Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Mystery in White” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Mystery in White

J. Jefferson Farjeon,

Martin Edwards (Goodreads Author) (Introduction)

3.36 · Rating details · 3,825 ratings · 645 reviews

On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt near the village of Hemmersby. Several passengers take shelter in a deserted country house, where the fire has been lit and the table laid for tea – but no one is at home.

Trapped together for Christmas, the passengers are seeking to unravel the secrets of the empty house when a murderer strikes in their midst.

Thi ...more

Get A Copy

Kindle Edition, British Library Crime Classics, 256 pages

Published September 28th 2014 by The British Library (first published 1937)

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Mystery in White, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about Mystery in White

Lists with This Book

Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon

The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay

British Library Crime Classics

69 books — 74 voters

Antidote to Venom by Freeman Wills Crofts

British Library Classic Crime novels

78 books — 27 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.36 ·

Rating details

· 3,825 ratings · 645 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Mystery in White

Jan 13, 2021 Amalia Gkavea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1930s, seasons, 20th-century, winter, christmas, britain, british-literature, crime, classics, england

‘’The horrors on the train, great though as it may turn to be, will not compete with the horror that exists here, in this house.’’

It is Christmas Eve and several passengers have found themselves cooped up in a train, heading to their destinations, loaded with presents and dubious intentions. As the train proves to be no match for the greedy snowfall, the strange, newly-formed fellowship decides to venture out and find shelter away from the locomotive. A cosy, yet imposing, country house welc ‘’The horrors on the train, great though as it may turn to be, will not compete with the horror that exists here, in this house.’’

It is Christmas Eve and several passengers have found themselves cooped up in a train, heading to their destinations, loaded with presents and dubious intentions. As the train proves to be no match for the greedy snowfall, the strange, newly-formed fellowship decides to venture out and find shelter away from the locomotive. A cosy, yet imposing, country house welcomes them out of the blue. ‘’It’’ being literal because there is absolutely no one else to receive them. The fires are lit, tea is ready, the cupboards full of provisions. But not a single soul in sight. Only a portrait oozing authority. And a knife left in the kitchen…

No one does the country-house mystery better than the British. Many try, all fail. This novel is a perfect example of festive mystery, intrigue and spookiness. J.Jefferson Farjeon created a strong plot, rich in all the little, tiny elements that form a highly satisfying mystery, seasoned with elegant and atmospheric references to premonitions and ghosts, faithful to the British tradition of the bond between the Festive and the Spooky. In my opinion, the story excels in atmosphere and characterization. As doors open and close, as the snow keeps on falling and the wind doesn’t stop howling, as death is looming, the passengers have to face the unexplained and unsolved, and the fragile dynamics that develop when the company is new and the nerves are being tested by the minute.

An elderly scientist with a great passion for the paranormal, a young woman and her brother that form an exceptionally clever duo, a chorus girl sensitive to the calling of the house, a highly troubled secretary, a cockney scoundrel, a rude businessman. A good (and this one is so much more than ‘’good) doesn’t need a thousand twists to shine. An interesting cast, a strong plot and the proper background work wonders.

Mystery In White is an exceptional example of the quintessential British Country House festive mystery and one more gift by the British Library to the readers who adore the Golden Age of crime stories.

‘’No, if a tiger eats you, it isn’t really his fault,’’ answered Lydia. ‘’God gave him his appetite.’’

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.word... ...more

flag 64 likes · Like · see review

Dec 21, 2016 Diane S ☔ rated it liked it

The golden age of mysteries, which included Nero Wolfe, Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christies. All authors I have read though not for many years. This author was apparently a very successful member of that group, but I had never heard of nor read him before. This book was re-released recently and I was captivated by the cover and the title.

I forgot how fun these books are, the days before CSI, no forensics, DNA, computer data bases. Just plain, good old detecting, using the evidence in front of y ...more

flag 66 likes · Like · see review

Nov 28, 2016 Carol marked it as british-crime-library-classics

Shelves: fiction, mysteries, holiday

The Hook - Last December I participated in an Elfster Holiday Swap with some book loving friends. Imagine my delight when I received two British Classic Christmas Crime Mysteries from across the seas from a Tracey in the UK. I saved both for this Christmas season and just finished the first.

The Line - ”Miss Noyes”, replied Lydia, “suppose this house belonged to you, and you returned to it after the world’s worst snowstorm, would you rather find your larder empty or seven skeletons?

