The Red House Mystery

A country-house visit turns into an amateur investigation in A. A. Milne's The Red House Mystery. Mark Ablett's proper guests are assembled at the Red House when his estranged brother returns from Australia. The visitor enters Mark's study, an argument is heard, and the brother dies from a gunshot. The room appears locked from within, and Mark has vanished.

Antony Gillingham arrives with the observational confidence of a detective but without official authority. His friend Bill Beverley becomes an eager partner, giving the inquiry a Holmes-and-Watson rhythm filtered through friendship and humor. Tea, billiards, and social etiquette continue around a crime whose physical details refuse to fit the household's assumptions.

Secret passages and evidence recovered from water widen the puzzle beyond the study door. Mark's disappearance may indicate guilt, danger, or deliberate misdirection, and Antony must test each possibility against timing and access. Milne keeps the tone lighter than the violence suggests, using witty dialogue and the cheerful collaboration between Antony and Bill to sustain momentum. Readers seeking a classic country-house whodunit will find a compact locked-room problem built from missing hosts, concealed routes, and clues that reward careful observation.