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Charlie Chan #1-3 omnibus
Charlie Chan Omnibus
‘He was very fat indeed, yet he walked with the light dainty step of a woman. His cheeks were as chubby as a baby's, his skin ivory tinted, his black hair close-cropped, his amber eyes slanting.’
A family secret leads to murder in a house without locks… Someone is prepared to kill to procure a valuable set of pearls, and a parrot fluent in Chinese knows too much… A Scotland Yard Inspector is about to close his final case, but someone is prepared to kill to keep the mystery unsolved… Three very different crimes, with one thing in common… He's Honolulu's greatest detective - prepare to savour the wisdom of Charlie Chan. From Hawaii to San Francisco, no crime is too baffling, no clue too insignificant for Charlie.
Long out of print, Charlie Chan's first three cases, The House Without a Key, The Chinese Parrot, and Behind That Curtain, have been collected in one volume for your entertainment and bafflement.
A family secret leads to murder in a house without locks… Someone is prepared to kill to procure a valuable set of pearls, and a parrot fluent in Chinese knows too much… A Scotland Yard Inspector is about to close his final case, but someone is prepared to kill to keep the mystery unsolved… Three very different crimes, with one thing in common… He's Honolulu's greatest detective - prepare to savour the wisdom of Charlie Chan. From Hawaii to San Francisco, no crime is too baffling, no clue too insignificant for Charlie.
Long out of print, Charlie Chan's first three cases, The House Without a Key, The Chinese Parrot, and Behind That Curtain, have been collected in one volume for your entertainment and bafflement.
641 pages, Paperback
First published September 10, 2007
2 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Earl Derr Biggers
245 books87 followersEarl Derr Biggers was born in Warren, Ohio on August 24, 1884. Years later, while attending Harvard University, Biggers showed little passion for the classics, preferring instead writers such as Rudyard Kipling and Richard Harding Davis. Following his graduation from Harvard in 1907, he worked briefly for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and at Bobbs-Merrill publishers. By 1908, Biggers was hired at the Boston Traveler to write a daily humor column. Soon, however, he became that paper's drama critic. It was at this time that he met Elanor Ladd, who would later become his wife and who would have a marked influence in his writing.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 18, 2015
Fantastic! I loved Charlie Chan movies as a kid and this book reminded me of that and I have an urge to track them down as I haven't seen one in years. The novels themselves are well written, witty, and very clever - all three will have your mind puzzling away trying to work out who did what, why and when. This omnibus only contains the 1st 3 books and I see the remaining novels are currently out of print - I hope Wordsworth decide to complete the collection with a 2nd omnibus as I'm eager to read the others.
October 8, 2017
These three novels were a good read set in the 1920"s. Three down and three to gol
August 13, 2016
I cannot believe that I've gone almost 90 years without reading Charlie Chan. I've heard of it, heard of the movies, but never got around to reading it until now.
It was a while after I bought the book and actually read it, and when it finally reached the top of my to-be-read stack, I was a little apprehensive; I was afraid that it would be quite racist.
It wasn't. Granted, some of the characters (even Charlie Chan) said racist things (the books were, after all, written in the mid-1920s), but the characters themselves weren't racist or sexist caractures.
Earl Derr Biggers was a phenomenal writer, and every book had some fantastic passages. The characters were first-rate, the dialogue believable, and there was nothing that made me stop and go, "Wait...what?"
In all three stories, Mr. Biggers laid all the clues out. There's not the cop-out of the thing that solves the case being something that's never mentioned or shown before the Big Reveal, which is a big pet peeve of mine
Bonus points for inter-story continuity. In The House Without A Key Sergeant Chan mentions his desire to visit the mainland. The next story, The Chinese Parrot starts off with him visiting San Francisco, and Behind That Curtain takes place immediately after the previous story.
The only thing I didn't like about the stories is that, in all three, someone gets engaged to someone they just met by the end of the book. They meet in the beginning, and less than a week later they're going to get married. As Elsa said, "You can't marry someone you just met!"
The House Without a Key is set in Honolulu, and the setting is so brilliant that it not only made me feel like I was there, it made me long to go back and maye even stay. Charlie isn't even introduced until well into the book, and he certainly doesn't feel like the title character. And yet he not only manages to carry the story but make you want to read more.
The best line of the tale: "He was lying on his left side, and as she stared down at him, one of the harmless little Island lizards ran up his chest and over his shoulder...and left a crimson trail on his white pajamas." Just gave me chills.
