Between 1925 and 1932, Earl Derr Biggers wrote six novels about Charley Chan, a fictional Chinese detective, who was to become a pop culture icon through his representation in Hollywood movies. This novel, The Agony Column, was written by him ten years before his first Charley Chan novel. It might be considered a romance and it might be considered a mystery. It tells the story of a young couple falling in love, but it also contains the tale of a most mysterious murder.

The time is July 1914 and the setting is London. Rumors of a European war are in the press, but the two main characters are Americans who both enjoy reading in the newspaper the Personal Notices, popularly known as The Agony Column. In it are published the personal messages of otherwise reserved British urbanites.

As the novel begins Geoffrey West is having his breakfast in a restaurant and reading the Agony Column when he sees a beautiful young woman enter with her father. He is immediately attracted to her and notices that she too carries the Agony Column in her hand. The waiter seats the young lady and her escort at the table next to West and he hears her express her enjoyment of the ads in the personals. His breakfast over, West leaves the restaurant but can't get this young woman out of his mind. How can he meet her? He doesn't even know who she is. Then it hits him. He writes to her in the Personal Notices. In her reply she asks that he write seven letters to her in seven days to prove he is an interesting person and tells him how to post them. His first letter is innocent enough, but then the mystery begins. Murder and political intrigue are detailed in the letters of a man smitten by love. The two questions of "who done it?" and "will the boy get the girl?" drive the plot along. This is a delightful tale that will entertain to the very end.

This novel was made into a movie in 1930 called The Second Floor Mystery, starring Loretta Young as the beautiful young lady. However, being a silent movie, it is one you will not see in the video stores or on television.

Take a large helping of mystery, add a heap of suspense and sprinkle liberally with a charming romance, and you've got one of the best mysteries this side of Sherlock. And don't worry, the unlike some myserties, you'll be guessing the whole way through, and still be left in shock!

Set in San Francisco , this is the third of six books in the Charlie Chan series. The most interesting characters are a thoroughly liberated female lawyer and a famous British explorer. Chan's strong suit is his infinite patience and dogged attention to detail. He brings order out of chaos while operating in a simpler world. As a bonus we get not only a neat solution to the crimes but also two promising romances at the end. This is a story designed to leave the reader feeling good about the human condition.

Don't let yourself be fooled into believing this is just a simple dinner party murder. There is infinitely more at stake. The victim? Sir Frederic Bruce, famous Scotland Yard Detective and on the trail of the most elusive woman you will ever meet. Is it possible to find the truth behind these lies, buried in the dust of fifteen year old crime that also must be solved? Count on Charlie Chan to find the answer!

The book's plot is not the one thing that drws you in, but Biggers writing as well, told with a mix of humor, drama and always with a familiarity that makes this an easy, quick and completely enjoyable read and leaves you craving more!

Movie star Sheila Fane arrives in Honolulu to shoot the few remaining sequences of a movie. She rents a house on the beach. When Sheila throws a big party, she is found murdered in the pavillion just before she is scheduled to make her grand entrance. Charlie Chan is assigned to the case. Tarneverro, a fortuneteller and former friend of the deceased, offers to help Charlie solve the murder. Charlie and Tarneverro arrive at the scene of the crime before the guests depart. Although not the best of the six Charlie Chan novels, this is a very good mystery and an entertaining story.

Overall good Charlie Chan mystery, I enjoyed it a lot! (although the plot is a little messy and long). A movie starring Sidney Toler and #2 Son called "Charlie Chan in Rio" took the main plot from this book and made it more concise and entertaining. For a Chinese person like myself, it is amusing to see some of the comments from Chan regarding his offsprings' lack of respect for him and their use of slang English. It actually sounds quite genuine, like any older Chinese immigrant fathers would say.

Silver screen goddess, Sheila Fane, has a secret that weighs heavily on her heart. It is a secret that makes her reluctant to marry again, though she has just received such a proposal. While in Honolulu for some location shots for her current film, she consults with Tarneverro, fortuneteller to the stars, as to what she should do. He wrests her deepest, darkest secret from her and advises her not to marry. Shortly thereafter, Hollywood's brightest flame is snuffed out, a cruel knife thrust ending Ms. Fane's life.

Enter revered Honolulu police inspector, Charlie Chan, who is called upon to solve this baffling murder case. In his own inscrutable and unhurried way, Inspector Chan slowly, but surely, makes mincemeat of those who would dare to lie to him. To solve this case, however, he must delve into Ms. Fane's past and discover the secret that gave her so much unrest. He finds that is is tied to an unsolved murder that had occurred in Hollywood several years prior. Inspector Chan ultimately puts both matters to rest.

Charlie Chan is one of the best fictional detectives ever created. Highly intelligent and seemingly droll, he slowly but surely solves his cases. Father to eleven children, all of whom drive him a little crazy with their American slang, he is an eminently respected detective, who has solved many high profile cases. It is amazing that, though written during the nineteen twenties and thirties, these mysteries are as fresh today, as when they were first written. While they may lack some of the political correctness of today, they are still gems. Well written and highly entertaining, the entire Chalie Chan series deserves to be reissued by some wily publisher.

This anthology of five novels written between 1925 and 1932 break cleanly into two groups. The first three books (House without a Key, Chinese Parrot, and Behind that Curtain) are clever, entertaining and and quite enjoyable. That last two are contrived with the proverbial red herrings dragged everywhere to confuse the issue but not to add to the enjoyment. An interesting footnote to 'House without a Key' is its characters' comments that the beauty of Hawaii is being destroyed by the commercialism and tourists. This, in 1925.