The Sinker - ...more

flag 46 likes · Like · see review

Jan 05, 2017 Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-star, sandy-s-ng-nirvana, 2017, sandy-s-reading-retreat, netgalley-arc, goodreads-group-read

3.5 stars for Mystery in White by J Jefferson Farjeon, the second book I have read by this author.

On Christmas Eve a snowstorm rages. A group of disoriented travellers who, somewhat unwisely, have abandoned their stranded train, have stumbled upon a deserted house. But a deserted house where a bread knife lays on the floor, the kettle is boiling, the fires are lit and tea is laid.

I really enjoyed most of this book. It was not until we got to the final chapters that it all began to wear a little ...more

flag 45 likes · Like · see review

Nov 29, 2016 Sue rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, read-2016, net-galley, classics, britain, 1930s, christmas

Once again I'm pleased to have read a re-release of a late 1930s classic mystery, Mystery in White, that combines elements of many other classics (many that had not yet been written!). There is the journey of a disparate group on Christmas Eve; the train stuck in the storm on the tracks; some passengers who decide to strike out for a nearby rail station despite the storm. And then the deserted, yet welcoming, country house. Are there ghosts or are there humans to beware of. Many questions and a ...more

flag 25 likes · Like · see review

Nov 27, 2014 Susan rated it really liked it

This Golden Age mystery was first published in 1937. It is Christmas Eve and a group of people are stranded on a train after heavy snow. There are a good cast of characters, including an elderly bore, a psychic, a brother and sister, a young office clerk and a chorus girl travelling to an audition. The psychic, Edward Maltby, decides to leave the train and attempt to find another station and he is soon followed by others from his train carriage. Indeed, eventually the travellers find themselves ...more

flag 23 likes · Like · see review

Dec 18, 2020 Connie G rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, 20th-century-mystery-ideas, classic, holiday-christmas

"Mystery in White" is a Golden Age mystery set during a heavy snowstorm on Christmas Eve. Passengers are on their way to holiday gatherings on a train traveling from London to the countryside. When the train gets stuck in the huge snowdrifts on the tracks, some of the passengers decide to walk to the next station. For a while it looks like they might get lost in the white-out, but they come upon a deserted house. It's a strange situation with the door unlocked, fires burning in the fireplaces, t ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Jun 23, 2015 Ivonne Rovira rated it it was amazing

Captivated by Thirteen Guests (1936), I wasted no time downloading the only other J. Jefferson Farjeon novel I could find in the Kindle format: Mystery in White, first published the following year. This novel proved even better than the first — and that’s saying something! Dorothy L. Sayers called Farjeon “unsurpassed for creepy skill in mysterious adventures,” and he certainly proves it in Mystery in White!

Led by the intrepid and perspicacious Edward Maltby, 60 years old and a proud member of t Captivated by Thirteen Guests (1936), I wasted no time downloading the only other J. Jefferson Farjeon novel I could find in the Kindle format: Mystery in White, first published the following year. This novel proved even better than the first — and that’s saying something! Dorothy L. Sayers called Farjeon “unsurpassed for creepy skill in mysterious adventures,” and he certainly proves it in Mystery in White!

Led by the intrepid and perspicacious Edward Maltby, 60 years old and a proud member of the Royal Psychical Society, a motley crew escaping from a snowed-in train take refuge in an abandoned house. With fires laid in every room, a dining room set for tea, and a kettle on the boil for tea, where has the house’s inhabitant(s) gone? While Maltby and the four young people are clearly on the up and up, who is the mysterious Cockney who calls himself “Mr. Smith” and who has also taken refuge in the house? Does Mr. Smith know more than he’s telling about the missing householders? The sharp-eyed Maltby sees and reveals other irregularities, as well, gradually making the other characters — and the reader — more and more uneasy. With the characters trapped in the cottage by the continuing blizzard, the suspense rises to the breaking point, and Farjeon provides so many twists and turns!

