the war years but is set in the same Sussex village of Bishopstone and is centred on what really happened at the titular Yew Tree House. In 1940 it's the home of recently widowed Adelaide Stride who is now raising her daughters alone but has more problems to deal with than solitary motherhood. In the present day, the house is the holiday home for Stella Darnell, her partner, Jack and his seven-year-old twins, Millie and Justin. Despite the passage of time, characters from the past are still around in 2023 and it's their secrets which are gradually revealed after a skeleton is discovered in an old pillbox. The two storylines complement one another perfectly and there's a beautifully immersive sense of place which is reminiscent of a classic English mystery and yet feels entirely fresh.
There can be no doubting that there's a very real tragedy at the heart of this novel, or that it features some truly despicable people. However, Lesley Thomson writes with a delightfully light touch and there are some very funny scenes too. Both Stella and Jack have sombre ties to the area and although I have missed seeing their relationship evolve over the course of the series, there is enough backstory to ensure I became thoroughly invested in them as a couple and as a family. Their different strengths and weaknesses are crucial to the plot and I was soon able to understand why this series has so many admirers. Their domestic situation undergoes changes here which may be unexpected but add a further layer of interest to the plot. Millie and Justin are – perhaps inevitably – the source of much of the humour and I suspect there may be a split between readers who love them and those who are left cold by their behaviour. I thought they were wonderful, especially the precocious, fiercely determined and morbidly fascinated Millie who is clearly a detective in the making.
The identity of the skeleton and what it reveals about the past is compelling, with the chapters that follow Adelaide and her family hinting at something awful which we know will result in murder. The wartime setting, where fear of the enemy and the darkness of the blackout creates an atmospheric, chilling backdrop. While all the stalwarts of village life are here, it's the sinister curate, Snace who is arguably the most intriguing character, especially as there are such divided options about him throughout the novel. It's not surprising that the Home Guard and ARP wardens should feature in a book set in this period but they are far from the Dad's Army image often conjured up, and there's a rather poignant look at the forgotten recruits to the highly secret Auxiliary Units. Also known as Churchill's Secret Army, this last line of resistance in the event of a German invasion were never entitled to any recognition after the war ended. Lesley Thomson's examination of long-held secrets results in the truth finally being told and as much as the fictional tragedy is compulsively heartbreaking, this recognition of the 'stay behinds' is touchingly welcome too.
The Mystery of Yew Tree House is a tense, absorbing exploration of dark secrets, family ties, and the best and worst of what people are capable of; I thought it was excellent and highly recommend this compulsive, entertaining and warm-hearted mystery.

The Mystery of Yew Tree House

As Stella Darnell arrives at Yew Tree House, it seems like an idyllic little place to spend the summer. Like any village, Bishopstone has it’s past and a dark side lurking beneath the surface. The holiday is a trial of sorts for her, partner Jack Harmon and his seven-year-old twins, Milly and Justin, not forgetting Stanley the dog. Stella‘s thoughts and feelings around a more permanent living arrangement with Jack is always changing, but what better way to trial the arrangement? As they disembark and start to explore it’s clear that the house is a little dilapidated once you look closer. Stanley and Millie, both as lively and full-on as each other, are soon tramping round the garden making discoveries. The house belongs to the Stride family, two sisters Stevie and Rosa live in the annex while eking out their state pension by renting the main house for holidays. Perpetually single, the two women can’t afford to run Yew Tree House, but can’t afford to leave either. It’s clear that some parts of the house are past their best, but cleaning company owner Stella, can see past that and once the place has had a good scrub it will be adequate for a family holiday. However, the house has a complex history, especially the period during WW2 when Stevie and Rosa were girls, living with mum Adelaide and an evacuee called Henry. Their Dad Rupert is called up but loses his life at Dunkirk, leaving his family to make their own way in the midst of rationing and the bombings while their house is also used as a meeting place for the Home Guard. When Millie is exploring one day she finds an old pill box in the garden (a concrete guard post or dug-out from where volunteers would defend the coastline) putting past and future on a collision course. Inside is a skeleton, with a hole in it’s skull that’s been caused by serious force. Jack and Stella may have fallen upon a murder mystery for their popular podcast, but as the aged vicar glares at them from his cemetery across the road, it could be that not everyone wants the truth to be discovered.

