The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne

By Al R. Young

A. A. Milne made more than one foray into the world of adult fiction, but of course, he is ever associated with children's literature because of the international and enduring success of Winnie-the-Pooh. This particular attempt at an adult market is, I believe, the most readily available of his non-Pooh books.

It hails from the "golden age" of mystery writing, and while it is no Agatha Christie or Dorothy L. Sayers, it is a fun escape into both the whodunit and howdunit genres. Because it is a murder mystery, we do not recommend it for children younger than 12; however, it is neither horrific nor ghastly. It is more cerebral than haunting. Another reason we've listed it is that while the solution is intriguing, it is also attainable so that young people can "join in the hunt."

While we read the book, I couldn't escape the eerie feeling that I knew the characters already. And so one way of summarizing this story -- DON'T read on if you plan to read and solve it yourself – is best described as follows: Rabbit, disguised as Tigger, is murdered by Eeyore. Christopher Robin and Pooh investigate.