3.2 Stars
One Liner: Fun but with limitations

Mark Ablett had a spacious estate in the quaint English countryside. He had been hosting some guests when the news of his estranged brother, Robert, arrived. Robert was shipped to Australia and was arriving for a visit after fifteen years. However, things turn bad when Robert is found dead in a locked room and Mark is nowhere to be seen.
Enter Anthony Gillingham, a friend of Bill Beverly (one of the guests) at the crime scene. Anthony does this and that, and decides that he could very well start a new profession and become a detective. Bill is too happy to help him.
Now, it’s up to Anthony and Bill to solve the mystery. Can they do it?
The story comes from an omnipresent third-person narrator (with frequent breaking of the fourth wall).
My Thoughts:

The book starts with a quirky author’s note (added in 1926) and sets the stage for the story. We know what kind of mystery to expect (after all, the author is very particular about it).
Given what Milne is known for, it is no surprise that the narrative is sprinkled with a liberal dose of humor, irony, and chuckle-worthy observations. The narrative style may not work for everyone but once I realized how it would be, I could go with the flow and enjoy it.
I knew what the case was at around 20% or less. For a contemporary cozy mystery lover, it is familiar and tackled by hundreds of books. However, remember that the book was first published in 1922. This will also help in understanding that some of the content (comments) will be outdated. That’s bound to happen, so no big deal.
The book will work well if you don’t think (at all) and read it for the sake of some light chuckles. Start thinking, and you will dislike many elements. Another way to enjoy the book is to consider it a satirical take on mysteries. It is like a farce, be it the characters, the dialogue, or the actions. The repeated references to Sherlocky and Watsony can go either way and will sound funny only when this book is read as a farce.
I can see why this is the only mystery by the author. A smart decision! It was fun while it lasted, though.
I was still willing to rate it high but the method of reveal ruined it for me. Why, oh, why did it have to be that way? I would rather read the amateur detective spell it out in a monologue than this. Sigh!

To summarize, The Red House Mystery is indeed a fun read if you go with the right expectations (as a farcical take on mysteries) and do not look too closely at the details. Read it on a cozy noon with some hot chocolate.
Thank you, NetGalley and Pushkin Vertigo, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This novel was originally published in 1922, likely having been written some time the year before (given the vagaries of publishing); as such, the blinding whiteness of the cast of characters, and the relentless straight male lens through which they are viewed, should not be unexpected.

This edition includes an introduction the author wrote for the 1926 edition, in which he explains how his preferences in detective stories shaped the story he himself told. Having now read it in one long, greedy gulp, I am not surprised that even Raymond Chandler, who generally looked down on detective stories that didn't involve wanton violence (don't @ me), had to agree that this novel is a "masterpiece of the art of fooling the reader without cheating him".

The story is told from several points of view, but mainly from the perspective on one Antony Gillingham, a young man of a good breeding who lives a unconventional life: rather than choosing a respectable career and laboring at it year after year, Antony takes up any profession or position that appeal to him, for as long as he finds it interesting or challenging. Once bored, he bows out, and moves on to the next.

Having made the acquaintance of a certain Bill Beverley, a younger-still man about town, during one of his stints at a menial position, Antony decides to look him up at the lovely countryside property where the former has been staying, with a group of other guests, for the past few days.

As luck will have it, Antony walks up to the open house door minutes after a shot has been fired inside, leading to him and the owner's younger cousin, and his general factotum, finding a body in the office.

What follows is an intricately plotted, dialogue-heavy murder mystery where the main characters poke gentle fun at both the best-known genre conventions, and at that quintessentially British private detective, Sherlock Holmes.

While Chandler complained about the lack of gritty realism in the story, I rejoiced in Antony's delight in finding occasion to pit his wits against those of the best fictional consulting detective of his time, metaphorically speaking; even if he too, occasionally, indulged in willfully confusing his loyal sidekick, the earnest Bill, Antony is by far less needlessly cruel to him than Holmes is to Watson.

What I found a lot less delightful was how flat most of the characters are; even our protagonists are mostly a collection of stereotypes, with only the rare moment of real introspection to show who they are beyond the requirements of the plot.

The cast of characters is firmly divided into those who matter--the missing host, his cousin, the house guests, Antony--and those who exist solely 'behind the scenes', as it were, and who come forward only to provide evidence, both at the inevitable inquest and to the reader--the house staff, the gardener, the estate lodgers, even the police inspector. And, insofar as all of them are concerned, the world revolves entirely around England; it is not just that everyone is white, but how insular their worldview is.

