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Earl Derr Biggers

The House Without a Key is a novel that was written in 1925 by Earl Derr Biggers. It is the first of the Charlie Chan mysteries.

The novel, which takes place in 1920s Hawaii, spends time acquainting the reader with the look and feel of the islands of that era from the standpoint of both white and non white inhabitants, and describes social class structures and customs which have largely vanished in the 21st century. The novel deals with the murder of a former member of Boston society who has lived in Hawaii for a number of years.

Ashleigh Jane

Anncona Media AB

The Charlie Chan Mystery series

The House Without a Key

The Chinese Parrot (1926) is the second novel in the Charlie Chan series of mystery novels by Earl Derr Biggers. It is the first in which Chan travels from Hawaii to mainland California, and involves a crime whose exposure is hastened by the death of a parrot.
The story concerns a valuable string of pearls which is purchased by a wealthy and eccentric financier. The handsome young son of the jeweller is assigned to shepherd the transfer of the pearls to the financier's vacation home in a desert area of California. Because of his long association with the owner of the pearls-before joining the police force, he was her houseboy-Charlie Chan travels from Hawaii to California with the pearls. After two mysterious deaths, first of a Chinese-speaking parrot and then of the household's Chinese man-of-all-work, Charlie Chan masquerades as a pidgin-speaking cook named Ah Kim and works underground to solve a number of crimes. 
The novel was adapted for film twice, as The Chinese Parrot in 1927 and as Charlie Chan's Courage in 1934 (which is considered a lost film).
Earl Derr Biggers (1884 - 1933) was an American novelist and playwright. He is remembered primarily for his novels, especially those featuring the Chinese American detective Charlie Chan, from which popular films were made in the United States and China.
The popularity of Charlie Chan extended even to China, where audiences in Shanghai appreciated the Hollywood films. Chinese companies made films starring this fictional character.

The Charlie Chan series:

The House Without a Key (1925)

The Chinese Parrot (1926)

Behind That Curtain (1928)

The Black Camel (1929)

Charlie Chan Carries On (1930)

Keeper of the Keys (1932)

The Chinese Parrot

Behind That Curtain (1928) is the third novel in the Charlie Chan series of mystery novels by Earl Derr Biggers. The novel is set almost exclusively in California (as opposed to Chan's native Hawaii), and tells the story of the former head of Scotland Yard, a detective who is pursuing the long-cold trail of a murderer.
Fifteen years ago, a London solicitor was killed in circumstances in which the only clue was a pair of Chinese slippers, which he apparently donned just before his death. Sir Frederic Bruce has been following the trail of the killer ever since. He has also been interested in what appears to be a series of disappearing women around the world, which has some connection to the disappearance of a woman named Eve Durand in rural India also fifteen years ago. Just when it seems he might finally solve the murder case, at a dinner party to which a number of important and mysterious guests have been invited, Inspector Bruce is killed-and was last seen wearing a pair of Chinese slippers, which have vanished. It is left to Chan to solve the case and tie up all loose ends.
Behind That Curtain was adapted for film as Behind That Curtain in 1929 and elements were used for Charlie Chan's Chance (now considered a lost film) in 1932.
Earl Derr Biggers (1884 - 1933) was an American novelist and playwright. He is remembered primarily for his novels, especially those featuring the Chinese American detective Charlie Chan, from which popular films were made in the United States and China.
The popularity of Charlie Chan extended even to China, where audiences in Shanghai appreciated the Hollywood films. Chinese companies made films starring this fictional character.

The Charlie Chan series:

The House Without a Key (1925)

The Chinese Parrot (1926)

Behind That Curtain (1928)

The Black Camel (1929)

Charlie Chan Carries On (1930)

Keeper of the Keys (1932)

Behind That Curtain

The Black Camel (1929) is the fourth of the Charlie Chan novels by Earl Derr Biggers.
It tells the story of a Hollywood star (Shelah Fane), who is stopping in Hawaii after she finished shooting a film on location in Tahiti. She is murdered in the pavilion of her renter house in Waikiki during her stay. The story behind her murder is linked with the three-year-old murder of another Hollywood actor and also connected with an enigmatic psychic named Tarneverro. Chan, in his position as a detective with the Honolulu Police Department, investigates amid public clamor demanding that the murderer be found and punished immediately.
The Black Camel was adapted into a film of the same name based on the book and released in 1931. This was the second of a series of sixteen Chan films to feature Warner Oland as the sleuth.
Earl Derr Biggers (1884 - 1933) was an American novelist and playwright. He is remembered primarily for his novels, especially those featuring the Chinese American detective Charlie Chan, from which popular films were made in the United States and China.
The popularity of Charlie Chan extended even to China, where audiences in Shanghai appreciated the Hollywood films. Chinese companies made films starring this fictional character.

