The Red Widow Murders

Sir Henry Merrivale #3

by Carter Dickson (Pseudonym), Tom Mead (Introduction), John Dickson Carr

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.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Detective, Classics, Crime, Golden Age Mystery, 20th Century

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

Carter Dickson is a pen name of writer John Dickson Carr.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so long ago the young Lord Mantling inherited his title and the family estate, and soon his townhouse in London is due to be pulled down. This means he can open a room that's been boarded up for years, a room that the terms of inheritance insist must be kept sealed until such time as the house is demolished . . . a room in which over the past century and more a succession of people have inexplicably died within two hours of being left there alone. Mantling assembles a party of family and friends and they draw cards to choose who will be the one to spend two hours in that room. Also present are three disinterested observers, one of whom happens to be Sir Henry Merrivale, H.M.

The "winner" of the draw is a mild-mannered man called Bender, whom no one really knows. He enters the room at 10pm and the rest of the company, ensconced at the dining table nearby, sing out to him every quarter-hour thereafter to check he's still alive. Not long before midnight and the expiration of the two hours, he's discovered to be dead of curare poisoning. Yet it's clear he died long enough ago that the last two or three of his responsive shouts must have been emitted after he died. Moreover, the room reveals no mechanism whereby he could have been poisoned.

What seems to be a locked-room mystery is partly modified by the almost immediate discovery that the room wasn't as sealed up as it might have appeared. Even so, the murder appears to have been an impossible one. Chief Inspector Humphrey Masters produces what at first seems a fairly watertight explanation of how the killing could have been done but in his habitual fashion H.M. soon demolishes Masters's reasoning. And it is of course H.M. who eventually solves both this murder and the ancillary one that follows it.

I wouldn't say this is top-flight Carr -- for one thing, H.M.'s explanation depends on an error of omission being committed in the post mortem -- but it's tremendously entertaining, and has some wonderfully atmospheric moments.

The Red Widow of the title refers to Madame Guillotine, and we find that the history of the room is entwined with that of the Sanson family, hereditary French executioners. Carr/Dickson gives us a fairly extensive flashback account of the adventures during the Terror of one of the room's early victims, and clearly relishes the opportunity to explore this gory period of history. This section is one of the highlights of the book.

If you're unfamiliar with Carr's work, The Red Widow Murders, a page-turner that's packed with Carr's customary ingenuity and a good measure of humor, might be as good a place as any to start.

[March · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the movie-industry setting of The White Priory Murders, the third H.M. adventure is a return to the heavy-handed gothic atmosphere of The Plague Court Murders. Once more the style is a mixture of Poe, Leroux, and Chesterton, with A Tale of Two Cities and Wieland stirred in. The mystery involves nearly a half dozen cases of "murder by room" over the course of more than a century, beginning around the time of the French Revolution. The novel commits a number of genre "sins" (incorporating curare, hypnotism, and even briefly ventriloquism) and the solution is pretty bonkers, with method and motive equally contrived and everything hinging on somebody's minor ailment that is inadequately clued and about which the reader is flatly deceived (see Ch. 12: "The only cut or puncture etc."--outright cheating!). Most of the suspects blend together too, and I had trouble visualizing the shutters: they appear to be internal metal shutters with rusted bolts, but with two inch openings between the slats? Whatever. I missed the elegant simplicity of the solution to The White Priory Murders or the narrative drive of The Judas Window. Still, HM is in good form, "Lord love-a-duck" and all.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Red Widow Murders is book three in the series featuring Sir Henry Merrivale (HM to his friends). And this one is a doosie. It seems that a group of people have gathered at the home of Lord Mantling, where nine of them draw cards to see who will spend a few hours alone in the so-called Red Widow's room, the scene of unexplained deaths going back to 1803. The cards are revealed, and it is one Mr. Bender who goes off to spend the night alone. Every fifteen minutes someone asks if he's okay, and he always answers. When time's up the other 8 people open the door, and there lies Bender, dead. But there was no way in or out of that room, and he'd been answering their queries the entire time. So how could this happen? Sir Henry Merrivale to the rescue, to uncover the truth.

Fun fun fun! There's something to be said about the pleasure of reading these old, vintage mystery novels, with their often elaborately-plotted crimes and solutions that even if you tried, you couldn't guess. Especially in this one, where there are a number of suspects, plenty of clues, and an equal number of red herrings left for the reader to sift through. The Red Widow Murders also offers its readers a great backstory which in and of itself is a bit chilling.