How can it be that Joseph Jefferson Farjeon is not better known? How could his books, once justly popular, have fallen into oblivion? Farjeon, while perhaps not up to Dame Agatha Christie’s standard or that of Gladys Mitchell, can hold his own with Patricia Wentworth (also too much neglected), Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, John Bude, Anthony Berkeley, and Miss Sayers herself. British Library’s Poisoned Pen Press has been steadily bringing back Golden Age mystery novels, including two, thus far, by J. (Joseph Jefferson) Farjeon. (Thirteen Guests, which I read before publication, is due out on September 1.) Please, please! You cannot re-release Farjeon’s novels fast enough to suit me! ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Dec 26, 2017 Samuel Bigglesworth rated it really liked it

This was great! Fast paced read of Noir style. For me, as good as the Orient Express. This is a great cosy Christmas read. People who review on Goodreads have often read so much that nothing is original to them, and they are hard to please. Is that fair to say? Anyhow, if you are looking for social political commentary that will blow your mind and change your life look elsewhere. If you just want a damn good read pick this up!

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2021 Fiona rated it really liked it

Shelves: e-books, english-mysteries-club, crime-fiction

English Mysteries Club, February Group Read.

This was unexpectedly entertaining! Strangers on a train whose journey is halted by snow - a familiar scene this week! - decide to try to walk to the next station only to get lost and end up in a deserted country house. Most of the action thereafter is described in conversation rather than as it takes place but still the momentum is kept up and the mystery becomes more mysterious. I really enjoyed this book and am grateful to whoever suggested it as th ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Nov 16, 2017 Julie Durnell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: england-uk, mystery

I loved this book, maybe it's just the right time of the year to read a snowbound mystery at Christmas but it was great! A bit of gothic, a bit of supernatural and a real entertaining read-I'm thinking it would make a wonderful movie in light of the Agatha Christie Murder on the Orient Express remake. ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Jul 24, 2015 Bobby Underwood rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I'm going to mark this one as finished because I'm not finishing it. I read a lot of 30s and 40s books, so it wasn't the style so much as the execution. I know some love this book but it was just boring to me. It had the potential to be one of those fun when you're in the mood for it kind of books, but became harder and harder to ever get in that mood, because I didn't care about any of these people and the constant verbal interaction between the characters I couldn't warm to made it rough going ...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Dec 27, 2014 Sketchbook rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Sep 24, 2015 John rated it it was ok · review of another edition

The highly successful reissue of this book in 2014 by the British Library initiated not just a series of classic-era crime reissues by the BL but a revival of interest in classic crime novels in general.

It's Christmas Eve, and a train gets stuck in the snow in the middle of nowhere. Some of the passengers attempt to walk to the nearest station, get lost, and find themselves at a house where the fires are lit in the grates, the kettle's boiling on the stove, the table has been set for tea . . . b The highly successful reissue of this book in 2014 by the British Library initiated not just a series of classic-era crime reissues by the BL but a revival of interest in classic crime novels in general.

It's Christmas Eve, and a train gets stuck in the snow in the middle of nowhere. Some of the passengers attempt to walk to the nearest station, get lost, and find themselves at a house where the fires are lit in the grates, the kettle's boiling on the stove, the table has been set for tea . . . but the residents are nowhere to be seen. At first nervously, the group takes up occupancy, led by the fashionable young things David and Lydia, who're brother and sister, and the psychic researcher Maltby, who's aged 60 but is throughout described as "the old man." (Harrumph!) There's a murdered corpse out in the snow and another, we discover, on the train the group left behind them, but the biggest mystery, obviously, is how come the house has been, Mary Celeste-like, so suddenly abandoned.

It's a tremendous premise, and as soon as I picked the book up I remembered having read it before, I think in the mid-1980s. I also remembered, alas, that despite its cracking start the book had eventually seemed to go on for far longer than it should. I had exactly the same experience on this new reading. What I'd forgotten were the awful snobbery -- you can tell one of the characters is a baddy because he's "common," and there are a few other remarks about the ghastliness of "common" people -- and a major plot flaw.

The latter concerns an extended expedition that David makes out into the wintry waste. He follows footprints through the snow, sees this, that and the other, and encounters two important characters, a father and daughter, whom he leads back to the house by following his own trail. This is all very impressive, despite the occasional fall into a ditch. It's even more impressive when we consider that it's about 11pm on Christmas Eve, David doesn't have a flashlight, there are no street lights, and of course there can't be any moonlight because in a steady blizzard there's total cloud cover. So David was operating in pitch darkness. How the hell did he see any of the things we're told he saw?