As for the few women in the story, they only exist as the most reductive clichés: the gossipy, somewhat hysterical housekeeper; the shifty and lazy housemaid; the slightly-mercenary professional actress; the wide-eyed innocent; the grasping mama; the beautiful love interest. In fact, the last one doesn't even have spoken lines at all!

All the clues to solve the mystery are present in the text, and the author takes pains to show Antony and Bill discussing not only what facts they know, but how they all may tie together to form a coherent explanation that answers the most pressing question: where is Mark Ablett?

I confess that, having guessed part of the solution early on, I was fooled into doubting my instincts by subsequent developments. My main complaint over the mystery itself is that at least one of the underlying factors behind the murder felt too farfetched to fit in with the story as a whole.

And still, I fell into the narrative's world head first, and didn't surface again until I was done reading.

The Red House Mystery gets a 9.00 out of 10.

It has always been shocking to me that the same author that gave us our beloved Winnie the Pooh could turn around and take on a topic as cold and very grown up as crime. But yes! It's true! And sadly, this is Milne's sole attempt. A twisty, playful mystery, very much in the Golden Age style. Milne spins a tale of two houseguests who turn to amateur detecting when their host's brother, recently returned from years abroad, is found dead and their host is nowhere to be found. The warmth and intimacy between Tony and Bill, and their playful unraveling of the mystery, is positively delightful. And while I would agree with Raymond Chandler that it lacks in the kind of grit that authors like Chandler gravitated towards, it is no less intellectually piquant. A pleasant puzzle that makes one grieve for all that could have been had Milne not stopped after just one such tale.

I requested this book from NetGalley at the beginning of (European) summer, when I was participating in a book club called The Summer of Mystery. We were reading golden age mysteries, specifically Margery Allingham. By the time I got to this book I had read nine historic mystery books, and discovered that the Golden Age is not for me. Many of my issues with the genre were present in this book - the uncaring attitude towards the murdered person (they are a plot point, not a person) and expectations to believe some unbelievable things are but two. This book was also very repetitious, with our self appointed detective and his "Watson" going over and over the same facts.
In the positive for this book is that it is not racist or sexist. The language feels modern, so there is very little struggle with "well, that was a different time".
The book opens with the domestic staff, but they, and their concerns are soon relegated back to the domestic areas of the house. Some of the classist things said by the main characters are quite (unintendedly) funny.
And with that, I close my book on both the Summer of Mystery and the Golden Age of Mystery. I mark them "not for me" and move on.

A classic Golden Age mystery – with all that entails…

I had never realized that AA Milne, of Winnie-the-Pooh fame, had written a murder mystery. And, to be fair, he only wrote one, way back in 1922. But it’s pretty good one: a classic Golden Age mystery, complete with a death in a locked room during a house party, an obvious solution that seems just a bit too obvious, lots of people behaving oddly, some extremely doubtful timelines, a renegade back from “exile” in Australia, and a pair of rather unlikely Holmes-and-Watson style amateur detectives. Oh yeah, and we shouldn’t forget the (not-so) secret passage either!

Of course, The Red House Mystery also comes with the downsides of a Golden Age mystery. In the hundred-or-so years since 1922, we’ve seen lots of variations on the death-at-a-country-manor theme. So although this was probably fresh and original at the time, it is a little less so now. And the rather classist attitude of the times (servants serve, guests play golf, impecunious cousins help out, mothers scheme on behalf of their daughters, the rich do whatever they want) grated a bit against today’s mores, while also helping me guess what happened, rather early on. But even after I was 90% certain I knew whodunnit, there were still a couple of red herrings that made me doubt, so I had to keep reading.

In the end, although I did have to keep the book’s age in mind from time to time, I enjoyed reading The Red House Mystery. And I think anyone who likes classic mysteries would too - it’s just such a perfect exemplar of its type. And finally, my thanks to Pushkin Vertigo and NetGalley for the review copy.

EXCERPT: . . . Antony had gone to the locked door, and was turning the handle. 'I suppose he put the key in his pocket he said, as he came back to the body again.
'Who?'
Antony shrugged his shoulders. 'Whoever did this,' he said, pointing to the man on the floor. 'Is he dead?'
'Help me,' said Cayley simply.
They turned the body onto its back, nerving themselves to look at it. Robert Ablett had been shot between the eyes.

ABOUT 'THE RED HOUSE MYSTERY': In a quaint English country house, the exuberant Mark Ablett has been entertaining a house party, but the festivities are rudely interrupted by the arrival of Mark's wayward brother, Robert, home from Australia. Even worse, not long after his arrival the long-lost brother is found dead, shot through the head, and Mark is nowhere to be found. It is up to amateur detective Tony Gillingham and his pal Bill to investigate.