Unlike some of his other works, The Red Widow Murders isn't weighted down by a lot of archaisms, and it moves at a very nice pace. The characters are well drawn, the atmosphere is perfect, the story is a good one, and the mystery will leave you hanging until the very end. This one I can definitely recommend, especially to fans of golden-age mystery novels and of John Dickson Carr in particular. It's not a cozy novel by any stretch, and modern readers of mystery may find it a bit slow considering the fast pace of novels nowadays. However, if you are a dyed-in-the-wool fan of vintage crime, like me, it really is worth every minute you put into it.

[Cameron Trost · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifth John Dickson Carr novel I've read, and it's definitely my favourite so far. I gave four stars (closer to 3.5) to The Hollow Man, which was really a tad too contrived, and a solid four stars to The Seat of the Scornful, The Case of the Constant Suicides, and Castle Skull. The Red Widow Murders is more engaging, tantalising, and ultimately more satisfying than the others. While still a bit too contrived, and indeed Carr seems incapable of avoiding the implausible, this novel shows Carr's talent as a creator of truly intriguing locked-room mysteries. He offers the reader a puzzle to solve without, as he is sometimes wont to do, dropping the pace a gripping mystery needs and getting bogged down in excessive speculation. I will continue to read Carr's mysteries, and I hope another will top this one off my top of my chart. Suggestions?

[Jill H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another "locked room" mystery featuring Sir Henry Merrivale from John Dickson Carr, writing as Carter Dickson. This is the type of book that you love to hate....the stories are extremely unbelievable, the major and continuing characters are not particularly appealing, and there are multiple solutions presented until the actual "how dunnit" is presented in the final few pages.
In this tale, a room in the home of a titled Englishman is purported to be haunted and anyone venturing into the room alone meets death apparently by poisoning. At a dinner party, a group of friends, including Merrivale, decide to test the curse to prove it false. But, of course, the occupant of the room dies in the locked room, alone and it is up to Merrivale and his cohorts to solve the mystery.
It is as unlikely as it seems but somehow you can't stop reading this book or any of this series, just to discover what improbable conclusion the author devises to wrap up the story.

[Miglė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dar vienas labai techniškas, bet fainas "Užrakinto kambario karaliaus" Carter Dickson / Dickson Carr detektyvas. Tokios gana ekscentriškos šeimos name yra kambarys, kuris mįslingu būdu nužudo jame esantį žmogų, jei tas žmogus yra vienas. Šeimininkas nusprendžia išbandyti kambario burtus ir surenka kompaniją garbių žmonių, kurie patvirtins, ar čia tikrai prakeikimas, ar kažkas gudresnio. Mėgstu pagrindinį šios serijos personažą – Sir Henry Merrivale – bet sprendimas buvo toks gausus mažučių įvairiai susidėliojančių detalių, kad kažkuriuo metu ėmiau truputį nebelaikyti dėmesio. Kaip ten bebuvę, Carter Dickson man visada yra comfort read, kurio imsiuosi dar ne kartą.

[Deborah Gunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I have a hard time keeping characters straight in these mysteries which I like to read very quickly, a list of characters is quite helpful. Instead of a review, here are the characters:

Sir George Anstruther. Baronet. Director of the British Museum. Invited by his friend ,Lord Mantling, to attend the opening of the Widow's Room, which has been locked up for years after mysterious deaths occurred there.

Dr. Michael Tarlaine. English Professor. Friend of Sir George, who engineers Tarlain's visit to a house with a "poison room."

Lord Alan Mantling. Owner of Mantling House, which is soon to be sold and demolished. Big, red-haired. Wants to clear up the mystery of the Widow's room. Mantling House was built in 1751 by Charles Brixom, ancestor of Mantling. Bossy.

Shorter, the Butler. Honest. Reliable.

Mr. Bob Carstairs. Old friend of Lord Mantling. They hunted together in the Bush in South Africa. He is interested in Judith. Much younger than Lord Mantling. Talkative, red-faced with a brown toothbrush mustache. Sporting type. Eton, Sandhurst. Forced out of Air Force. Not good husband material according to Judith. Big talker, overly self-confident.

M. Martin Longueval Ravelle. Frenchman. Furniture expert, descendant of a furniture expert hired by Mantling's ancestor who thought the deaths in the room might have been caused by trick furniture. His great-uncle, Martin Longueval, died in the Widow's Room in 1870.

Mr. Ralph Bender. Protege of Isabel. Thought by Mantling to be an artist or something. Small, intelligent, with dark, thinning hair.

Mr. Guy Brixom. Younger brother of Lord Mantling. Family historian. Small man with sharp features who wears glasses with darkened lenses. Red haired. Frail, wrinkled.

Miss Isabel Brixom. Aunt of Lord Mantling. Typical spinster aunt in English Country House murders. Tall, age indeterminate, eyes so pale of blue they "seemed to mingle with the whites." Voice "too noticably melodious." Self possessed and confident.

Miss Judith Brixom. Pretty young woman looking for a man who " Made Something of [H]imself."

Dr. Eugene Arnold. Fiance of Judith. Brain specialist. Serious. Priggish.

Sir Henry Merrivale. Aka H.M. The amateur detective. Former head of British Counter-Espionage Service. Important personage in the War Office. Suitably eccentric. Very large man, bald, " Buddha-face" Demanding. Brilliant. "Addicted to white socks." Qualified barrister and physician. Undignified, loud, practical.

Chief Inspector Humphrey Masters. Portly. Nice manner. Works well with H.M. but constantly jumps to conclusions.

Assorted other servants. Feel free to add to this list.

Intriguing mystery. H.M. is quite entertaining. Fast-paced and interesting locked door murder mystery.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mysterious room in Lord Mantling's Mayfair mansion has been locked for a generation. The family story has it that anyone who spends two hours there alone will die. But Lord Mantling does not believe in family tales, and is resolved to open the room. When he does, he and his guests draw cards, and the winner--or perhaps we should call him the loser--sits alone in the room and dies. Among those present are Sir Henry Merrivale, and you can't fool the Old Man--or can you? HM seems stumped by how a man can be poisoned in a room with no food, no drink, no unguarded access--and how he can respond to questions after he's dead. Topflight Carr.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started well,i really liked the premise of a haunted room that kills anyone who spends the night alone there.The back story to the different deaths in the room over a space of a 100 years or so was gripping too.So far so good,but then about 3/4's of the way through,the story seemed to run out of steam and i just couldn't wait to finish it.This is reasonably early on in Carr's career and he's still learning his craft,better was to come,but this is definitely worth a read.

[Lauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kutkuttavan melodramaattinen ja korni murhamysteeri.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why the Golden Age of mysteries was golden. An impressively complex locked-room mystery that features a mysterious method of murder that leaves no trace, French-Revolution background detail that provides a crucial clue or two, a series of inexplicable deaths in the same room, but only when people are alone, over the course of a century, and a solution that actually makes sense and is in fact signposted fairly. A great deal of Very English 1930s-vintage dialogue, including various "See here"s and expostulations and Sir Henry Merrivale bellowing and lumbering, which he does quite a bit. Not to mention yet more quantities of grinning. To be fair, almost none of the icky sentiments you often find in these period pieces. So a real treat, and one where I at no point had any confidence I was going to figure anything out. Which I sodding well did not.

[Diario de un lector · Rating 3 out of 5]

Al principio muy bien, me recordaba un poco a Agatha Christie y esas investigaciones costumbristas. Peeero, poco a poco se ha ido yendo hacia un lugar surrealista, donde las pistas no tienen pies ni cabeza y el final es muy inverosímil, difícil de creer y lioso, después de todo lo visto anteriormente...
No me ha gustado mucho...

[Dark Blue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha gustado porque es un libro de los típicos de crímenes que a mí me encantan y hacía un montón que no leía alguno de este estilo. De todas formas, me ha parecido un poco random el asesino al final.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. Clever mystery. What annoyed me was some of the babble. It seemed more like people being pretentious to make it seem they were very cultured than those who can seem pretentious but are actually very cultured and use cultural references in their every day life without putting on a show (i.e. Lord Peter).