The Chinese Parrot starts off in San Francisco, but most of the tale is spent in the California desert. Sergeant Chan, who is very intelligent and takes great pride in speaking English as well as he can, spends a good part of the story undercover as a cook and is forced to speak pidgin...and it's painfully obvious that it is killing him. Amusing, and good character work. This story has the most racist quote in the omnibus (which I can't find offhand), in which the man who winds up being the villain describes Louie Wong (the man who was murdered) as nobody important, just a Chinaman.
Behind That Curtain does a fantastic job of taking what appears to be three or four separate puzzles, bringing them together, then making you think that their relation is a red herring, then bringing them all together so that only by understanding the "secondary" mysteries can you unravel the murder. There were several times that I thought, "Well, that went nowhere," only for it to go somewhere.
All in all, this is the best book I remember reading this year.
It was a while after I bought the book and actually read it, and when it finally reached the top of my to-be-read stack, I was a little apprehensive; I was afraid that it would be quite racist.
It wasn't. Granted, some of the characters (even Charlie Chan) said racist things (the books were, after all, written in the mid-1920s), but the characters themselves weren't racist or sexist caractures.
Earl Derr Biggers was a phenomenal writer, and every book had some fantastic passages. The characters were first-rate, the dialogue believable, and there was nothing that made me stop and go, "Wait...what?"
In all three stories, Mr. Biggers laid all the clues out. There's not the cop-out of the thing that solves the case being something that's never mentioned or shown before the Big Reveal, which is a big pet peeve of mine
Bonus points for inter-story continuity. In The House Without A Key Sergeant Chan mentions his desire to visit the mainland. The next story, The Chinese Parrot starts off with him visiting San Francisco, and Behind That Curtain takes place immediately after the previous story.
The only thing I didn't like about the stories is that, in all three, someone gets engaged to someone they just met by the end of the book. They meet in the beginning, and less than a week later they're going to get married. As Elsa said, "You can't marry someone you just met!"
The House Without a Key is set in Honolulu, and the setting is so brilliant that it not only made me feel like I was there, it made me long to go back and maye even stay. Charlie isn't even introduced until well into the book, and he certainly doesn't feel like the title character. And yet he not only manages to carry the story but make you want to read more.
The best line of the tale: "He was lying on his left side, and as she stared down at him, one of the harmless little Island lizards ran up his chest and over his shoulder...and left a crimson trail on his white pajamas." Just gave me chills.
The Chinese Parrot starts off in San Francisco, but most of the tale is spent in the California desert. Sergeant Chan, who is very intelligent and takes great pride in speaking English as well as he can, spends a good part of the story undercover as a cook and is forced to speak pidgin...and it's painfully obvious that it is killing him. Amusing, and good character work. This story has the most racist quote in the omnibus (which I can't find offhand), in which the man who winds up being the villain describes Louie Wong (the man who was murdered) as nobody important, just a Chinaman.
Behind That Curtain does a fantastic job of taking what appears to be three or four separate puzzles, bringing them together, then making you think that their relation is a red herring, then bringing them all together so that only by understanding the "secondary" mysteries can you unravel the murder. There were several times that I thought, "Well, that went nowhere," only for it to go somewhere.
All in all, this is the best book I remember reading this year.
July 21, 2021
Three case of Charlie Chan –
The House Without a Key -
John Quincy Winterslip to Boston is travelling to Hawaii to convince his Aunt Minerva Winterslip to return back to her home in Boston. A member of a very conservative New England family, she had come to visit nephews and has stayed much longer than the family expected. It is John Quincy’s job to bring her home.
John Quincy has never been further west than New York and finds there is a draw to the California coast and Hawaii that he can’t explain. He meets a girl, on the trip over, that he can’t stop thinking of.
When one of his uncles turns up murdered, he finds himself involved in trying to solve the murder. Investigating, he also learns some family secrets of this branch of the family, while helping Charlie Chan put the clues together. He also finds that the girl he met on the trip over, and her father, are involved.
Behind That Curtain –
Sir Frederic Bruce, former head of the CID at Scotland Yard, has stopped in San Francisco for a few weeks. He is staying in the bungalow penthouse of Barry Kirk, wealthy businessman and owner of the building.
Charlie Chan is also in San Francisco, having recently solved another case. He is waiting for the ship that travels between Hawaii and California that will be taking him back home. There is the birth of a new offspring due any minute and he hopes to be there.
Sir Frederic and Chan are brought together at a dinner, in the bungalow, to have a serious discussion of their methods and experiences in their work. Instead of an interesting social evening, it becomes a murder scene. Sir Frederic is dead and Chan finds himself with a couple of mysteries to solve. Not just the murder of Sir Frederic, but the disappearance of three different women at three different places in time. Is there a link in any of these occurrances?
Keeper of the Keys -
Charlie Chan is in the High Sierras to meet with a man about taking on an investigation. Having lived in Hawaii the majority of his life, Charlie finds the mountains exciting and highly interesting, especially the snow.
