I haven’t read any others in this series, but I feel that you can read this as a standalone. You do get a bit of an intro and backstory at the beginning.

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

1940. At Yew Tree House, recently widowed Adelaide Stride is raising her two daughters alone - but it's not just the threat of German invasion that keeps her up at night. She is surrounded by enemies posing as allies and, while war rages, she grows sure that something terrible is about to happen.

2023. Soon after Stella Darnell begins her holiday at Yew Tree House, a skeleton is found in a pillbox at the bottom of the garden. The bullet hole in the skull tells her that the person was murdered.

This triggers the unravelling of a mystery eighty years in the making. Soon, Stella will learn that Adelaide was right to worry - the fighting might have been happening abroad, but the true enemy was always much closer to home...

I got hooked on this one so quickly, it was right up my alley! A little bit Christie crossed with his fic like The Whalebone Theatre. I actually like the kids, with their famous five-esque want to find a murder- rah! (They are seven), the rector Snace is super creepy and I love a book where there are two timelines, so that slowly slowly the mystery is unravelled.

Stella is a ex detectives son, she has a professional cleaning business and solves murders on the side with her partner Jack, who has a true crime obsession and whose own mother was murdered when he was 3. Stella does not particularly want to solve murders it seems, she just seems to fall into it.

‘Adelaide caught him gazing at her in his strange contemplative fashion, she reminded herself it wasn’t only the Nazis she should fear.’

Jack and Stella are fabulously bickery, there are a classic pair of old ladies, a very creepy and anciently decrepit vicar, two brilliant kids and a crazy but fabulous journalist in a van! This would be TV gold!

‘Stella, you and I are the perfect team. We are wasted lolling about by the sea.’

It’s complex with a twisting plot, murder in the past and present, leading us finally to the truth, it’s very well done. I was totally addicted and read this over 2 days, obsessed as I was to get to the end. I definitely want to read more of this series now I have discovered it!

Original, fantastic plotting, basically a total treat!

In 1940 with the war going on around them, Adelaide is trying to keep herself and her daughters safe and not just from the Germans.
80 years later and Stella Darnell is on her holiday with her partner and his children when they discover a body hidden in a pill box at the bottom of the garden.
What or who was Adelaide frightened of and who knows the answer?

'The Mystery Of Yew Tree House' is a time slip novel, which begins in 1940, and the disturbing disappearance of a  young girl, then flips forward to to 2023, and a family holiday gone horribly awry. Greta's disappearance creates ripples around the family who grew up in Yew Tree House, the two young girls who lived there at the time, Stevie and Rosa, now live in the annexe and rent the main house out.

Guinea pigs for this Air BnB-esque are train driver/detective Jack, his 7 year old twins and his cleaner friend/fellow sleuth Stella, their arrival becoming both catalyst, and jumping on point for the reader, into the historical deep dive. Told from multiple viewpoints, the mystery of the house needs a resolution much as Stella needs to come to a decision as to whether Jack and her have a future.

Thrust into a holiday with two very precocious 7 year olds, they appear to be a unit but Jack's wife Bella is very much in the picture and Stella's reaction to people thinking she is Milly and Justin's mum is very telling. They all seem to get on extremely well for a fractured and reconstructed group, including Stanley the errant dog, and it all feels very Famous Five, initially. But the past is dark and cloudy as carnival side show's crystal ball, yet to clear, as unexpected widow Adelaide bringing up her children Rosa and Stevie, plus refugee Henry, juxtaposes very well with Stella, and really highlights her insecurities as someone responsible for two young children.

As they take after their inquisitive dad, they ask so many questions about the graveyard which contains Jack's mum's grave-herself a murder victim-and possibly ghosts of crimes gone by. Whether they are real or not, there is very much an atmosphere of haunting before even the first body is found.

Flipping back and forth between the then and the now, you really begin to worry as a reader about who the skeleton is, Lesley puts flesh on the bones of the characters in `1940 and when you get to the alternating chapters, the panic sets in over who is dead. We know Stevie and Rosa are still alive, so just who was killed by whom? What happened to Greta? In the absence of men like Adelaide's husband, there is a space waiting to be claimed by horrible individuals like Michael Snace, who lurk and leer . He sees Adelaide as a possession and Yew Tree House as an extension of what he can lay claim to with no thought as to whether this family want him there or not.