This is a book within a series based around Jack’s true crime podcast and I would recommend reading the others to better understand the relationships in this story. I felt I connected better with the wartime section of the story and I think it was because regular readers will know these characters well. Jack is rather blindly optimistic about their first family holiday, leaving readers and Stella as the more doubtful parties on this journey, especially when we meet the redoubtable Milly. Despite being of primary school age, Millie is possibly in charge of every room she walks in and if I were Stella, I’d be imagining what this exuberance might look like when ramped up by teenage hormones! A terrifying thought. I didn’t pick up the chemistry between Stella and Jack at first, but they clearly have a joint passion for solving mysteries and presenting true crime stories that’s rather infectious. I really liked the fact that both characters were connected to the area, bringing an added element to their sleuthing as I felt they had a stake in the village’s history and a real thirst for the truth. I thought the author created an interesting balance, not only between the two timelines, but with a contrasting lightness and shade of the plot. Family life is very lively and full of fun, especially with Stanley’s antics, and there was an almost Famous Five style coziness to the mystery. However, as foreshadowed by the glowering vicar in the book’s opening, there are darker undertones that become even more pronounced as we travel back to the 1940’s.

War isn’t the only cloud over Rosa and Stevie’s family, there is a missing girl too and the anxiety felt by Adelaide Stride about her two girls is very real. I felt Adelaide’s uneasiness around some of the guard, who move freely around the downstairs at night. The house is split between normal family life upstairs, with the realties and tension of war downstairs. There’s a sense this is men’s business and the presence of them in her family home must have added to her worries about her girls. Can Adelaide trust them? It seems clear she has her instincts and one character definitely raised her hackles (and mine). Tension and suspense build in both timelines, with some creepy moments but the wartime sections were the more disturbing. The present day sections have plenty of humour, the directness and attitude of Miliie, as well as plenty of twists to keep the reader on their toes. The fact that some of the characters from the 1940’s still live in the vicinity added to the tension towards the end of the book, as I wondered if any of them were still a danger in the present day. What might they do to keep certain secrets buried? Stella and Jack would need to keep their little family safe, all the while uncovering a tale that holds the heartbreak and tragedy of WW2, alongside a vengeful and murderous secret.

The Mystery of Yew Tree House is the first book by Thomson I have read though it is in fact the ninth book in The Detective’s Daughter series. Whilst I happily read it as a standalone I suspect I would have enjoyed it even more had I read some of the earlier books.

This is a dual timeline story that begins at Yew Tree House in the 1940s where recent widow Adelaide Stride is living with her two daughters. In 2023 Jack, Stella and Jack’s 7 year old twins arrive at the house for a month long holiday. Both Jack and Stella have connections to the area but the holiday takes a turn when the twins discover a skeleton with a bullet in its head. And so begins an investigation that university long held secrets.

I loved getting to know the characters in the book - the unlikely amateur sleuths Stella and Jack, the entertaining twins and their quest to find the “murder-rah” as well as some “interesting” village residents.

With an eeriness that pervades the wartime section, plenty of suspense and twists galore, along with a generous helping of humour, the stories are skilfully woven, making for an entertaining and enjoyable mystery.

So I tried really hard with this one but it just wasn't for me i'm afraid and as I just couldn't engage with it, books are not a one size fits all and this one did not fit with me.

This is book 9 in the ‘Detective’s Daughter’ series, but having not read any other books in the series I read this one as a stand alone. I do feel I would have benefitted from reading earlier books to understand more of Stella’s background, but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of this one.

Cleverly plotted and interwoven over two timelines; 1940 and the present time.

When two sisters who have lived in their family home all their lives decide to rent out part of their home for income, Yew Tree House is spotted by Jack and is the perfect place for Jack, his 7 year old twins and his partner Stella to holiday. He wants to show his children where his mother is buried. As if that’s not gruesome enough for a holiday for 7 year olds, he then tells them she was murdered!

When the twins Millie and Justin find a skeleton in the disused wartime pillbox at the bottom of the garden, Millie decides they will investigate the murder. She is quite the character and knows her own mind!

The police are called and the investigation begins. By the police. Millie having been overruled.

In 1940 a girl went missing on her way home from school, miles away from Yew Tree House, but it appears the cases could be connected.

An absolute corker of a whodunnit, murders galore, plenty of twists, with some dubious characters living in and around the local village. Definitely has an air of Agatha Christie. There is so much going on I had no alternative but to completely immerse myself in both storylines. There are a lot of characters to get to know from both timelines, some are alive in both and some are relatives of characters who have died.

I enjoyed learning more about the home guard, and the use of pillboxes to look out for Nazis, as well as the top-secret army known as the Auxiliary Units. I always like to finish reading a book having learned something.

An excellent read. Thank you to Sophie and Poppy at Ransom PR for my spot on the tour.

A clever Murder mystery told over two timelines. I felt the 1940 story of Adelaide and her family was cleverly woven into the present day and would have liked more of Adelaide and her girls together with Henry and Jimmy. It felt like there was more to tell of their lives in such a difficult time. The intrigue behind Churchill’s secret army added a fascinating twist to the story and I found it so interesting that these men were used in such a way and never properly recognised for their efforts.
Stella was a interesting character - her intuition was spot on a number of times when trying to work out what had happened over the years and why, and I liked her relationship with the flamboyant Lucie.