Earl Derr Biggers

The House Without a Key Earl Derr Biggers

2021 Reprint of the 1925 Edition. In this first Charlie Chan mystery, a violent killing occurs in a beach house in Wikiki. The mosquito netting has been slashed. One of the richest men in Hawaii is discovered lying on his side, a knife through his heart, a lizard running up his chest, leaving a crimson trail on his pajamas.

Set in 1920s Hawaii, the novel acquaints the reader with the look and feel of the islands from the standpoint of both white and non-white inhabitants, describing social class structures and customs of the era.

"Young John Quincy Winterslip, a proper Bostonian, helps Charlie Chan, the noted Chinese detective, find out who murdered genial old Dan Winterslip after entering his Waikiki Beach home without a key."--Novelist.

"I would put Charlie Chan among the ten best fictional detectives." Rex Stout