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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Literary Rival To Sherlock Holmes,
By AvidOldiesCollector (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Celebrated Cases of Charlie Chan (Hardcover)
Some may regard the caption as blasphemous considering the enduring appeal of Sherlock and the ongoing organizations devoted to his legend such as The Baker Street Irregulars.
But Charlie Chan is, in my humble opinion, every bit as important in the literary world of detectives as Holmes. As author Earl Derr Biggers once wrote "sinister and wicked Chinese are old stuff in mystery stories but an amiable Chinese on the side of law and order had never been used." That is, until Biggers first introduced him in 1925 in the classic The House Without A Key (the first of five complete and unabridged cases presented here in this volume first published in 1985 by New Orchard Editions). The story deals with "the investigation of the murder of Dan Winterslip ... Chan finds Mr. W had a past which did not bear close scrutiny." Confucius he may not have been, but his sayings have also withstood the test of time, such as "bad alibi like dead fish ... cannot stand test of time." The other stories gathered together in this thick volume are The Chinese Parrot (a Chinese cook is stabbed to death, confusion arises from a bullet hole at the scene of the crime and a missing gun), Behind That Curtain (sixteen years separates two murders ... the first in London and now San Francisco ... is this an open and shut case for Chan?), The Black Camel (the "set" is a deserted part of Waikiki Beach, the victim is a film star brutally stabbed to death), and Charlie Chan Carries On (terror reigns on a round-the-world cruise, a murderer strikes again and again .. on the last lap from Honolulu to San Francisco Chan is detailed to find the killer). Most who remember the character will do so through film characterizations by Werner Oland, Sidney Toler, Roland Winters, and even Peter Ustinov (it's his picture as Chan they use on the dust cover of my copy - why they did that instead of Oland - the best Chan ever - is beyond me). But in any event, this is a book worthy of inclusion in any mystery collection.
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