Dudley Ward, who has invited Charlie to visit, has also invited the other two ex-husbands and her soon-to-be fourth ex-husband to the house. Ward has heard there was a child from their marriage, but his ex had never told him about it. Ward is hoping to find out if it is true and to have Chan find the child.
On impulse, when Ward heard his wife was in the area, he invited her too. Needless to say, when she shows up things get tense. When she is found murdered, there are more than enough suspects with motives.
In all three stories, Chan has a lot to sift through to figure out the solutions. He may be a humble man, but he looks and sees many details. He also asks many questions; some that may not seem important. He isn’t one to jump to conclusions.
Written in 1925, 1928 and 1932, the descriptions of places, mannerisms, clothing, cars and the language is different than today. Instead of recreating an era, these stories are from the era they take place in. For me it is enjoyable to read stories from other eras. A great escape.
The House Without a Key -
John Quincy Winterslip to Boston is travelling to Hawaii to convince his Aunt Minerva Winterslip to return back to her home in Boston. A member of a very conservative New England family, she had come to visit nephews and has stayed much longer than the family expected. It is John Quincy’s job to bring her home.
John Quincy has never been further west than New York and finds there is a draw to the California coast and Hawaii that he can’t explain. He meets a girl, on the trip over, that he can’t stop thinking of.
When one of his uncles turns up murdered, he finds himself involved in trying to solve the murder. Investigating, he also learns some family secrets of this branch of the family, while helping Charlie Chan put the clues together. He also finds that the girl he met on the trip over, and her father, are involved.
Behind That Curtain –
Sir Frederic Bruce, former head of the CID at Scotland Yard, has stopped in San Francisco for a few weeks. He is staying in the bungalow penthouse of Barry Kirk, wealthy businessman and owner of the building.
Charlie Chan is also in San Francisco, having recently solved another case. He is waiting for the ship that travels between Hawaii and California that will be taking him back home. There is the birth of a new offspring due any minute and he hopes to be there.
Sir Frederic and Chan are brought together at a dinner, in the bungalow, to have a serious discussion of their methods and experiences in their work. Instead of an interesting social evening, it becomes a murder scene. Sir Frederic is dead and Chan finds himself with a couple of mysteries to solve. Not just the murder of Sir Frederic, but the disappearance of three different women at three different places in time. Is there a link in any of these occurrances?
Keeper of the Keys -
Charlie Chan is in the High Sierras to meet with a man about taking on an investigation. Having lived in Hawaii the majority of his life, Charlie finds the mountains exciting and highly interesting, especially the snow.
Dudley Ward, who has invited Charlie to visit, has also invited the other two ex-husbands and her soon-to-be fourth ex-husband to the house. Ward has heard there was a child from their marriage, but his ex had never told him about it. Ward is hoping to find out if it is true and to have Chan find the child.
On impulse, when Ward heard his wife was in the area, he invited her too. Needless to say, when she shows up things get tense. When she is found murdered, there are more than enough suspects with motives.
In all three stories, Chan has a lot to sift through to figure out the solutions. He may be a humble man, but he looks and sees many details. He also asks many questions; some that may not seem important. He isn’t one to jump to conclusions.
Written in 1925, 1928 and 1932, the descriptions of places, mannerisms, clothing, cars and the language is different than today. Instead of recreating an era, these stories are from the era they take place in. For me it is enjoyable to read stories from other eras. A great escape.
September 2, 2011
So far I've read the first novel in this omnibus and will return to the others at a later date.
"The House Without A Key" is an interesting mystery, the first in the Charlie Chan books, and the main protagonist is Bostonion John Quincy who has an interesting character arc leading to a genuinely delightful last few paragraphs. Chan doesn't make too much of an appearance or even much of an impact (certainly less than the old b&w movies I remember), but it's an enjoyable jaunt regardless and remains fresh despite being written in the 20s.
"The House Without A Key" is an interesting mystery, the first in the Charlie Chan books, and the main protagonist is Bostonion John Quincy who has an interesting character arc leading to a genuinely delightful last few paragraphs. Chan doesn't make too much of an appearance or even much of an impact (certainly less than the old b&w movies I remember), but it's an enjoyable jaunt regardless and remains fresh despite being written in the 20s.
June 30, 2016
I read "The House Without a Key" the first in the collection of three cases. Good mystery. A little dated, but still a good read. Takes me back to the movies, although Chan is not as much a key player in the book.
November 15, 2009
This was a really enjoyable detective story - full of suspicions and suspense as Charlie works his way to the solution - almost in the background. Highly recommend it!
March 29, 2015
excellent read: suspense and sharp wit.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews