After a long time, I’ve finally managed to read The Red House Mystery, which is not only a Golden Age Mystery, but also the only mystery written by A.A. Milne, the author behind the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

In The Red House Mystery, Antony Gillingham decides to visit his friend Bill, who’s visiting another friend named Mark Ablett. But when Anthony arrives, he’s immediately swept up in a case – there’s a gunshot, Mark’s ne’er-do-well brother is dead, and Mark himself is missing. As a key witness, Anthony is asked to stay and he immediately decides that his new career shall be as a private detective. With Bill, the Watson to his Holmes, the two of them begin to investigate the circumstances behind the murder.

Despite the rather large cast of characters at the start of the book, the story mainly follows three people: Anthony, Bill, and Cayley (Mark’s cousin). Anthony and Bill are suspicious of Cayley, and a good part of the book feels like a cat-and-mouse game, as they try to find out what Cayley is hiding and why. It’s good fun, for the most part, but because the three mainly interact with one another, the book can feel a little draggy in the second half. I think it’s because we don’t really talk to the others – it’s just Anthony and Bill talking, them avoiding Cayley, making a discovery, and repeat.

Given the focus on a select few characters, there’s not much surprise when it comes to who is involved in the murder. The twist is more in the why and how. I was pleasantly surprised by the reveal, though I suppose if you have read a ton of golden age mysteries, you might be able to guess what has happened.

In a way, the mystery isn’t the focal point. The story’s charm lies in the friendship between Anthony and Bill, and the way they go about investigating feels more like a game than anything else. In a way, this is typical of the Golden Age Mystery, which tends not to dwell too much on the darker aspects of murder.

Overall, this was a fun, quick mystery. I don’t think it’s terribly memorable, but it’s representative of the genre and will be interesting to those who want to see what other books the author of Winnie-the-Pooh wrote.

Featured Image: Photo from Canva