[JDL · Rating 4 out of 5]

So quickly I am back to reading another Carr, and this time it's one which is usually held in well regard but which some people have mixed feelings about. The Red Widow Murders focuses on a murder committed in a room with locked windows and a heavily watched door, a man poisoned with curare after choosing the high card which selected him to spend two hours in the room. There were no puncture wounds which could have been the entry point for the curare, and the victim apparently called out to the onlookers for an hour after he died. H.M.'s problem is clear: Who killed quiet Ralph Bender, how did they do it (and did it involve being in the room for the murder,) and how do the four mysterious deaths in the Red Widow's Room throughout the 19th century tie into this case? Before long facts and connections are uncovered for both past and present, a false solution is propounded, a second murder occurs, and things become continually stranger until the killer's unmasking. The pacing and plotting in this entry in the Merrivale series is rather outstanding, and indeed much much better than that in White Priory. I really felt a desire to see how each chapter would be laid out, rather than trudging on just because I wanted to know the solution to an impossible crime. The story of the past crimes actually blends really well into the present because it gives much more insight into the present crime than, say, the legend in Plague Court which is just kind of a scary story which is used to set the Scooby-Doo atmosphere and a final-page roundabout connection. The solution to the past deaths, which comes in at about two-thirds into the story (not unlike in The Decagon House Murders) is pretty good. The characters throughout include some well-rounded people, like the Brixham brothers Guy and Alan, Lord Mantling, and some other characters who are not quite as well-drawn. The solution is what is often most talked about when it comes to this novel (and really solutions are what we care about, right?), and while some people are very critical of it, I think it has good parts and bad parts. The solution to the victim's voice is revealed earlier on, but is done very well. The impossible poisoning and locked room solution, which go hand in hand, is probably the most brilliant part of the solution. It really is unexpectedly great. It does end up being a coincidence in the killer's favor, but that I can overlook. The identity of the killer is unexpected but sensible. And then you have the killer's plan. Not yet in my journeys through GAD, not even in an Ellery Queen, have I seen such a convoluted and complicated murder plot (And Queen's murderers can be dense!) The entire plot requires several things to go exactly right, includes the unwitting participation of several third parties, and can be pretty hard to understand when you're first reading it. I got the general gist of it as it went along, but I had to review the whole thing in my mind after I finished to make sure I knew what I was reading. The motive for the crime is also a bit complicated but in a good way - the motives for each murder are unique and surprising. There is one element concerning the second murder which is what most people specifically call out. Let's just say that I didn't really like it, but it was far from a deal-breaker for me. Overall, despite this rather abstruse solution, The Red Widow Murders is really one of Carr's most underrated titles, maybe one of his best impossible situations I've read, mixing a classic trick with a newer, brilliant one, and lots of great atmosphere which actually utilizes a past "legend" effectively. As always, recommended.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 2 out of 5]

During most of its development, this novel was interesting, but at the end, during the explanations given by Sir Henry Merrivale, the author makes a dreadful mistake that leaves the whole plot at the level of the absurd. To avoid spoilers I won't say what it was, but for me the novel went down pitifully.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enrevesado y complicado de leer. Lo acabas y no entiendes el final a no ser que lo leas 5 veces. Personajes no muy bien definidos y cada poco debes consultar quién es cada uno de ellos. Traducido regular en algunas ocasiones. En resumen, no lo recomendaría.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atmosphere? Yes. Ingenuity? Yes. Last-minute hack device to make the plot work? Sadly, also yes.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Red Widow Murders is my first John Dickson Carr book and while it won't be my last, thus far, he's not in my mystery author pantheon.

Master of the locked room plot, Mr. Carr presents us with quite a puzzle. A wealthy lord wishes to discover why so many of his ancestors died of poisoning while spending the night in a bedroom of the family mansion. To that end, he summons several family members and outsiders for the "privilege" of testing the room. This time, Lord Mantling vows, the outcome will be different. Short answer: it isn't. And Sir Henry Merrivale, amateur detective extraordinaire, must help Scotland Yard find the culprit. The problems: the room was locked and well-guarded; there's no trace of how the victim was poisoned; and all the suspects not only have no motive, but, also, their alibis are air-tight.

There's a lot to like about this book. The horrors of the French Revolution and its long-term effects on this English family (for me, the most interesting part) are well-described with particularly graphic depictions of beheadings and their aftermath. With some exceptions, the clues were laid out well (as soon as we learned that Dr. Arnold had access to the poisoned darts, that really clinches it and the narrative becomes a whydunnit rather than whodunnit). Who could resist a book that contains the self-reflexive: "But I'm not goin' to tangle you up... with abstruse clews that nobody in ten thousand could be expected to know about." Finally, as an Anglophile, I enjoy anything set in England:

Tairlaine...had felt only that stark despondency which comes to those in a strange harsh city during night and the cold rain. The smoky blue twilight of this town, the mushroom crush of umbrellas gleaming under the smeary lights of the Strand, the clash and roar on wet pavements round Charing Cross, had made him feel for lonely for -- it surprised him to think thus -- for the first time in his life.

