Bundling Its Origin, Progress and Decline in America (World Cultural Heritage Library) [Paperback]

Henry Reed Stiles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2009 | Series: World Cultural Heritage Library

In Biggers' final novel, Charlie Chan is invited to millionaire Dudley Ward's home in Lake Tahoe to try to find his missing son. However the murder of Dudley Ward's ex-wife, the soprano Ellen Landini, soon occupies his complete attention, and potential suspects abound. He examines the evidence but seems unable to persuade Ah Sing, the titular keeper of the keys, to break his loyal silence and give him the key to solving the mystery.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Intl Business Pubns USA (September 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1438790031
• ISBN-13: 978-1438790039
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Last of Chan, August 26, 2004

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Keeper of the Keys (Paperback)

In recent years it has become fashionable to decry Charlie Chan as distastefully stereotypical. At the time, however, the character was a marked departure from the Asian characters usually seen in fiction and film, both of which tended toward a "Fu Manchu" point of view. And it may startle detractors to learn that Chan was loosely based on an actual person: the legendary Chang Apana (1887-1933), a Hawaiian police officer of Chinese heritage who preferred a bullwhip to a gun and was noted for his fearlessness in dealing with criminals engaged in the opium trade.

In the hands of Biggers, the character emerges as a considerably more thoughtful, more formal personality--and one capable of unraveling elaborate crimes. Originally published in 1932, KEEPER OF THE KEYS would prove to be the sixth and last Chan novel by Earl Derr Biggers, who died a year later. And once more it finds Chan "on the mainland," this time at Lake Tahoe, where he has come to investigate the matter of a long-missing child... and finds himself embroiled in the murder of a famous opera singer.

In terms of plot, Biggers will never compete with the likes of Christie and Sayers; contemporary readers will also likely find themselves surpressing a smile over Bigger's assumptions in such matters as the nature of color blindness. Even so, and in spite of its occasionally dated quality, Biggers writes with a great deal of charm and dash--and the result is pure entertainment. Fans of the film series will also be interested in this novel's probable influence on such films as CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA and CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO, but this aside Biggers also offers considerable food for thought, particularly in terms of the passage of time, changing codes of behavior, and differing ideas about what it means to be American.

Some of this is accidental: in the early 1930s Lake Tahoe was essentially a quiet summer resort, and the state of Nevada was less known for gambling than it was for the relaxed divorce laws that fueled the economy of Reno. Some of it, however, is very much intentional. Several characters in the novel, Chan among them, generally dismiss "scientific advances" re fingerprints and ballistics--but it will be precisely such advances that give Chan the final proof he requires to solve the murder.

Most particularly, however, the novel presents Chan as a man of Chinese birth who has deliberately Americanized himself as much as possible. And in KEEPER OF THE KEYS he confronts another Chinese, Ah Sing, who has refused assimilation and who clings with iron determination to the role of loyal, arrogant, and pidgin-speaking Chinese servant of inflexible caste and code. In doing so, Ah Sing effectively forces Chan to consider the degree to which Chan has abandoned his Asian heritage and the personal cost at which he has done so.

As in the other Chan novels, Biggers treats Chan and his other Asian characters with considerable respect; even so, and in spite of five previous Chan novels, he remains more than a little naive about both Asian culture and individuals. Consequently, the novel is also something of a cultural artifact, a glimpse into the way that "white America," even at its most enlightened, tended to regard Asians in this period. No less entertaining and readable for that, it is a solid conclusion to the series that created one of the most beloved fictional characters of the 20th Century.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Boat to China, June 11, 2010

By 

Bobby Underwood "starlighthotel" (Manly NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Keeper of the Keys: A Charlie Chan Mystery (Charlie Chan Mysteries) (Paperback)

"Man who buries treasure in the snow, forgets that summer is coming." -- Charle Chan

Charlie Chan gets his first look at snow in Keeper of the Keys. In another first for the Chinese detective from Honolulu, Hawaii, he will facilitate the flight of someone involved deeply in a murder and it's aftermath. As in all Earl Derr Biggers' fine novels featuring the detective, a little romance can't be far away either, and Charlie facilitates this as well. Reporter Bill Rankin, from Behind that Curtain, a truly fabulous entry in the series, makes a welcome appearance here as well. His arrival becomes less welcome for our favorite sleuth, however, when he inadvertently spills the beans on Chan's somewhat felonious conduct. All this amounts to a wonderful time for the reader, Charlie Chan fans given one more hurrah from the lovable creation of Earl Derr Biggers.

On vacation, Charlie gazes on the snow-clad mountains through the train window in awe. The ex husbands of singer Ellen Landini are headed for the same place Charlie is, and soon the snow-capped peaks rising above the blue lake and pines of Dudley Ward's estate will be filled with mystery and murder. Ward has invited Landini, and ex husbands John Ryder, Luis Romano, and Frederic Swan to join him. He hopes, with Charlie's help, to discover if rumors of a son he didn't know he had are true. Landini brings her latest conquest with her, the young Hugh Beaton. Sheriff Holt is immediately taken with his pretty sister, Leslie, and Charlie must keep him focused on the crime when Landini is murdered in the night, as the plane meant for the departure of she and her dog, mask the sound of the shot.

Chan helps the young Sheriff Holt in an unofficial capacity, becoming close to his blind father, for whom Charlie comes to have a deep and abiding affection. Not lost on Charlie during the meticulous questioning of everyone's whereabouts in the moments leading up to the crime, is young Holt's blind spot in regards to Leslie Beaton. Constantly reminding him to stay focused on his duty, Chan must fight with himself to do the same, as the evidence against Ah Sing, an old beloved Chinese servant of Ward's, mounts high. It does not help that Sing subtly shows by his actions that he no longer considers Charlie to be a real Chinese, due to his adapting to American ways. This pains Charlie, who has one foot in both worlds.

A scarf and other clues point to the murderer being colorblind. It is a seemingly 'essential clue' which proves only to muddle the case further. An unsigned will points to one person, blackmail to another, yet the most damaging clues all lead back to Sing! And what of Michael Ireland, the pilot who once had an affair with Landini and was scorned? Charlie will have a chase through the snow, and send off the bullet in an effort to discover how far it traveled, as the older Holt and he conspire to do the unthinkable. A second murder makes the case take on further urgency. Charlie has no real authority, and is, after all, unofficial. It ain't over till it's over in this one, the mystery and romance wrapped up nicely by Biggers in a satisfying conclusion. This one is quite fun for Charlie Chan fans, and a must if you've missed this one somehow.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for detective fiction fans, December 15, 2009

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C. ROUPAKIAS "book bug" (Athens ,Greece) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Keeper of the Keys: A Charlie Chan Mystery (Charlie Chan Mysteries) (Paperback)

I have read all the books written by Biggers' narrating Charlie's adventures and I am posting this review to all of them in general.Biggers' writing style is unique and easily distinguishable,his characters amusing and very realistic and his star detective (Charlie Chan) one of the most balanced individuals in crime fiction;this guy will make you laugh and he will make you think harder on the values of life,he will praise patience yet he will deliver justice swiftly and effectively,he will be kind and he will be cunning.Having read contemporary as well as older works of crime fiction,I recommend every single one of this books hands down.Just read it!Thank you for reading this review.