The novel's quite fun in its way, but the denouement is far too complex and confused (I sort of lost count of the number of murderers), and irritatingly there's a coyly roguish suggestion that Maltby's psychic abilities may have played their part in the unraveling. Overall, despite the super premise, the novel seemed to me, when finally I came to the end of it, to have more minuses than pluses. It's a very interesting curio, but I'm not exactly rampant to read more by Farjeon. ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Dec 06, 2014 Gerry rated it liked it · review of another edition

What better to settle down with as Christmas approaches than a crime story set over the two days of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. That is what J Jefferson Farjeon provides us with and the word 'Mystery' in the title is the operative word. The reason for this is that oft times when the goings on in the plot are very much a mystery to the reader!

A train is stranded in snow and for some inexplicable reason a group of passengers decided to embark and try to walk to a nearby station to see if ther What better to settle down with as Christmas approaches than a crime story set over the two days of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. That is what J Jefferson Farjeon provides us with and the word 'Mystery' in the title is the operative word. The reason for this is that oft times when the goings on in the plot are very much a mystery to the reader!

A train is stranded in snow and for some inexplicable reason a group of passengers decided to embark and try to walk to a nearby station to see if there is any train movement there. However, the snowfall is so heavy that they lose their way until they come across a house in the country that has its lights burning.

Knocks at the door bring no reply so the door is tried and is found to be open. Inside the fire is ablaze, the table is laid for tea but, strangely, there is nobody home. Various reasons are put forward for this but no definite solution can be formed.

The uninvited guests decided to make themselves at home and discussions take place as to what happened on the train as one of the passengers explains that he saw a body in an adjacent carriage. Tensions rise, hypotheses are put forward but again nothing definite is known or decided. And there is a mysterious portrait that appears to be keeping an eye on all those present from its prominent position at the head of the stairs.

Attempts are made at trying to find a path out of the snowbound haven but these fail but on one of the excursions a lady and her father are discovered, having crashed their car into a ditch. They return to the house and join the others and discussions take place that deepen the mystery. So much so that at one point two of the ladies have a discussion that goes, 'All right. My ghost meets your ghost. Then what happens?' To which the reply is, 'A lot of little ghosts. Oh. my goodness. I'm going dippy.' And it is quite possible that some readers may find themselves feeling rather similar!

Unexplained deaths are then discovered and eventually, when other uninvited guests find their way to the house, a story begins to unfold and, providing one can keep all the threads together, an explanation, and solution, to the mystery, appropriately late on Christmas Day, is finally is reached. As one of the protagonists states at the end, 'Well, anyhow, we've been through hell, and it was Christmas, so if one or two of us did get a bit funny, well, who could blame anyone?' For funny, one could quite readily substitute 'confused'!

The Christmas setting is superb and one does get the feel for a snowbound house party and the storyline is passable, providing, of course, that one can keep it all together! ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Dec 02, 2017 BrokenTune rated it really liked it

Shelves: christmas

THE first thing David did on emerging from the front door was to pitch head first into a mound of snow. For a moment or two he nearly suffocated, while countless soft, icy pellets invaded his back as though he were being bombarded by silent salvos from heaven. Then he scrambled out, and strained ears choked with snow for a repetition of the shout. Already he had lost his sense of direction, for all he could see was a bewildering succession of snowflake close-ups, almost blinding vision. During t THE first thing David did on emerging from the front door was to pitch head first into a mound of snow. For a moment or two he nearly suffocated, while countless soft, icy pellets invaded his back as though he were being bombarded by silent salvos from heaven. Then he scrambled out, and strained ears choked with snow for a repetition of the shout. Already he had lost his sense of direction, for all he could see was a bewildering succession of snowflake close-ups, almost blinding vision. During the forty-five minutes he had been in the house the weather had travelled from bad to worse. Snow rushed at him unbelievably from nowhere caking him with white. He would have retreated promptly saving for the knowledge that somewhere in this whirling maelstrom was a man in a worse plight; but how to find the man, if his despairing cry was not repeated, seemed a stark impossibility.

Alright, this was a fun book. Despite the excellent, yet misleading, cover, this story does not take place on a train but is essentially a country house mystery.

Our protagonists are a group of strangers who share a compartment on a train and get stuck in a snowstorm just days before Christmas. As they all dislike being stranded, they set out to try and walk to the next station - which may or may not have a connections that are still running.
But... they never get there. The weather conditions worsen and they need to turn in to a nearby house for shelter. They enter looking for its occupants, but no one is there even though the fires are laid on, the tea set is laid out, and the kettle is boiling.

What a great start to a Christmas mystery!

The characters were really cute, too. We have a couple of young women, one of the women's brother, a young clerk suffering from some sort of anxiety disorder, a guy who is a known psychic, and an older chap who is described as "the old bore". We also get to meet a man suffering from shell shock.

