Sunday, 23 June 2024

An interesting read...ARC book review

 The Red House Mystery - A.A. Milne


As a life-long Winnie-The-Pooh fan, when I realised that there was a mystery written AA Milne in the style of an amateur detective (following the style of Holmes and Watson) I was intrigued. 

Having read Roz Watkins The Red House earlier this year, I initially had to shake that novel from my head. However, due to when this was written the contrasting style soon did that for me.

The personification used to bring the house to life works well. The murder provides a good number of questions and the sleuth (Gillingham) who decides to investigate does so in his own way, with his sidekick (Beverly) who he refers to as his Watson. Liking Sherlock Holmes stories potentially helped me enjoy this more. The imagery (such as the use of a pipe) and way that language is used is so appropriate for when it is set and written, making it a good juxtaposition to modern novels. If you didn’t know it was published in 1922, you’d soon realise it’s period when reading.

The reveal was successful in my opinion, as were all the twists and turns. The story builds well to its reveal and is a short, and worthwhile read if you fancy a contrast to the modern-day thrillers and murder mysteries. I give four-stars as it was perhaps a little obvious in terms of the whodunnit…it still kept me reading though!

With thanks to NetGalley for this read! 














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