Other clews clues are misleading. Most importantly, we're assured that the victim's body was carefully examined for any signs of needle marks in the skin (how the poison was administered), but that turns out not to include the mouth. The perpetrator's motive is weak at best -- partly because we never learn much about them. Finally, my pet peeve is when authors provide inconsistent background details -- especially family histories. How on earth can Alan, Guy, and Judith be descended from Charles and Marie-Hortense when one of their children died in the Red Widow Room before she got married and the other apparently died shortly after, childless?

3 1/2 stars. I did enjoy the atmosphere and trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. But, at the end of the day, there were a lot of plot holes and I did not warm up to Sir Henry (or, really, anyone).

[Sapphire Detective · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Carr book I read makes me like his style more and more; this book is no exception. I loved Hag's Nook too, but I half account that to the novelty of Carr to me. I had never seen someone put forth a puzzler of the style Carr does, and I had called myself a mystery fan /j. But over the course of these four novels, I've become a Carr fan for life. There's no doubt about that.

Of the four I've read, I personally think The Red Widow Murders is Carr's strongest showing. It's the perfect blend of gothic atmosphere and impossible crime that Carr has become known for, and what a crime it is. The investigation plays out interestingly and with enough twists and turns that even I was gobsmacked at certain points. Plus, the light sense of humor present--an aspect I know becomes worse over the series, especially where H.M. is concerned--is always worth some enjoyment.

I have yet to read what are considered some of Carr's true best--The Judas Window, The Hollow Man, The Burning Court, etc.--but on the notion of not wanting to spoil the best right-off, I'd say this would be a perfect starting place for new Carr readers. My starter, Hag's Nook, also does the job, but I think this one fares just that bit better. And those familiar with Carr but haven't had the chance to read it? Now's the perfect opportunity, with American Mystery Classics releasing this new edition (which was how I read it). Either way, go read it! You won't regret it!

My rating: 5/5
Would I own/re-read it?: Absolutely!
TW: Murder, Insanity, Gaslighting, References to historical Tragedies, Hypnotism
Does the animal die?: Unfortunately, there are two. Both a dog and a parrot are killed, though both take place before the events of the story. Their deaths are referenced and play some part in the overall playing out of events.
How difficult was the mystery?: What appeals to me about impossible crimes is that while I can always safely figure out the who in any mystery, the how in impossible crimes often eludes me. Certain parts become clear to me, but not everything, and oftentimes what is clear is misunderstood somehow. That being said, I did figure out the who, and I figured out part of the how, but not entirely. Carr is a master of the fair-play mystery, and even without knowing the solution, I was able to realize the clues that were sitting out in the open as revelations happened. So if avid mystery persons want to try and solve it, good luck. It's not impossible, but Carr doesn't make it easy--though it is entirely fair.

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poslední studijní kniha pro Rudou žeň věnovanou Carrovi... a samozřejmě, další záhada zamčeného pokoje. A zatímco téma má John Dickson Carr (tohle napsal pod vynalézavým pseudonymem Carter Dickson) vždycky stejné, podání se liší – od lehkého, wodehousovského, až po temně makabrické. Tenhle případ, který vyšetřuje sir Henry Merrivale, patří do druhé skupiny, do knížek, které sázejí na gotickou atmosféru.

Máme tu jeden starý dům a v něm jeden zavřený pokoj. Pokoj, ve kterém každý, kdo je v něm více než dvě hodiny sám, zemře. Dlouhou dobu byl zapečetěný, ale teď se smí znovu otevřít – a toho využije společnost džentlmenů, aby vyzkoušela, jestli je na té pověsti něco pravdy. Jeden z nich, zcela náhodně vylosovaný, se tam nechá zamknout. A ano, je nalezený mrtv. Na tom by ještě nebylo nic tak divného… zvláštní je, že před půlhodinou ještě hlásil, že je v pořádku, i když byl, podle patologa, už hodinu mrtvý.

