The Red Widow Murders: A Sir Henry Merrivale Mystery
Feb 2023 · Sold by Penzler Publishers
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288
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About this ebook
In this baffling whodunnit from the master of the locked-room mystery, a man falls dead in a guarded room, and Sir Henry Merrivale searches for a devilishly-clever killer.
They say that Lord Mantling’s mansion is haunted — at least, one room of it is. Known as the Red Widow’s Chamber, the now-sealed quarters once housed the wife of a guillotine operator in the French Revolution, and, since her passing, have been host to a century of unsolved horrors, including the death of a man in 1802, the death of a child in 1895 and a number of mysterious mortalities in the years in between.
Now, in 1935, eight men and women join at the manor for a sinister experiment to determine the truth behind the haunting once and for all: they each draw a card, and whoever pulls the Ace of Spades must spend a night in that terrifying room. But the challenge turns fatal when the man selected for the task is found poisoned the next morning when the doors are opened. The locked room was guarded all night, so nobody could have entered or escaped; what’s more, the deadly toxin could only have entered through a break in the skin, but no wounds were discovered on the body.
Is this evidence, at last, of a nefarious spirit at work, or of a diabolical and ingenious killer? Only Sir Henry Merrivale, called in to take note of the night’s proceedings, will be able to examine the clues and deduce the truth.
They say that Lord Mantling’s mansion is haunted — at least, one room of it is. Known as the Red Widow’s Chamber, the now-sealed quarters once housed the wife of a guillotine operator in the French Revolution, and, since her passing, have been host to a century of unsolved horrors, including the death of a man in 1802, the death of a child in 1895 and a number of mysterious mortalities in the years in between.
Now, in 1935, eight men and women join at the manor for a sinister experiment to determine the truth behind the haunting once and for all: they each draw a card, and whoever pulls the Ace of Spades must spend a night in that terrifying room. But the challenge turns fatal when the man selected for the task is found poisoned the next morning when the doors are opened. The locked room was guarded all night, so nobody could have entered or escaped; what’s more, the deadly toxin could only have entered through a break in the skin, but no wounds were discovered on the body.
Is this evidence, at last, of a nefarious spirit at work, or of a diabolical and ingenious killer? Only Sir Henry Merrivale, called in to take note of the night’s proceedings, will be able to examine the clues and deduce the truth.
In this baffling whodunnit from the master of the locked-room mystery, a man falls dead in a guarded room, and Sir Henry Merrivale searches for a devilishly-clever killer.
They say that Lord Mantling’s mansion is haunted — at least, one room of it is. Known as the Red Widow’s Chamber, the now-se...
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About the author
John Dickson Carr (1906–1977) was one of the greatest writers of the American Golden Age mystery, and one of the only American authors to be included in England’s legendary Detection Club. Though he was born and died in the United States, Carr began his writing career while living in England, where he remained for nearly twenty years. Under his own name and various pseudonyms, he wrote more than seventy novels and numerous short stories, and is best known today for his locked-room mysteries. His beloved series character, Dr. Gideon Fell, was based on author G. K. Chesterton and appeared in twenty-four novels.
Tom Mead is a UK mystery writer and aficionado of Golden Age crime fiction. His novels in the award-winning Joseph Spector Locked-Room Mystery series include Death and the Conjuror, The Murder Wheel, Cabaret Macabre, The House at Devil’s Neck, and So Speak the Dead. He has also published a collection of impossible crime short stories, The Indian Rope Trick (and Other Violent Entertainments), and co-edited (with Gigi Pandian) an anthology, All the Crime in the World: Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Puzzles from Across the Globe. His works have been translated into fifteen languages (and counting) and named books of the year by The Guardian, The Telegraph, Publishers Weekly, CrimeFictionLover, and CrimeReads. Death and the Conjuror is currently in development for screen adaptation.
Tom Mead is a UK mystery writer and aficionado of Golden Age crime fiction. His novels in the award-winning Joseph Spector Locked-Room Mystery series include Death and the Conjuror, The Murder Wheel, Cabaret Macabre, The House at Devil’s Neck, and So Speak the Dead. He has also published a collection of impossible crime short stories, The Indian Rope Trick (and Other Violent Entertainments), and co-edited (with Gigi Pandian) an anthology, All the Crime in the World: Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Puzzles from Across the Globe. His works have been translated into fifteen languages (and counting) and named books of the year by The Guardian, The Telegraph, Publishers Weekly, CrimeFictionLover, and CrimeReads. Death and the Conjuror is currently in development for screen adaptation.
John Dickson Carr (1906–1977) was one of the greatest writers of the American Golden Age mystery, and one of the only American authors to be included in England’s legendary Detection Club. Though he was born and died in the United States, Carr began his writing career while living in England, whe...
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