The narratives, no matter what the time frame, shows the difficulties of living in a family which is not traditionally supported by society, the lies we tell in order to frame our sense of 'normal' , and the crimes committed from mistaken beliefs of self. I really enjoyed the mystery and working out whom did what and to whom.

I found the twins a little difficult to take to, they seemed to behave in a way that was far older than their age would suggest, whilst their speech was infantilised with their speech written as it would have been said aloud. I think it would have been better had I read other entries in the series, and was more familiar with the characters. Stella acted in ways I didn't fully understand as if this was a 'make or break' holiday, the intrusion of Jack's ex-wife PLUS her father's ex-girlfriend would have made, to my eyes, unwelcome bedfellows. Unless, of course, she wanted them as a distraction from what she really needed to work out which was where she stood in the context of her and Jack's relationship.

An intriguing and relentlessly entertaining time slip mystery, I really enjoyed 'The Mystery Of Yew Tree House.'

This ninth book in The Detective's Daughter series is atmospheric, chilling, and poignant throughout the story. Stella and Jack are unique amateur detectives with complementary skills, troubled backstories and an undeniable chemistry that makes them effective investigators. This dual-timeline story begins in 1940 and updates in 2023 when Jack and Stella take his twins on an extended holiday. They uncover a body and a dark mystery that began in WW2. The suspenseful and twisty mystery is disturbing, and the sense of menace prevails, especially in the historical timeline. The dynamic between Stella and Jack makes the mystery distinctive. I particularly like these aspects of this story: the detectives, the chilling ethos and the setting.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

The Mystery of Yew Tree House is the ninth book in Lesley Thomson’s ‘The Detective’s Daughter’ series featuring cleaner turned amateur detective, Stella Darnell and her partner, tube driver Jack Harmon. Although the book could be enjoyed as a standalone there’s a lot of background information about Stella and Jack’s personal and professional history for readers new to the series to absorb, as well as some references to past cases. I’ve only read one other book in the series, The Playground Murders back in 2019, so it took me a little time to refamiliarise myself with past events and the relationships between returning characters.

At one point, a character remarks to Stella, ‘I can’t see the attraction of holidaying in a village. They are described as idyllic, but they are places of poison. Behind the facade of a pond, a green, a war memorial, lies cruelty and violence’. Too right. In fact, Bishopstone seems a peculiar place for Stella and Jack to have chosen as a holiday destination since the area holds unpleasant memories for both of them.

Stella and Jack have reached a turning point in their relationship with Stella, in particular, concerned about the prospect of them becoming a permanent family unit. Given the resilience she has shown in other situations, I thought her worries about whether she possessed suitable parenting skills were misplaced. Having said that, perhaps Stella was right to worry because Jack’s seven-year-old daughter, Milly, proves a bit of a handful, determined single-handedly to track down the murderer. Oh Milly, if only they’d paid more attention to you!

The story moves between the present day and a timeline which starts in 1940. I particularly enjoyed the past timeline and would have been happy to have had more of this. I thought it was clever to have the start of the mystery be in wartime, a time when people were displaced, families were often separated, ordinary citizens were armed and trained in how to kill, and the blackout was the perfect cover for illicit activities. I was particularly fascinated to learn about preparations put in place in the event of Britain’s occupation by the Nazis.

The Mystery of Yew Tree House is a skilfully plotted crime novel with plenty of twists and turns, false trails and surprise reveals. If you guessed all of the latter, you’re a genius.

The Mystery of Yew Tree House by Lesley Thomson is the ninth in the Detective Daughter series but the first for me. It didn't take long for me to become hooked and reeled in! It is a well-written and gripping dual timeline with interesting characters (my favourites are Lucie and the twins), atmosphere, historical bits and enticing plot. Though sometimes predictable, there is so much to recommend.

In the present, Jack and Stella along with Jack's seven-year-old twins go on a family trip, sort of a test to determine how everyone gets along with each other. On the trip the curious kids act like kids and speak in their youthful vernacular. They make fascinating discoveries including skeletal remains and begin to dig. Stella is a professional detective and also investigates. What they find is surprising. In the 1940s, WWII is raging and life is about survival. The two storylines are beautifully linked and both are equally intriguing to follow.

This mystery series is definitely one to pursue. I very much look forward to immersing myself in each installment.

My sincere thank you to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this arresting novel.

A cleverly plotted dual time line novel centered around the disappearance of 16 year old Greta during WWII. Stella and her partner Jack, along with his children, have rented an air b&b attached to Yew Tree House, presently occupied by sisters Clare and Rose. The discovery of a the reminds of a body in the present changes up everything for everyone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Lots of old secrets and lies, a little present domestic drama. and a bit of creepiness make this a good read.

This book is set over two timelines, the 1940s and present day.
During the war time a young girl is walking home and disappears.
In the modern time Jack and Stella are having a break to see if they can live together, with Jack's twins, and decide to stay in Air bnb Yew Tree House for a month.
The elderly residents Stevie and Rosa are staying in an annexe next to the house and wish to be left alone. However when a skeleton is found by the brilliant Milly that wish fades quickly.
There are many secrets and lies throughout this, and it becomes clear that the stories of the war years are linked to those in the modern day.
Both Jack and Stella have links to the area.
There are some wonderful characters. I loved the main characters of both eras, and the twins were great and will be quite something of they continue to be featured. At 7 years old Milly is smart and strong willed!
There are some truly despicable characters too. I disliked (maybe even hated) Snace from the start.
It's clear how much research was done to get the feel of the war years right and it shines in the writing.
I loved Lucie and the addition of the motorhome. A truly engrossing read that had me captivated and wanting to keep going to find out what really happened. A few twists I really didn't expect, I know it's a cliche but they really were unexpected.
This is apparently part of a series but I had no idea. It read perfectly as a standalone.

This is a dual timeline murder mystery set between wartime England and modern day. At times I found it difficult to connect with, but I think that is because this book is part of a series, and I didn't have the backstory on some of the characters. Nevertheless some good characters and a good plot. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is a series I have enjoyed, so I was very keen to read this latest one!

In 1940, Yew Tree House was home to Adelaide, her two daughters - and headquarters of the local Home Guard. The constant access to her home makes for very uncomfortable living, and Adelaide is sure that there is something going on that she's missing. Fast forward to the present day and Stella is holidaying in the very same house along with her partner and his children. This time is to see if they can all live together before the couple get committed. But the discovery of a body throws all that into the air . . .

I love Lesley Thomson's novels but there was something about this one that just didn't click with me. I'm really not sure what it was but I just couldn't accept everything I was being told. Interesting? Yes. Entertaining? Yes. And yet for me there was something missing from the others in this series. However, this author sets the bar high so even with my doubts, this is still a four star read.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Bishopstone is a village straight from a jigsaw box, with Yew Tree House being a recent addition to Airbnb. Like all picture book villages though, Bishopstone has its secrets. Stella Darnell arrives there with her boyfriend Jack Harmon and his twins Milly and Justin. They also have an exuberant Border Terrier, Stanley. The holiday is going to be a trial run as Stella is considering moving in with the younger Jack. Yew Tree House is old and large with the current owners Stevie and Rosa Stride living in an attached annex. History and secrets start to come to light particularly in the cemetery just up the road where a rather creepy vicar lurks.
The novel has two timelines, the present day where Stella and Jack are on holiday, and the early 1940s. The war is still continuing and Rupert and Adelaide Stride reside at Yew Tree House. Mystery surrounds the disappearance of 16 years old Greta Fleming. It soon becomes apparent that the past and present are thoroughly intertwined and something appalling has happened at Yew Tree House.

I really liked the book and all the characters, even Milly who is totally precocious does not jar too much. Stella’s inner narrative is very entertaining. There is plenty of mystery and suspense interspersed with plenty of humour. The only problem with the story was that I had not read the previous books in the series. Although each is said to work as a standalone, I really don’t think this particular one does. I had to go back and re-read certain sections to get a gist of what was going on and that interfered with the flow. The twist at the end though was done really well.
I’d certainly recommend this book, but would advise reading one or two of the previous books in the series first.
My thanks to #Netgalley, #Aries, and #LesleyThomson for an ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

So apparently this is part of a series?! It’s one of those detective type novels where the characters are the same but each “case” is different so you can technically read them as standalones. I didn’t know that until another reviewer mentioned it 🙈 It’s not made very clear on Netgalley’s page or Storygraph when I first requested the novel.

Feels very all over the place with details, with some info dumping of character background at the beginning, jumping in and out of the main plot. I kept getting confused, and getting pulled out of the story.

