Charlie Chan

The first book in the mystery series that served as the basis for the classic films-inspired by a real-life Chinese-Hawaiian police detective. A young man has traveled from Boston all the way to Hawaii to try to convince his aunt to return to their wealthy New England family. Instead, he too finds himself seduced by the islands. But when his aunt is murdered, a shadow falls over the sunny Pacific paradise. Set against the fascinating backdrop of 1920s Waikiki, this novel introduced readers to Asian sleuth Charlie Chan, who was modeled on a real-life Chinese detective in the Honolulu Police Department and would become one of the most famous crime solvers of twentieth-century popular culture.

Enter Charlie Chan! The House Without A Key is the first of the Charlie Chan mysteries. Atmospheric and entertaining, Biggers shows you a side of Hawaii that few will ever see. John Quincy Winterslip travels from Boston to convince his aunt Minerva to end her extended vacation and come home. Nothing in his upper-class background could have prepared him for what he finds in Hawaii. Despite being engaged, Winterslip falls under the spell of the islands and meets an attractive young woman with whom he quickly falls in love. Almost immediately, he finds himself embroiled in a murder mystery. Nothing about his life will ever be the same.

The House Without a Key is the classic novel in which Charlie Chan makes his debut as Inspector of the Honolulu Police Department. Earl Derr Biggers brings Honolulu to life with deft descriptions of the landscape and of its hybrid ethnic communities. With the creation of Detective Chan, Biggers also shatters stereotypes and is ahead of his time in highlighting the positive aspects of Chinese-Hawaiian culture, just as his skillful rendering of San Francisco is noteworthy of its modernity and keen sense of place.

"Charlie Chan Carries On" -- the 1931 Fox motion picture starring Warner Oland as Chan -- is now considered a "lost" film (the original film materials were destroyed in a vault fire.) Unless a copy surfaces in some remote corner of the world, as happened with "Charlie Chan in Paris," this original screenplay is the closest Chan fans will come to seeing the original film. (There is also a Portuguese-language version called "Eran Trece" [There Were Thirteen] with a different cast. The 1940 film, "Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise," starring Sidney Toler, Oland's successor in the role of Charlie Chan, was also based on the same novel, but with a different script.)

This is the classic novel in which Charlie Chan makes his debut as Inspector of the Honolulu Police Department. Earl Derr Biggers brings Honolulu to life with deft descriptions of the landscape and of its hybrid ethnic communities. With the creation of Detective Chan, Biggers also shatters stereotypes and is ahead of his time in highlighting the positive aspects of Chinese-Hawaiian culture, just as his skillful rendering of San Francisco is noteworthy of its modernity and keen sense of place.

Honolulu detective Charlie Chan goes undercover in the California desert in this classic mystery adventure. The transfer of a valuable string of pearls from Hawaii to California draws Honolulu detective Charlie Chan into the orbit of an eccentric financier with a penchant for exotic pets. When he encounters a Chinese-speaking parrot, Chan is intrigued by the provocative and dangerous question it asks. And when the bird mysteriously dies, Chan is determined to discover the answer. Going undercover as a cook, the famous sleuth uncovers a series of crimes in the second Charlie Chan mystery by Earl D. Biggers. First published in 1926, The Chinese Parrot was adapted into the 1927 silent film The Chinese Parrot, and the 1934 film Charlie Chan's Courage.

"Death waits in the shadows of paradise..." In The Black Camel, the third thrilling installment of Earl Derr Biggers' beloved Charlie Chan mystery series, the idyllic island of Honolulu becomes the stage for a chilling murder. When glamorous Hollywood actress Shelah Fane is found dead in her beachfront bungalow just days before announcing her engagement, whispers of scandal and secrets swirl like the island breeze. Enter the unflappable and razor-sharp Detective Charlie Chan, called upon to untangle a web of deception woven between the glamour of Hollywood and the quiet elegance of Hawaiian society. As Chan delves deeper, he encounters a fortune-telling mystic, buried crimes of the past, and a cast of suspects as colorful as the island itself. But nothing is as it seems-and the black camel of death, as Chan notes, "kneels once at every door." With crisp dialogue, atmospheric detail, and an intricately plotted mystery, The Black Camel showcases Biggers' talent for blending suspense with charm. It's a captivating whodunit where the past refuses to stay buried-and justice walks softly, but surely.

Charlie Chan, visiting San Francisco to make a speech, finds himself swept into one of his most puzzling -- and dangerous -- cases! A cult known as the Golden Horde is running a spiritual retreat, helping the disturbed and the depressed find inner peace. Benny Chan, who worked for the Golden Horde, is dead ... but the priceless treasure he carried has been recovered. Benny's sister is searching for the truth, and Chan agrees to help her. Ancient scrolls, shadowy villains, and an ancient organization with modern ties to organized crime are just the start. For this case will take Chan across the Pacific in search of answers ... and to the edges of the human psyche!

Death, I Said: A Charlie Chan Mystery finds the Honolulu police inspector and internationally renowned detective on the case when an old friend's plea for help turns into a mystery as thick as its fog-shrouded San Francisco setting. Years after their first meeting in the midst of a Hawaiian murder case, John Quincy Winterslip appeals to Chan to discreetly delve into the secrets of a respected San Francisco university. Not as challenging a case, Chan thinks, as those which brought him professional satisfaction and worldwide celebrity. Still, it's an opportunity to see daughter Rose and other family-and to help the young Winterslip. But something is amiss in the academic community, and Chan's powers are put to the test as violence and death visit the quiet campus. Who is threatening one professor after another with blackmail and death? With wit, wisdom, and intuitive intellect-and the help of Winterslip and daughter Rose-Chan will crack the case and unmask the guilty.

In Behind the Curtain, the third thrilling installment of the Charlie Chan mysteries, Honolulu's most astute detective is drawn into a web of intrigue, betrayal, and murder on the mainland. When a famous stage actress is found dead during a rehearsal-curtains drawn, screams muffled, and a knife still warm-Chan must uncover what lies behind the velvet drapes of high society. With a glamorous but treacherous cast of suspects, an eerie stage haunted by whispered threats, and a killer who always seems one step ahead, Charlie Chan races against time to stop the final curtain from falling-on himself. Lurid, fast-paced, and crackling with suspense, Behind the Curtain is a dazzling blend of pulp drama and locked-room mystery that will keep you guessing until the last shocking reveal.

The murder of a famous actress sends Honolulu detective Charlie Chan on a deadly investigation in this classic mystery novel. Hollywood starlet Shelah Fane just finished filming her latest movie in Tahiti, not knowing it would be her last. While staying in Hawaii with her director and entourage, she hosts a dinner party at her elegant bungalow. But while the guests await her dramatic entrance, her body is discovered on the beach. When Charlie Chan of the Honolulu Police Department arrives on the scene, he tells the distraught guests that "death is a black camel that kneels unbidden at every gate." But as the investigation gets underway and he attempts to make sense of loose alibis, misleading clues, and a cast of outlandish characters, he uncovers a long-cold case involving another Hollywood entertainer . . .