The Mystery on the Moor

by J. Jefferson Farjeon

‘Farjeon keeps the reader on tenterhooks from the very first page’ New York Times‘Few writers of detective stories are so persuasive as Mr Farjeon. He has perfected the trick of leading you from a life of gentle commonplace into mazes of crime’ Times Literary SupplementBy the author of the bestselling Mystery in WhiteThis 2026 Spitfire Publishers ebook and paperback edition represent the first republication of this classic of the ‘Golden Age of Crime’ in almost a century
When the mists descend over the wild expanse of Dartmoor, Dennis Shale ignores local warnings and ventures onto the moor—only to become hopelessly lost in a sea of rolling whiteness. He stumbles across a fellow hiker, Angela Weston, injured and anxious, and the pair are forced together, seeking shelter at the enigmatic Moor Lodge. Their host, Mr Grey, and his wary servants—Robert, the dour manservant, and housekeeper Martha—ferment an atmosphere of unease as the mist closes in still further. But the tension at Moor Lodge runs deeper than the fog outside. Mr Grey has been receiving a series of sinister poison pen letters, each one more threatening than the last, all pointing to a chilling 1 September. As the clock ticks towards the appointed date, Inspector Hobbs arrives to investigate. Will he uncover the truth before midnight strikes, or will the secrets of Moor Lodge remain forever buried in the fog?

About the Author

Joseph Jefferson Farjeon was born into a literary family in Hampstead, north west London in 1883. He was a prolific crime writer, writing over sixty novels over the course of thirty years, many published by William Collins & Sons and featuring in their hugely popular Collins Crime Club. Dorothy L. Sayers said of his work, ‘every word is entertaining.’ His best-known novel (and play) Number 17, was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock. He died in 1955.

Praise for J. Jefferson Farjeon

Uninvited Guests
‘An ingenious country house mystery… absorbing’
New York Times

The Master Criminal
‘A Sherlock Holmes novel of the first degree’
New York Post

The ‘Z’ Murders
‘A classic serial killer mystery’
Martin Edwards

Mystery in White
‘The perfect book for a winter's evening, a cosy chair and an open fire’
The Daily Mail

Thirteen Guests
‘A country house mystery story firmly in the tradition of the “Golden Age of murder”… lively entertainment as well as a teasingly constructed mystery’
Martin Edwards

No 17
‘Works its way up by delicate graduations of horror to a climatic explosion of gun-play, diamonds and false identities, leaving the criminals safe in the hands of Scotland Yard’
New York Times

Genres: Mystery

236 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 21, 2026

About the author

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

Reviews

[Patricia Roberts-Miller]

This is Farjeon trying to do Buchan. I go so very, very lost in the plot.

But I really liked the characters and situation he created, so I'm not willing to give it a bad review.

[Andrea]

Atmospheric and a Puzzle

This is one of the most entertaining Golden Age books I have read recently. I really had to pay close attention to keep the action straight in my mind once the inspector arrived. The romance between Dennis and Angela was not very important, but the mystery and its solution was great! The mist leant a gothic touch to everything. Recommend this book to Golden Age fans.

[Mentatreader]

A strange mystery as no crime committed. The ending twist somewhat predictable. It is somewhat spoiled as it is one of those, shall we call them, illogical stories. Ones where if characters actually did the logical action there would be no story. Otherwise a good enough read.

[W R]

AKA The Appointed Date

[Betsy]

Thought I had made a good choice, but it turned out to be a dud.