I don’t like the present timeline. I find most of the characters flat and cheesy, the kids were especially annoying. I’m just not a fan of any of the characters, I don’t feel any connections to them. But this could be because I haven’t read the rest of the series. I started skimming the present day chapters because the pacing was all over the place there, with too many overly descriptive sections that I was getting bored often.

There are also so many grammar/continuity mistakes!! At one point a major player, Philip became Peter. I hope the publishers will fix this for the final copy. And the way information is given is in a roundabout confusing way instead of being straightforward. Too often I ended up rereading paragraphs because I didn’t understand the clues/new info they were discussing.

The dialogue and Stella’s inner thoughts feel cheesy/unnatural at times, especially surrounding her reading an (outdated and absurd) parenting book.

I correctly guessed most of the twists early on but I was slightly surprised by one of the other twists. So the ending felt anti climatic being proven right for the majority of the mystery. Maybe cozy mysteries aren’t my thing. I need tension and suspense, hanging on the edge of my seat with fast pacing! I don’t like the meandering, minute descriptions mixed with a mystery.

Overall it was an interesting enough book that I finished it but I really only finished because I wanted to find out what happened and if I was right 😂 The first half was much better than the second half, as the second half we slowly stay more in the present and don’t look back as much at the 1940s timeline, which I think was the best timeline.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries or detective series, I’d still recommend this book (and maybe the whole series to get more character background/development)!

Overall, I did not like this book and I found it confusing. I should have done more research, as this turned out to be the 9th book in a series. However, this was not clear in the description of the book on netgalley.

The characters were flat and boring, the kids were especially irritating and just made the story even more confusing. I think the author might have wanted to make the kids part in the story cute and whimsical, but this did not translate onto the page.

The plot was messy and predictable. From my perspective, there was no mystery at all. It was clear almost from from the beginning what had happened and who was behind what murder. The conclusion and the reveal was badly executed, and I had to reread a couple of times to understand how the characters explained everything.

There were also multiple inconsistencies (grammar etc.) and there was no real flow in the text, which made it frustrating when reading.

I like reading crime and mystery novels, but this was just not it for me.

It’s great to have a new detective’s daughter book, with the familiar set of characters, and to see Jack’s twins developing their own personalities, although I did feel that Lucie is in danger of becoming a caricature of herself.
It’s also lovely to spot a crossover between this and Lesley’s other Sussex books.
That’s not to say that this can’t be read as a standalone.

Yew Tree House is the where Stella and co are staying, and in the war it was home to a family, and well as being a base for the local home guard.
When a skeleton is found, a wartime mystery is uncovered, with stories of tragedy and revenge, which spill out to the present day.
The investigation and solution to the crime is intriguing and engaging, my only problem was with the elderly characters, who having kept their secrets for so long, suddenly decided to reveal them.
A good read, and I’m looking forward to the next one.

Thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the opportunity to read this book.

Mixed feeling about this one. I have enjoyed all her other books. Here she mixes the Detective’s Daughter series with her more recent DI Toni Kemp series. I don’t understand why? I still enjoyed the mystery.

What a fun book with quite a few twists and turns. This is the first book I have read in the Detective Daughter series and while I think this can be read as a stand alone I recommend starting at the beginning of the series. I had a hard time in the first few chapters figuring out the back story of all the characters and keeping them straight. I enjoyed Lesley Thompson's writing style and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

This is a rollicking addition to Lesley Thomson's series with its offbeat protagonists of Clean Slate cleaning company owner, Stella Darnell, and Jack Harmon, with his 7 year old twins Milly and Justin. Jack has booked the dilapidated Yew Tree House in Bishopstone, Sussex, for a month long holiday with Stella, the twins mother, Bella has agreed the twins can come too. It provides an opportunity to see if Stella can overcome her worries, and live with Jack, and the twins when they are with him. Both Stella and Jack have links with the area, Jack needs to take the twins to his murdered mother's grave, and Stella's deceased police officer father is connected to the area too. However, the trip turns out to be a busman's holiday for Stella and Jack that takes in murders from the war that result in murder in the present.

In a story that goes back and forth in time, the precocious Milly, an uncontrollable ball of energy and loose cannon, is intent on her and Justin conducting their own 'murdah' investigation when they discover a skeleton with a bullet in the head in a blocked up pill box from WW2 in the Yew Tree House garden. DI Toni Kemp is conducting police inquiries, and she brings in Stella to help. Yew Tree House is currently owned by the impoverished elderly sisters, Stevie and Rosa Stride, their father, Rupert, had been killed in 1940, leaving their mother, Adelaide, an ARP warden, on her own to look after them and Henry, an evacuee. Adelaide's concerns are heightened with the disappearance of 16 year old Greta, and in the present, there is the arrival of journalist Lucie in her luxurious motor home, Prunella, nosing around for an exclusive.

