From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

The Red House Mystery

A.A. Milne

Start date: August 1, 2016

Finish date: August 31, 2016

Discussion: Group reads

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What Members Thought

Sep 07, 2009 Tracey rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery

Long long ago, not so very far away, I read this, completely delighted by the fact that the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh wrote a murder mystery. I loved it then, and so was happy when The Red House Mystery was chosen as a book of the month for the Goodreads English Mysteries Club.

Unfortunately, I didn't love the reread so much.

The writing was fun, with occasional Pooh-ish moments –

"Perhaps it was true that inspectors liked dragging ponds, but the question was, Did Cayleys like having them dr ...more

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Jul 30, 2013 Nancy Oakes added it

Shelves: crime-fiction, crime-fiction-uk, classic-mystery-fiction

3.5 stars

My copy of this book is so old it's not even listed here; it's published by Methuen, the 14th edition that I found in a little antique/book store near my house and paid a dollar for. The Red House Mystery is not a bad read -- neither is it, as Milne says in his introduction, "very nearly the ideal detective story." It's a country-house, locked-room sort of story, with lots of red herrings, two amateurs playing at Holmes and Watson and an ending that I sort of guessed but not really. It 3.5 stars

My copy of this book is so old it's not even listed here; it's published by Methuen, the 14th edition that I found in a little antique/book store near my house and paid a dollar for. The Red House Mystery is not a bad read -- neither is it, as Milne says in his introduction, "very nearly the ideal detective story." It's a country-house, locked-room sort of story, with lots of red herrings, two amateurs playing at Holmes and Watson and an ending that I sort of guessed but not really. It's also one of those books where you have to make yourself get through the first few chapters, but after that you'll encounter pretty smooth sailing the rest of the way.

Antony (Tony) Gillingham, the less important son of a privileged family, came into an inheritance at 21, and decided to see the world -- through its people. Now at age 30, he has decided to go and visit a friend, Bill Beverley, whom he met earlier while working at a tobacconist's shop. Bill, it seems, is a guest at a house party at Mark Ablett's Red House, and Antony decides to go and see him. As it turns out, he arrives just in time for a murder -- that of Robert Ablett, Mark's "wastrel" brother from Australia who had just recently arrived. Everyone else is asked to leave; Bill and Antony stay on at the house until the inquest with Mark's cousin and protégé Matthew Cayley. Having time on his hands, and "wanting a new profession," Antony decides that becoming a "private sleuthhound," and "being Sherlocky" are just the ticket, and tags Bill as his ever-faithful Watson. Anthony's already got the murderer pegged, but how he/she did it is another question altogether. While Bill sees it as a Sherlockian lark, Tony sometimes finds the going tough:

"Of course, it's very hampering being a detective, when you don't know anything about detecting, and when nobody knows that you're doing detection, and you can't have people up to cross-examine them, and you have neither the energy nor the means to make proper inquiries; and, in short, when you're doing the whole thing in a thoroughly amateur, haphazard way."

Now here, refreshingly, is a character who understands his limitations -- and the possibility that he could be wrong about some things actually occurs to him from time to time. Nevertheless, the two do a proper bit of sleuthing here, even if at times it seems as though they're playing at silly buggers.

The amateur approach to crime solving here is interesting and I'm sure the author meant well, given his "passion for detective stories," but when it comes right down to it, there are several PPIs (problematic plot issues) that are really noticeable, especially for avid crime-reading junkies. Still, it's a fun little mystery novel, and I have a secret fondness for stately English-manor mysteries, so I found it quite enjoyable -- more so for the two main characters and how they go about pretending to partake in a Sherlockian adventure than for the plot itself. I also loved the introduction to this book, where Milne (yes, the Winnie-the-Pooh guy) talks about his love of detective stories and his ideas about the elements of the perfect detective story. I have to agree with him on most points.

Some readers may find the language a little stilted -- one reader noted it as being "tedious," but fans of crime writing during this era are used to it so it's not really that big of a deal. And there's nothing at all tedious about it. If you're looking beyond Agatha Christie for a 1920s-period novel, you might enjoy this one. ...more

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May 24, 2011 Jenn Estepp rated it liked it

Shelves: libraries-are-great, sleuths-and-gumshoes

Did you know that Mr. Winnie-the-Pooh wrote a mystery? I know! Me, neither! But, he wrote it for his dad who was a big mystery reader (insert collective, Aww.) and it is decent country house fare. It reminds me sort of what Allingham was going for with her first, but much better done. And I sort of wish that he had written more because his hero is grade-A likable. As an astute mystery reader aficionado, I sort of had the culprit figured out early on, but it was still fun seeing the how and the w ...more

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Apr 28, 2020 Carol Evans rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It’s a shame Milne only wrote one mystery. The Red House Mystery is clever and funny and charming.

Our amateur sleuth is Antony Gillingham. He stops at The Red House to visit his friend, Bill Beverly, but as he gets there he finds a frantic man banging on the door of a locked room, trying to get in. Antony and the man run to the back of the house and break in the window, finding a dead man, shot. The man who was breaking into the room was Mr. Cayley, cousin and assistant to Mark Ablett, owner of ...more

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Apr 18, 2020 Anna Adams rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I enjoyed. There was one facet that was particularly interesting to my English major mind. Oh, wait--I was going to say I can't talk about it without spoiling, but there were two characters, who made nice mirrors, but they both have pretty serious flaws. (Don't know if that's an English degree reading into it.) Wish there had been more of this series. And my only complaint is that it wasn't as gently humorous as Poo. ...more

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Mar 14, 2015 Tom rated it did not like it

Upper class English. Silly light-weight trivial. Boring.

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Dec 05, 2010 Jan C rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, gr-group-read, re-read, england, 2011

This was okay. Was this the only mystery he did? It wasn't too bad. It wasn't too long and was kind of an intriguing mystery.

This may have been another one hoever, where I determined what the answer might be (it was kind of close, but no cigar) and discarded it for being silly. ...more

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