I loved the characters. You'd think they were all straight out of the catalogue of British country house mysteries, but each one had a little bit more to them - I especially liked that the author included characters who were going through some mental distress. It is still not that often that I have come across depictions of characters suffering from shell shock in the original 1920s/30s mysteries. They are not really part of Christie's setup and it took me to discover Sayers and Tey to find a representation.

The mystery itself is convoluted and the solution is contrived - the psychic gets involved a lot, and at one point I flashbacks to The Haunting of Hill House - but there is also something gripping about the part of the mystery, which really takes quite a gritty turn.

Almost as good as Death of an Airman, and the book made me laugh a lot.

But first things first. Is anybody getting hungry? Come along, staff. Step on it. We mustn’t keep the family waiting for dinner. I may not be honest and sober, but I am punctual!” Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Smith glanced at each other, then followed the girl obediently into the kitchen. ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Dec 08, 2020 Jaina rated it liked it

It's got such a strong start! There's a chorus girl who's constantly declaring herself "a bit psychic", and an old man obsessed with the ghost of King Charles the First! A blizzard strikes! An eerie fairy tale house full of Christmas food and no hosts! Murder most foul!

But... the writing makes it difficult to keep track of who's talking, and so many random people drift in and out of the crime that it's hard to care who did what and why. I liked enough of it to try the author again, and it's tota ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Sep 13, 2016 Christine PNW rated it liked it

This has little in common with Murder on the Orient Express, aside from the whole train in winter thing.

This is my second British Library Crime Classic by J. Jefferson Farjeon. I previously read Thirteen Guests, which was a traditional English Country House murder. I preferred Mystery in White to that one, but I have yet to find one of these BLCC mysteries that comes close to a Christie or a Sayers. I suppose that is, in part, why they are long out of print and need to be "rediscovered."

However, ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jun 09, 2017 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bought-2015, british-mystery, vintage-mystery, mystery, christmas, mount-tbr-2017

Mystery in White (1937) by J. Jefferson Farjeon finds a train full of people stuck in an unexpectedly heavy winter storm as they are on their way to various Christmas destinations.. It's a situation very familiar to fans of the Golden Age mystery story. But Farjeon gives the scenario a deft twist from that of Christie's Orient Express. Instead of keeping everyone snugly in place on the trapped train, he sends them out into the wintry whiteness. After they've been stuck for what seems an eternity Mystery in White (1937) by J. Jefferson Farjeon finds a train full of people stuck in an unexpectedly heavy winter storm as they are on their way to various Christmas destinations.. It's a situation very familiar to fans of the Golden Age mystery story. But Farjeon gives the scenario a deft twist from that of Christie's Orient Express. Instead of keeping everyone snugly in place on the trapped train, he sends them out into the wintry whiteness. After they've been stuck for what seems an eternity, the passengers—David Carrington and his sister, Lydia; clerk Robert Thomson; chorus girl Jessie Noyes; Edward Maltby, of the Royal Psychical Society; and an old bore named Hopkins —all decide to leave their carriage in search of another (hopefully snow-free) train at the nearby the Hemmersby station.

But the weather is worse than expected and they become hopelessly lost in the swirling white landscape. When Jessie twists her ankle on a particularly tricky bit of ground, the adventurers are lucky enough to find a house where they can ask for refuge. Except no one's at home. The door is unlocked and, desperate for shelter, they go on in and find an unusual sight--there are fires blazing in the fireplaces, the table is set for tea, and the kettle is on the boil. No one in their right mind would get tea all ready only to leave the house in the middle of a snow storm. So where is their host? That's not the only question facing the stranded travelers. Why is there a knife in the middle of the floor? Who killed the man on the train? {What man, you say? Hold on...} And who is "Smith," the little Cockney who suddenly appeared at the door as well? He says that he wasn't on the train--so where did he come from?

Back to the man on the train. Hopkins was the last to leave the compartment. He had fully expected to remain on the train, unlike the "lunatics" (as he referred to his fellow passengers). That was before he noticed one of the train's guards staring into the next compartment....at a dead man. While the guard and other passengers all stood around gaping at the body, Hopkins decided to try and get to Hemmersby and find a policeman. Or so he said. Then Maltby reveals that he tripped over another dead body as he was making his way to Valley House (as their shelter is known). Maltby and David Carrington take the lead in investigating the mysterious happenings--both those that occurred on the train they left behind and those that involve the house. Fortunately, they are able to unravel it all and bring about a conclusion that is satisfactory to almost everybody...except the killer, of course.