Je to už skoro sto let stará knížka, takže člověk musí akceptovat, že spousta věcí patologům a lidem, co zkoumají místo činu, uniká. Ono, tady ani nemají moderní vyšetřovací postupy co dělat, tohle si na realitu moc nehraje, je to prostě knížka postavená na fascinující záhadě a na elegantním řešení. To druhé trochu pokulhává, Carr už měl lepší věci, ale pořád to patří k těm solidnějším případům. A to i když autor občas sahá k ne úplně fér taktikám, jako je břichomluvectví, hypnotismus a tajné přihrádky… ale naštěstí tu hrají roli buď falešné stopy, nebo nejsou pro příběh tak důležité. (Taky to není tak úplně uzavřená místnost, jak se rychle ukáže.)

Autor ale nesází všechno na jednu kartu a vytahuje z klobouku jednu záhadu za druhou… a vedle toho i jedno řešení za druhým. Některá jsou i zábavná a přišlo mi, že je mohl autor i měl původně jako to hlavní řešení, než ho napadlo něco lepšího. Plus tady fungují i výpravy do historie – protože tajemství pokoje sahá až do dob francouzské revoluce (ta „rudá vdova“ z názvu je jedna z přezdívek pro gilotinu). Máme tu rodinu katů, rodové šílenství, smrtící pasti a tajemného vetřelce. Prostě všechno, co si člověk může přát.

[Alberto Avanzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Il mio preferito a livello di meccanismo, e uno dei tanti miei preferiti in generale. Ha molti punti in comune con le tre bare, una camera chiusa nella quale viene compiuto un delitto impossibile, il clima di tensione, la descrizione dettagliata di molti modi per uccidere (qui con il veleno, fra l’altro con il passo "Questa ipotesi mi è stata suggerita da un romanzo che ho letto, nel quale qualcuno aveva avvelenato le pagine di un libro, in modo tale che la vittima, facendo scorrere su di esse il pollice inumidito durante la lettura, avrebbe finito per introdurre il veleno in bocca", che chissà se ha ispirato Eco), un investigatore geniale (Fell, Merrivale).
Qui la situazione è data da una camera “maledetta” in una dimora signorile (il palazzo dei Mantling, a Londra) dove appunto una maledizione vuole che chi vi passi anche poche ore da solo sia destinato a morire misteriosamente. L’attuale lord Mantling e i suoi amici, con il supporto di Merrivale, decidono di sfidare la leggenda, e sorteggiare uno di loro per entrare nella stanza, dove il sorteggiato muore misteriosamente, confermando quindi la maledizione. L’autopsia rivela un avvelenamento da curaro, ma il modo con il quale il veleno è stato somministrato sembra impossibile da comprendere, se non per Merrivale, che scopre il modo ingegnoso e brillante in cui la vittima è stata uccisa.
Il finale distingue fra loro i due romanzi: ineccepibile, semplice e geniale quello della Vedova Rossa, altrettanto geniale ma meno semplice e con la piccola sbavatura menzionata prima quello delle bare

[Irfan Nurhadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third Merrivale novel, chronologically. And the last one that i read.

Early Merrivale is rather serious, compared to latter appearances that made him almost a buffon but always funny for me, nonetheless. And in this novel, you could see that there were no hanky panky in our larger-than-life character.

The compelling point of this novel, as many of Carr's did, was the locked-room aspect. A room that kills. Anyone who stay alone in that room always died. With no poison found in it, and no secret passage or the like, what really happened? Is it really a cursed room connected to the victims of French revolution?

As expected from Carr, there are a thick atmosphere combined with historical background that he use as the set-up of the mystery. A family tainted with mad blood. Tragedy from the French revolution. A room that kills. A madman who killed the family's pet. And a challenge to stay in that mysterious room ending, of course, with a murder at hand.

There's so much going on in this novel, as I said above. But overall, the mystery is intriguing and the solution.. I'm a bit divided in regards to the solution. On the one hand, the explanation about the murder in the present is satisfying, if rather complex. On the other hand, the explanation about the victim of the room in the past, felt like it was given off-handedly. Yeah, that was the bit that let me down. But overall, I liked it. The idea behind the murder is ingenious (considering its era).

[Tom Godfrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dickson is one of the biggest names from the Golden Age of mysteries, and is acknowledged as a genius of the locked-room genre, this book being one of them. 90 years have passed since this was written, and for the most part it still holds up.

In this iteration, the initial victim was indeed in a locked room that had no means of escape, with a table full of witnesses watching outside, but the victim dies of a poison that works only by being introduced into the bloodstream directly;it is harmless if ingested. Yet there are no marks, bites, or wounds on the body that would allow the poison entry. Hmmm...

