Book Review: The Red House Mystery

Seeing that A. A. Milne was the author, and being a big Pooh Bear fan, I was curious when I saw this title. If there could be such a thing as a polite murder mystery, this is it. Very British, very civil, very neat and tidy. 


"There seemed to be no doubt now that Cayley was a villain. Bill had never been familiar with a villain before. It didn't seem quite fair of Cayley, somehow; he was taking rather a mean advantage of his friends."


My husband asked me if the antagonist was a "heffalump or woosel." Even though this has absolutely nothing to do with this book, I love Winnie the Pooh and so for "intermission," I thought we could watch an excerpt. :)



Back to the book. The story is set at a country manor, where the host regularly entertains visitors selected for their willingness to play up to his vanities. The guests are treated to every comfort and leisurely pursuit. In return, they must simply follow the schedule made for them, without deviation. 


One morning at breakfast, however, there is a huge deviation from the norm. The host receives delivery of a letter announcing the imminent arrival of his "black sheep brother." The golfing date scheduled for the guests proceeds according to plan, while the host and his cousin (who serves as his personal assistant) remain at the Red House. 


Unknown to any of the inhabitants of the Red House, the protagonist of our story has just arrived in a neighboring village. When he learns that a good friend of his is visiting the Red House, he decides to walk over and see him. 


Simultaneous to his arrival on the property, a murder is committed in the office of the Red House. He hears a commotion and enters to find a man pounding on the locked door of the office. He explains to our hero that he has heard what may have been the firing of a gun. They run around to the french doors of the office and force them open, finding a body on the floor. And just like that, our hero finds himself drawn into the vortex of what turns out to be a murder mystery that will require all of his impressive observational skills to solve.


I won't give it away, but the different pieces of the puzzle include everything from a croquet box, to a bowling green, to a secret tunnel whose entrance latch is hidden behind James Ussher's tome. Of course. 


I thoroughly enjoyed The Red House Mystery because of the charming character development and the quaint British touches. It's only proper that the author of Pooh would write it. 


This is #28 out of 52. EEEEEKKKK! I'm slipping so far behind . . . 
Hahahaha! Oh well, we'll just have to see how closely the target of 52 books in 52 weeks is hit, come December. After all, it's just for fun. You should join us! :)

www.read52booksin52weeks.com