One of the joys of this series is the development of the characters through time and their relationships developed with others. Stella has a birthday, she is now 57, she has come a long way to think of living with Jack and the twins, and she gets closer to Bella, a botanical illustrator, who joins them at Bishopsgate. There is fun and humour in this latest brilliant crime story, we have the relentless Milly, insisting on pointing the finger at 'Father Chrismas' as a murderer, and the plotting is marvellous, it is virtually impossible to see the conclusion coming. A great crimes series that I think many readers are likely to enjoy. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

When you start reading a Lesley Thomson book from the Detective Daughter series, you know what you are going to find. First of all, there are the familiar characters, mainly Jack and Stella, but also Lucie, Bella and the twins, that remain interesting because they keep developing and entertaining the reader. Then there is the plot of the book that has a crime often with historical roots. This is especially true for this last one where scenes from WW2 in an English village are the backdrop for the current story. I won't elaborate on the plot. Suffice it to say that everything only becomes clear at the very end (as it should) and that you may think you know, but you don't really. This book is best read after the rest of the series, mainly because it's better if you know the characters well. it is possible to read it as a standalone, but you'll understand it better if you read the series.

Detectives Daughter #9

Bishopstone is an idyllic village in Sussex, but like everywhere else it has its dark side. In the present day, Stella Darnell arrives at Airbnb Yew Tree House with Jack Harmon and his seven-year-old twins, Milly and Justin accompanied, of course, by Stanley the dog. As ever, Stella‘s feelings about moving in with Jack is in a state of flux, the month-long holiday is a test of sorts. The dilapidated house is still owned by the Stride family, with elderly Stevie and Rosa living in an annex. Cleaning company owner Stella, as is her wont, casts her eagle eye over the many potential areas that need a darn(ell) good clean. Exuberant and determined explorer Milly makes several unsettling discoveries and why is the aged vicar staring at them so hard from behind the gravestones??? The novel backtracks to 1940/41 and the war now rages and Rupert and Adelaide Stride are raising their two daughters at Yew Tree House. When Rupert is killed, the family must now fend for themselves as best they can. When 16-year-old Greta Fleming goes missing in Surrey this becomes a cause for concern for Adelaide as Stevie is a similar age. In this latest tale in this original series, the past and present are on a collision course as it becomes clear the history of Yew Tree House is a complex one.

First of all, a big shout out for the characters of Stella and Jack, who are fantastic and the pair are very different, standing out in this crowded genre. Both Stella and Jack have connections to this area and I enjoy the constancy of this theme throughout the nine books in the series. There is lively and often humorous storytelling, which sometimes strays into a mad caper which has become hallmark of the series, some of that is often courtesy of Stanley and his different woofs, but this time also provided by Milly, who is going to be one heck of a challenge as a teen!

I really like that the characters in this one span both timelines, one is especially odious, the flesh crawling variety, but thankfully others are very likeable though with much to hide. Although both timelines are enjoyable, the wartime one is particularly disturbing and there are some good under and overtones which sharply contrast with Milly’s effervescence. It’s apparent that the aging sisters are living in a certain amount of poverty which has its roots in the war. Their dynamics are intriguing as they are with other inhabitants of Bishopstone. There are moments of tension, suspense and fear and it’s very creepy at times particularly in the wartime sections. There are some good twists at the end which are unexpected but work well.

Although I do very much enjoy this latest instalment there are a few lulls where things go round and round especially when Jack and Stella go over what they know. However, if you want to read something that has well crafted, authentic and unusual characters with thoughtful plots with frequent injections of humour then this series may fit the bill.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Aria and Aries for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Intriguing, Atmospheric…
The ninth entry in the Detective’s Daughter series and another engaging, atmospheric and intriguing mystery from this accomplished author. Yew Tree House is the home of many secrets, nestled within its’ walls and its’ very foundations. Are they about to come to light? In an effective dual timeline the reader learns of the history of that mysterious place - but can the newly arrived holidaymakers uncover the truths? Beautifully told with a lively narrative, a perfectly imagined backdrop and a well crafted cast.