Between games of billiards and bowls, the taking of tea and other genteel pursuits, Tony and Bill attempt to crack the perplexing case of their host’s disappearance and its connection to the mysterious shooting. Can the pair of sleuths solve the Red House mystery in time for their afternoon game of croquet?

MY THOUGHTS: The Red House Mystery is A.A. Milne's one and only mystery novel. It was well received and so I have to wonder why he never wrote another. Antony Gillingham is an entertaining sleuth and Bill Beverley the ideal side-kick. They would have been ideal fodder for a series. And this would make an ideal movie. It is delightfully old-fashioned, and extremely entertaining with mothers trying to make good marriages for their daughters, house parties, tennis and croquet.

The plot involves a dead body in a locked room, secret passages, midnight jaunts and hidden evidence. I did solve the mystery quite early on concerning the who, but it was the why I couldn't deliver on. I did have a theory, but it was wide of the mark.

There is one line in particular that I absolutely loved and which I must share - No, not a murderer; not X. That was rot, anyway. Why, they had played tennis together. I rather think Mr Milne was having a little fun with his readers, writing tongue-in-cheek, which only increased my enjoyment.

⭐⭐⭐.5

#TheRedHouseMystery #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: A. A. Milne was born in Kilburn, London, to parents Vince Milne and Sarah Marie Milne (née Heginbotham) and grew up at Henley House School, 6/7 Mortimer Road (now Crescent), Kilburn, a small public school run by his father.

He married Dorothy "Daphne" de Sélincourt in 1913, and their only son, Christopher Robin Milne, was born in 1920. In 1925, A. A. Milne bought a country home, Cotchford Farm, in Hartfield, East Sussex. During World War II, A. A. Milne was Captain of the Home Guard in Hartfield & Forest Row, insisting on being plain 'Mr. Milne' to the members of his platoon. He retired to the farm after a stroke and brain surgery in 1952 left him an invalid and by August 1953 "he seemed very old and disenchanted". He was 74 years old when he passed away in 1956.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Pushkin Press, Pushkin Vertigo, via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Yes, the author of Winnie the Pooh wrote a mystery novel!! And I loved this latest edition of it!!! 🕵️‍♂️

Definitely gave off Sherlock Holmes vibes - albeit an amateur Sherlock and Watson - mixed with Agatha Christie! ❤️ I don’t know why I didn’t see the twist coming - I feel like I should have, but I didn’t!! 🙌

Highly recommend for lovers of locked room and classic mysteries!! 👏

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

The Red House Mystery is a solid, but not spectacular, whodunnit by the amazing A.A. Milne. NetGalley allowed me to read this classic mystery and I enjoyed the plot. I did find the story a bit tedious (which may reflect the mood I was in while reading the story.) Give me an old-fashioned country house, some solid characters, and Sherlock the Pooh as the great detective. Okay, that last part was my feverish invention! Settle back and enjoy the read.

I received a copy of A. A. Milne's only mystery novel from NetGalley. It is quite an enjoyable read, but I kept on forgetting that the book is by Milne! It is a dramatic departure from the world of Winnie-the-Pooh, and it is easy to see why this mystery is not widely beloved like our "silly old bear," but it is still entertaining enough!

This is a classic amateur detective, locked-room mystery. An idiosyncratic man of leisure arrives at a country house immediately after a murder has been committed, and takes it upon himself to do some sleuthing on the dl. Antony's friend Bill is Watson to his Holmes, and the banter between the two is one of the highlights of the story. While the mystery itself is never in a great deal of doubt, there's the usual cozy fun at seeing exactly how it was pulled off. Golden age mysteries are popular at my library, and this would be a nice addition.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

I'm always excited to see modern re-publications of older fiction and the next up is "The Red House Mystery", a Golden Age locked room mystery by A.A.Milne, who to most of us is better known as the author of the Winnie the Pooh stories.

Set in an English Country House with a locked room murder and plenty of red herrings we're treated to a fun story with an amateur detective duo who act like a more comedic Holmes and Watson. I felt that this was a truly solid murder mystery that will absolutely appeal to fans of Agatha Christie or Anthony Berkeley and is overall an entertaining and fast paced read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Press | Pushkin Vertigo for this digital review copy of "The Red House Mystery" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A great Golden-Age read. Loved the characters of Tony and Bill.

The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne (the author of Winnie the Pooh) was Milne's only mystery novel. It was written as a gift for his father, who loved detective fiction. The foreword from Milne was very sweet and perhaps my favorite part of the book, though there was quite a lot to like throughout.

The Red House Mystery is a classic locked room mystery that is enjoyable and accessible. The writing style makes it an easy and comfortable read, and the quaint country house setting adds to the story's charm.