Farjeon loads his mysterious Christmas tale with all sorts of unlikely things--from psychic tremors that tell of past misdeeds in the house to unlikely connections among the cast to the police's ability to swallow the tale that Maltby ultimately spins them (to protect the innocent--you know). But--the tale is such great fun and is such a wild bobsled of a ride through Farjeon's winter wonderland that one can suspend one's disbelief in psychic happenings. And the psychic episodes are brief enough that they don't detract from the mystery. A thoroughly enjoyable romp through the 1930s countryside.

Added bonus: the spiffy introduction by Martin Edwards. So glad he and The British Library are bringing these forgotten vintage mysteries back to us.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks. ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Nov 16, 2015 Susan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: who-dunnit, christmas

Stranded on a train in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve, a group of passengers decide to walk to the shelter of a nearby station, but stumble instead upon an unlocked house in which they find blazing fires, a table set for tea and a well stocked larder.....but no inhabitants.
There is plenty of mystery here, lots of melodrama and atmosphere, and a diverse cast of characters....throw in a sprinkling of the supernatural, and you have an entertaining, seasonal whodunnit, which is nicely old fashioned.
I ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 27, 2016 Dawn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: vintage crime lovers

Shelves: owned-bookcase

This book is an excellent example of what it is - an old fashioned, well written 'whodunnit' with a wintry/Christmas theme.
It's exactly what I was looking for! ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Jan 17, 2021 Yibbie rated it did not like it

Shelves: mysteries

This book aggravated me. So, there will probably be some sort of spoilers in this review. Be warned.
I chose to read this book over the holidays because it promised to be a nice vintage Christmas mystery. It sounded fun. Then almost from the first page it hinted at a ghostly overtone but pulled back from a bit. Okay, so at least one person was going to be seeing ghosts everywhere. Not my favorite plot device, but okay. Then slowly, slowly the supernatural plot hinted at took over the whole stor ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Nov 14, 2017 Patricia rated it it was ok

I usually really enjoy a classical detective story such as this one without any DNA, internet, video,...aspects but in this case there was no point at which I was really interested in the story or the characters. Everything felt too planned and the solution to all the murders was the most banal one with unrealistic motives. Still an easy read and festive audio book.

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 11, 2016 Leslie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries, holiday

A different spin to the 'manor house murder' subgenre. The few paranormal aspects to this were just the right amount to lend a certain spookiness to the story while not stretching my credulity too far. ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 25, 2019 Ginger rated it liked it

Shelves: november-dec, book-club

This was a pretty good read. A little slow moving as can happen in this genre.
I did enjoy the range of characters. Once the action picked up a bit it moved very quickly and before you knew it...well it was 2 am on Christmas.
I would strongly suggest this for a Christmas Eve read by the fire!

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 17, 2021 Michaela rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-crime-classics

Suspenseful and spooky, but not the mystery I expected. The train only plays a minor part.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 10, 2014 Andrea rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery

This classic mystery has been reissued and is all over Waterstone's this season. The cover alone is reason to buy the book, very stylishly evocative of the 1930s. The story keeps the promise of the cover -- a cozy, though faintly menacing, mystery involving a group of people who abandon their carriage on a snowbound train and strike out through a blizzard, hoping to get to a nearby station. Instead, they gratefully stumble on a country manor, where they find fires blazing in hearths, a meal laid ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Dec 21, 2018 Lisa rated it liked it

Shelves: audio

I liked this cosy murder mystery set in a snow storm on Christmas Eve in 1930's England.

I enjoyed this on audio; sometimes I laughed out loud (I'm not sure this was intended by the author!) at the overly dramatic conversation and reactions enhanced by the narration.

You probably wouldn't be able to solve the murder from the beginning as you are drip-fed facts and happenings to suit but I didn't mind that at all.

There were a few eye-rolling moments but in a good-humoured way.