My advice is read the first three books and stop at that point. You'll have gotten your money's worth and you'll avoid the bitter aftertaste the latter two books impart.

Between 1925 and 1932, Earl Derr Biggers wrote six novels about Charley Chan, a fictional Chinese detective, who was to become a pop culture icon through his representation in Hollywood movies. It is said that the author based his character on a genuine Chinese detective in Honolulu named Chang Apana that he read about while vacationing in Honolulu. In a time when "white priviledge" was assumed, Detective Chan overcomes racial barriers as he pursues white murderers in a white society. The only other Chinese in evidence in these stories are servants and laborers. The novels take place in the Honolulu and California of post World War I America and the descriptions of these long-gone settings are wonderfully rich and rewarding. Each story not only tells how a puzzling murder is solved, but also has a sub-plot of young people finding true love. Romance, historic settings, race relations, and a murder mystery are all the earmarks of a Charley Chan novel. They are a joy to read and much better than the movies of the 1930s and 1940s. I am disappointed that the book has only five of the six Charley Chan novels. Included in this volume are: The House Without a Key (1925); The Chinese Parrot (1926); Behind That Curtain (1928); The Black Camel (1929); and, Keeper of the Keys (1932). The one novel left out is: Charlie Chan Carries On (1930). I hope that someday we will be able to buy all six in one volume with an introductory essay that gives some background on the author and discusses the influence of these novels.

Fifty Candles - Earl Derr Biggers
Henry Drew was a ruthless capitalist who abused everybody in his life to further his own goals. He was surrounded by people who, although under his control, disliked him. During a mysterious birthday party where the cake has fifty candles one of these abused people hated him enough to kill him. As the story unfolds, romance blossoms between a young engineer and a young woman Henry Drew hired as a companion for his wife.
For fans of Derr's Charley Chan novels, Mr. Drew has a Chinese servant, Hung Chin-Chung, who is the subject of much stereotyping by the white characters. "Who done it?" and "Will the boy get the girl?" are the two themes that drive the action. The setting is the classism of the United States in the early 20th century. While it does not rise to the literary level of The Great Gatsby, another novel of this time covering similar class issues, this is an enjoyable work that is fun to read.

Who was the man, cloaked in fog, who escaped Henry Drew's garden? Was it the murderer? Why throw a huge party, when there's no reason to celebrate? And what does any of this have to do with a man deported to China fifty years before? Another Biggers classic that will leave you guessing until the very last page!

An American tourist named Hugh Morris Drake is murdered in his room at Broome's Hotel in London during the night. Chief Inspector Duff of Scotland Yard investigates the crime.

Duff learns that the victim was a member of the Lofton Round The World Tour. The only clues are a hearing aid, a safe deposit box key and a bag full of small stones. All of the members of the tour are suspects including Dr. Lofton, Max Minchin, Captain Ronald Keane and John Ross. Lofton is the director of the tour. Minchin is a racketeer from Chicago. Keane is an unemployed engineer and Ross is a lumber man from Tacoma.

As the tour continues, Walter Honeywood and his wife Sybil are killed in Nice. Sergeant Welby of Scotland Yard is accompanying the tour and continuing the investigation. He is murdered on the docks of Yokohama. Chief Inspector Duff travels to Honolulu to join the tour. While visiting Charlie Chan, Duff is shot in the back and hospitalized. Charlie gets permission to fill in for his friend on the final leg of the trip to San Francisco. Charlie is on a mission to save face since Duff was shot in Charlie's office.

The reader knows that the killer may as well surrender now as Charlie begins to demonstrate the Chan trademarks of patience, hard work and perseverance.

The book was made into a movie by Fox in 1931. It was the fourth Charlie Chan film and the first in which Warner Oland appeared as Chan.

Of late, Charlie Chan is viewed with disfavor, due to the fact that he is an Oriental stereotype. However, nobody can deny that he is smarter than everyone around him, as he proves in this, the second Charlie Chan mystery. The murder mystery revolves around a mysterious millionaire, a valuable necklace, and a parrot who speaks of murder before being killed. Chan is confined to supporting character status for the most of the book, as Bob Eden, the jeweler's son who tags along for the ride, takes the lead; while Chan disguises himself as a servent in the millionaire's house, Eden is out romancing, discovering clues and making friends. This leads for an EXTREMELY leisurely mystery - since Eden, not Chan is the main character here. Still, the book is charming, full of pleasant characters, witty lines ("Golf has ruined more good men than whiskey.") and an endearing, smoking-room atmosphere. And the ending is a doozy. A fully competent mystery.

Sally Jordan is a Honolulu heiress who is forced to sell a valuable set of pearls. The pearls are sold to Wall Street financier P.J. Madden through a local jeweler named Alexander Eden. The plan is to deliver the pearls to Madden in New York City. Charlie Chan and the jeweler's son Bob are selected to make the delivery. Charlie and Bob learn en route that there has been a change of plans and the pearls will now be taken to Madden's ranch in the California desert. Charlie is suspicious and decides to send Bob ahead to the ranch without the pearls while he arrives later disguised as a Chinese cook. The Chinese Parrot was produced as a silent film by Universal in 1926 with the role of Chan played by Kamiyama Sojin, a Japanese actor.