Sire, the night is darker now / And the wind blows stronger

Mystery in White: A Christmas Crime Story (1937) exploits seasonal chill to the max on every possible level. It’s cold, neck-deep in snow–and there might be ghosts or other unearthly things hiding in the shadowy whiteness.

The story begins conventionally enough, with a group of strangers stuck on a train that’s stuck in a snowdrift. One of them, an elderly man who seems to know a lot about the paranormal, and the traces left on the present by violent or highly emotionally-charged events of the past, suddenly heads off into the blinding whiteness. A bit nonplussed, the rest of the group, eventually follow him, reasoning that they should strike another train track in about 5 miles, and find some signs of civilisation. The group includes the mentally fragile “tall, pale youth” Thomson, the cheerful but rather desperate chorus-girl Jessie, the retired bore stuffed with Empire and self-importance, and David and Lydia, a pair of familiarly bickering siblings on their way to a family gathering. It only snows harder and harder, however, and soon the group are forced to take shelter in a seemingly abandoned house–only to be rejoined by Mr Maltby their expert on the uncanny, and a man with a secret…

Mystery in White combines elements of Murder on the Orient Express and the country (haunted) house murder mystery, but puts its own spin on them, effectively using the interior of the house and its eerie emptiness, and the claustrophobia induced by the blizzard, to create suspense. The sudden appearance of a second set of footprints in the snow is as startling as a shot in other detective stories, and it functions as a mild sort of ghost story as well. There are implausible coincidences, of course, the resolution is interesting but unlikely, and the method of figuring things out is hardly orthodox, but in terms of atmosphere and tension, and the realistically dubious and panic-stricken characters, I found the novel very enjoyable–the hollowness of forced Christmas cheer is a particularly shadowy touch. I would advise everyone to avoid reading the introduction until afterwards, however–there’s enough of a gesture towards a spoiler that it does affect the reading experience.

This is my 26th book for the Cannonball Read–I have completed the half cannonball I set out to, unless there’s something awkwardly wrong with my adding up skills. I will certainly be participating next year, and I hope to find 5 star books to read–after all, it would be nice to persuade someone to buy something and thereby contribute to the funds from Amazon.

Title from “Good King Wenceslas”:
“Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer.”
“Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter’s rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly.”