It's a bit of fun and ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Dec 19, 2015 Alix rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, english, christmas

Not as good as I expected. First of all, I assumed it was a whodunit, and it's not. The nature of the mystery only becomes clear very late into the book, and by then I was quite frustrated. I'd say it's more like a campfire mystery, with mostly unpleasant characters telling the tale. The setting was original enough, but other than that, it's not a very good crime novel. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Dec 27, 2016 Ruth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: golden-age-and-vintage

I found this book very atmospheric and mysterious with a great setting for Christmas. It's not really a typical Golden Age Mystery in that you can't follow all the clues through to a solution but I think you just have to go with the flow and see where it takes you. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
English Mysteries...: February 2021 Group Read - Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon	32	55	Feb 22, 2021 04:48AM
Reading the Detec...: Mystery in White - SPOILER thread	17	66	Dec 30, 2020 06:18PM
Reading the Detec...: December 2016 - Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon	38	78	Dec 30, 2020 06:09PM
Jeni and Leigh's ...: Mystery in White	10	10	Jan 03, 2018 07:04AM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Mystery

256 users

Holiday > Christmas

94 users

Fiction

82 users

Mystery > Crime

75 users

Classics

42 users

European Literature > British Literature

21 users

Literature > 20th Century

16 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

15 users

Holiday

13 users

Audiobook

9 users

See top shelves…

About J. Jefferson Farjeon

J. Jefferson Farjeon

54 followers

Joseph Jefferson Farjeon was always going to be a writer as, born in London, he was the son of Benjamin Leopold Farjeon who at the time was a well-known novelist whose other children were Eleanor Farjeon, who became a children's writer, and Herbert Farjeon, who became a playwright and who wrote the well-respected 'A Cricket Bag'.

The family were descended from Thomas Jefferson but it was his matern Joseph Jefferson Farjeon was always going to be a writer as, born in London, he was the son of Benjamin Leopold Farjeon who at the time was a well-known novelist whose other children were Eleanor Farjeon, who became a children's writer, and Herbert Farjeon, who became a playwright and who wrote the well-respected 'A Cricket Bag'.

The family were descended from Thomas Jefferson but it was his maternal grandfather, the American actor Joseph Jefferson, after whom Joseph was named. He was educated privately and at Peterborough Lodge and one of his early jobs, from 1910 to 1920, was doing some editorial work for the Amalgamated Press.

His first published work was in 1924 when Brentano's produced 'The Master Criminal', which is a tale of identity reversal involving two brothers, one a master detective, the other a master criminal. A New York Times reviewer commented favourably, "Mr. Farjeon displays a great deal of knowledge about story-telling and multiplies the interest of his plot through a terse, telling style and a rigid compression." This was the beginning of a career that would encompass over 80 published novels, ending with 'The Caravan Adventure' in 1955.

He also wrote a number of plays, some of which were filmed, most notably Number Seventeen which was produced by Alfred Hitchcock in 1932, and many short stories.

Many of his novels were in the mystery and detective genre although he was recognised as being one of the first novelists to entwine romance with crime. In addition he was known for his keen humour and flashing wit but he also used sinister and terrifying storylines quite freely. One critic for the Saturday Review of Literature reviewed one of his later books writing that it was "amusing, satirical, and [a] frequently hair-raising yarn of an author who got dangerously mixed up with his imaginary characters. Tricky."

When he died at Hove in Sussex in 1955 his obituary in The Times wrote of his "deserved popularity for ingenious and entertaining plots and characterization".

Gerry Wolstenholme
June 2010

...more

Books by J. Jefferson Farjeon

More…

News & Interviews

6 Great Books Hitting Shelves This Week

Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day. To create our...

Trivia About Mystery in White

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Mystery in White

“I am not sure that I could explain in a way you could understand," replied the old man. "We judge life by our own reactions and sensations, and the reactions and sensations of others are often mere incomprehensible theories.” — 5 likes

“That is why any general, however wrong he may be--take Napoleon, to avoid the politics of mere contemporary examples--must believe in himself to be successful, or dupe himself into such a belief. Indeed, that is the main job of all politicians who, through their own inefficiency, muddle nations into war. If they do not fool themselves into the assumption that they are God-fearing idealists, they will never get the millions who must pay for their damage to believe the same thing, and they will lose the war.” — 4 likes

More quotes…

See a Problem?

Preview — Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon

Mystery in White

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About J. Jefferson Farjeon

Books by J. Jefferson Farjeon

News & Interviews

Trivia About Mystery in White

Quotes from Mystery in White

See a Problem?

Preview — Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon

Mystery in White

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About J. Jefferson Farjeon

Books by J. Jefferson Farjeon

News & Interviews

Trivia About Mystery in White

Quotes from Mystery in White

new topic
Discuss This Book