Sir Henry Merrivale and the reader now have two mysteries to solve;how was it done, and who did it. Merrivale's analytical style is more inductive than deductive. He is more inclined to pursue chains of thought that lead away from what the available evidence would indicate. I ought to mention here that I found his manner of speech truly irritating. He rattles on like a Hellfire Club dandy from the 1700s. I understand that Dickson did this on purpose, but it grows tiresome very fast.

Lastly, we moderns who have the benefit of reading and watching mysteries rife with forensics will find that the major element of how it done was due to what we would consider a major failing of the investigators, not to mention a highly fortuitous physical factor.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, like some other Golden Age mysteries, was a bit tricky to get through as a younger, modern day reader. Carr uses a lot of British slang that was common at the time and required a bit of Googling to understand, then couple that with a large cast of characters who don't feel so distinctly different, some of whom the narrator refers to by different names, and you've got a lot to stew on. There were sections I had to re-read again, because Carr doesn't always use identifiers with his dialogue or conclusions were drawn where the basis didn't feel easily understood, even after the explanation by HM.

I like the way Carr writes feelings, describes scenes, and even people's emotions. I didn't really enjoy how he lays out investigation, and again still prefer Agatha Christie's style of things. Overall, though I enjoyed this more than I didn't. Though, I'm not sure if I enjoyed this enough to want to try another one of his.

[AL · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. A fun locked room mystery with a clever (and, to modern readers maybe, guessable) solution. The thing that pushes my review score up higher is the intrinsic warmth this novel has. This is my first JDC book and I’m thoroughly impressed by his sense of humanity. While certainly a 1930’s whodunnit is just about as far as you can get from a profile piece or character study (unless its the detective), JDC handles his chess pieces with much more “joie de vivre” than I’ve ever, ever seen out of a Christie novel and I’ve read quite a lot of them. I don’t want to rag on the Queen of Mystery but I often get the sense from her works that she has a very cynical and rigid view of humanity. It’s almost a shock that I don’t find any of that in Carr. Maybe my view will change with further reading but right now his writing is a breath of fresh air.

[Naphta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a bit different than other books by Carter (John) Dickson (Carr), because it is more of an English village mystery that focuses on Lord Merrivale's vagaries and peculiarities more than on the locked room puzzle and dark stories that usually typify the author. In fact, there is a long build up before any murder. The mystery is more centered on the threat of a poison pen letter writer. The book is funny, but it walks a very fine line in terms of stereotyping Native Americans. Given the time period this may be to be expected, and the "out" is that the character of Henry Merrivale is English and knows nothing about authentic native Americans and he is guilty of stereotyping and presumably not the author. Merrivale's presumptions however still made me a bit uncomfortable. The story itself was fine and I like the solution to the visit of the Widow.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A room that kills, and even better a room that's locked up tight and carefully watched while the killing is taking place. Want more? How about having the victim call out repeatedly that he's fine at intervals when it's later revealed that he was actually dead at the time. Add in a family of odd individuals with a equally odd history stretching back to the French Revolution at its bloodiest and you have the basis for Carter Dickson's (AKA John Dickson Carr) The Red Widow Murders.

This is a frankly terrific mystery with Sir Henry Merrivale at his peak and in his pomp, investigating and shedding light on an atmospheric tale set in a creepy house.

Effortlessly entertaining, smooth, pacy and literate. A superb example of Golden Age Detection.

[Chiara Reba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recensione di “I delitti della vedova rossa” di Carter Dickson edito Polillo editore

📚📚📚📚📚

La collana “I bassotti” ci regala queste perle mistery dei primi del ‘900 da sempre.
Il romanzo di Dickson non è da meno: un giallo stupendo, basato sull’intuizione, sulle prove, sugli alibi e sui moventi.
In particolare, qui ci troviamo di fronte all’enigma della camera chiusa: come può essere commesso un delitto se nessuno può entrare e nessuno può uscire?
Un libro avvincente e incalzante, dialoghi serrati, descrizioni accurate ma mai noiose.

Da leggere assolutamente

[Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting to enjoy this the way I enjoy Agatha Christie novels. That wasn’t the case. This was incredibly verbose with the author using incredibly “high brow” words to swing his dick around. The characters, to me, were bland and some melted into the other. Once the murderer was finally revealed, the last few pages explaining the crime didn’t hold my interest. Also H.M, or the Hercule Poirot of this novel, is incredibly unlikable. He was full of himself and childish when he couldn’t figure out the solution himself and had to depend on others.