“Eighty years of secrets. A body that reveals them all”
- Book: The Mystery Of Yew Tree House
- Location: Bishopstone
- Author: Lesley Thomson
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?…
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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?
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‘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.
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