The Charlie Chan series:

The House Without a Key (1925)

The Chinese Parrot (1926)

Behind That Curtain (1928)

The Black Camel (1929)

Charlie Chan Carries On (1930)

Keeper of the Keys (1932)

The Black Camel

Inspector Duff works with the Scotland Yard. He is called in to investigate a mysterious murder that occurred at a famous local London hotel. A deaf old man, traveling on pleasure trip from America with his daughter and granddaughter, has been murdered during the night. At first, the investigation seems to be pointing towards Doctor Lofton, the leader of the tour group, as the culprit. Much to the chagrin of the other travelers in the group, they are all subjected to questioning and investigation by Inspector Duff. A few look good for the murder - an infamous Chicago gangster, an exceedingly nervous man, a few people in the wrong place at the time of the murder. Without evidence, Duff is unable to detain the group from continuing on with their tour. He finds himself wishing for the assistance of his old friend, Charlie Chan, who now resides in Hawaii. The plot thickens when one of the suspects is found dead at a further stop on the trip. Duff finds himself traveling to investigate the new murder, quickly followed by another murder. Duff plans to meet with the group again when they arrive in Hawaii - hoping to get the help of Charlie Chan as well. When they arrive in Hawaii, Charlie Chan not only helps; he finds himself taking over the investigation. 
Earl Derr Biggers (1884-1933) was an American author, most famous for his mystery novels concerning the Chinese-American detective, Charlie Chan. Several of his works were turned into movies during his career. Although fearful that he would never be able to break from his Charlie Chan-mold, Biggers continued writing the mysteries due to their popularity and his attachment to the character. Said Biggers, "Yet here I am, and with me Charlie Chan. Thank heaven he is amiable, philosophical--a good companion. For I know now that he and I must travel the rest of the journey together."

James Langton

Ascent Audio

Charlie Chan Carries On

Keeper of the Keys (1932) is the sixth and last mystery in the Charlie Chan series of Earl Derr Biggers; Biggers was planning on continuing the series, but died in 1933 before he could. The films continued the series for him.
Once again, the setting of the novel is rural California, where Chan has been invited as a houseguest. He meets a world-famous soprano, Ellen Ladona, who is murdered not too long after the meeting. Chan does not have far to look for suspects-the host is her ex-husband, as are three of the other house guests. Her servants, entourage and husbands all come under suspicion. Once again, Chan is expected to solve the murder, which he does by understanding the key clues….
This was the only one of Biggers' Chan novels never to be adapted into a film, while some of the others were used more than once to create films. However, it was adapted into a short-lived Broadway play in 1933, with William Harrigan playing Charlie Chan.
Earl Derr Biggers (1884 - 1933) was an American novelist and playwright. He is remembered primarily for his novels, especially those featuring the Chinese American detective Charlie Chan, from which popular films were made in the United States and China.
The popularity of Charlie Chan extended even to China, where audiences in Shanghai appreciated the Hollywood films. Chinese companies made films starring this fictional character.

The Charlie Chan series:

The House Without a Key (1925)

The Chinese Parrot (1926)

Behind That Curtain (1928)

The Black Camel (1929)

Charlie Chan Carries On (1930)

Keeper of the Keys (1932)

Keeper of the Keys

The Agony Column (aka The Second Floor Mystery) is a mystery/romance novel by Earl Derr Biggers published in 1916. It is a romantic adventure starring a young American in London and inspired by the personal ads (agony columns) in the London papers. In this treacherous tale of murder and intrigue young American Geoffrey West tracks a killer from the posh dining room of the Carlton Hotel to the opium dens of London's Limehouse district in search of the truth and the heart of his true love only to find the culprit all too close to home.