Mystery in White by J Jefferson Farjeon

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

Something I liked about this story right at the outset was the way the characters are introduced. Sitting in a six-person compartment on the train, each of them is travelling somewhere for Christmas and is wrapped up in their own thoughts. When their thoughts touch on one of the other passengers, that passenger is labelled with a characteristic, just how one would think in real life: the “clerk”, the “chorus girl”, the “bore”.

Similarly realistic is the fact that an adverse event brings people together. When the train grinds to a halt in the dark, the characters strike up conversation with each other, bonding over the inconvenience of the delay. When it becomes clear that the train is going nowhere, one of them suggests proceeding on foot and is joined by some of the others.

They happen upon a cosy house where the fire is lit, and everything is poised for the owner to return at any minute – but they are nowhere to be seen.

The other passengers who had initially stayed behind then arrive separately, bringing news of a murder. The cosy house becomes a place of fear and speculation as the passengers work out who is behind the mysteries.

Mystery in White is set on Christmas Eve and is filled with familiar Christmas characteristics, from delayed trains to snow and crackling fires. It’s the perfect Christmas mystery.