The amateur sleuth (Tony Gillingham) and his equally amateur sidekick (Bill) were quite likable and fun to root for. Tony is a clever observant everyman who is good-natured and less arrogant than some of the detectives in classic mysteries of this sort. Bill is a jolly, helpful pal who is eager to assist with every step of the mystery. Tony and Bill fondly refer to each other as Holmes and Watson throughout.

A few other characters are peppered in to provide suspects and help tell the story. Most of them are staying or working at The Red House, a country estate owned by Mark. Everyone is all aflutter at the story's beginning because Mark's ne'er-do-well brother, Robert, is visiting the estate after a 15-year absence.

Everyone is quite surprised when Robert is found shot in the face, and Mark is suddenly missing. Fortunately, Tony has stopped by to visit his buddy, Bill, who also stays at The Red House. The authorities assess the situation and identify the killer, but Tony is not convinced they have things right, so he does a little investigating of his own with Bill's help.

The mystery is not just a puzzle to be solved, but a well-crafted plot that keeps you intrigued and engaged. The solution, explained in detail at the end, leaves no loose ends, satisfying the reader's curiosity.

Overall, I consider this a must-read classic mystery and recommend it to anyone who enjoys Golden Age detective fiction, early Agatha Christie, locked-room mysteries, or A.A. Milne's writing.

Thank you to Net Galley and Pushkin Vertigo for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

The Red House Mystery was first published in 1922 and considered as The Golden Age of Detective Fiction whodunits.

The plots revolve around the “locked room” mystery from amateur sleuthhounds Antony Gillingham and Bill Beverley. Both had become acquainted a few years earlier and happened to meet at the Red House. Red House was owned by Mark Ablett, a philanthropist. The house party was shocked by a gunshot, and it turned out that Robert Ablett was killed in a locked room. Robert was Mark's long-lost brother who just arrived from Australia. The deceased and his brother had never been on good terms. As a result, a court of law has decided Mark guilty by some 'last seen theory'. But it was not an ordinary crime because Mark was never found at the scene. Hah! That's the case.

The author does not provide enough clues for the reader to work out in this soft-boiled mystery, but in the end, it's really all about the final twist and a devilishly family skeleton.

Thanks to @NetGalley and Pushkin Vertigo for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

4.5

Well that was a bit of a revelation. I've been hearing about this book for a while - considered highly in the locked room mystery genre. Now I see why.

I liked everything about this book except the explanation if whodunnit right at the end - not the who but rather the way in which it was done.

The story revolves around the possible murder of an errant brother, Roger Ablett, by his brother, Mark who has disappeared. We are led through the action by the utterly delightful Antony Gillingham and his Watsonian sidekick, Bill Beverley. Bill was a guest at The Red House and Gillingham had called to see him when he happens upon the murder scene quite by chance.

Gillingham is a jack of all trades and appears to be master too as he takes to his self-appointed role of detective like a duck to water. His nonchalant style manages to get more information than the Police do while he and Beverley slink about the house and grounds to find out what really happened in the locked room where Roger Ablett's body was found.

To use some era appropriate lingo I'd say the whole thing is "dashed clever".

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Both Gillingham and Beverley are very likeable. The prose is great and Milne's style is very engaging. Did he write more? I'd certainly love to read more.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for the advance review copy.

A classic! Need i even write my gushing remarks in a review as you’ll have already seen many reviews raving about it! Nothing does it better than the books that help to create the genres, and this is a prime example
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Thank you to the publisher for the arc!

This isn’t so much a “whodunnit” as a “howdunnit,” with a lot of focus on logistics. There’s no real character development, and the plot is tedious and s-l-o-w.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

An interesting read that I'd never heard of from this famous author. I'd encourage reading this quick story.

As the only whodunnit AA Milne wrote this is an interesting read; part curiosity, part pastiche. Popular on its original release in the '20s it's probably one for a more niche crowd these days given the quaint style of writing and somewhat meta nature of the narration. The dialogue might seem outdated for the average reader now but there sits a sold locked room mystery behind it all.

The Red House Mystery is an absolute delight! Hailed as a masterpiece of the ‘locked-room’ murder mystery this classic novel is fiendishly clever with plenty of witty send-ups of murder mystery cliches. In the introduction the author even explains what makes a good murder mystery and what many authors get wrong. It’s terrific fun, the “detective” and his sidekick even style themselves as Holmes and Watson. This was AA Milne (beloved author of Winnie the Poo) first and only murder mystery and it is written with a similar warmth and humour. If you are a fan of classics like Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes you will absolutely love this,

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC of the reissue in exchange for an honest review.