The Red Widow Murders is a mystery

Mystery fiction

Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...

 novel by the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 writer John Dickson Carr

John Dickson Carr

John Dickson Carr was an American author of detective stories, who also published under the pen names Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn....

 (1906–1977), who published it under the name of Carter Dickson. It is a locked room mystery

Locked room mystery

The locked room mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction in which a crime—almost always murder—is committed under apparently impossible circumstances. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene that no intruder could have entered or left, e.g., a locked room...

 and features his series detective, Sir Henry Merrivale

Sir Henry Merrivale

Sir Henry Merrivale is a fictional detective created by "Carter Dickson", a pen name of John Dickson Carr . Also known as "the Old Man," by his initials "H...

.

Plot summary

An oddly assorted group of people draw cards to see who will spend the night locked into a room said to be haunted by the "Red Widow" -- a legendary figure who was married to a man who guillotined French aristocrats. In the morning, the victim is found dead, locked inside the room which was under observation continuously. He has been poisoned by curare

Curare

Curare is a common name for various arrow poisons originating from South America. The three main types of curare are:* tubocurare...

, which must be absorbed into the body through a break in the skin, but no wounds of any kind are found on the body. Henry Merrivale must solve the mystery.