Customer Reviews

Fifty Candles

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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!

Henry Drew has cheated young Winthrop out of a partnership in a Hunan mine. Other shady deeds abound in the past of this rich and outwardly respectable old man.

Despite his antagonism to Drew, Winthrop accepts the old man's invitation to a birthday dinner, mainly to be near the young woman he loves, companion to Mrs. Drew. Unfortunately Winthrop finds old Drew dead in a pool of blood by the dining room table, and he himself is the likeliest suspect.

Or could the murderer be Dr. Parker, illicit admirer of Mrs. Drew? The Chinese servant, devoted to old Drew for twenty years, is mysteriously silent on the whole affair.

And why are there fifty candles on the birthday cake, when old Drew was pushing seventy?

Fifty Candles was first published a few years before the first Charlie Chan novel. Elements that will appear fully matured in the Chan series are evident here: the shrewd investigator (in this case old Drew's son), the witty repartee between lovers, the Chinese sense of honor and Derr Biggers' fascination with Hawaii.

Although there's some drifting into stereotypes, the book is well written - and quite eventful for a narrative of only 101 pages. It's always interesting to see an author you like in the earlier stages of his talent.

This almost ninety year old mystery from Earl Derr Biggers was the most fun gift I received this past Christmas. Fans of Biggers' Charlie Chan series will find much to love in this light mystery touched with romance.

Just as in Biggers' first Charlie Chan mystery, "The House Without a Key," that romantic link between the Hawaii of a different era and the city of San Francisco is explored and holds the key to the mystery. Not lost either are the cultural and class differences brought about by those migrating from China through the romantic ports of Hawaii and on to San Francisco.

Young Winthrop is smitten with Mary Wills and longs to marry her. His pursuit of her will lead him to a party in the home of a former employer whose shady dealings with Winthrop himself point to him as the killer when he is found murdered. When his attorney son arrives to help police sort out the mess it is discovered that Mary Wills has been protecting her ardant admirer by removing from the scene the weapon which would implicate him.

Young Winthrop's only thoughts, of course, are of surprise and joy that Mary would risk all to save him! Yes it's that kind of old-fashioned romantic charm that make this somewhat short book such a fun read. The solution will involve love once again, but not that of Winthrop and Mary Wills.

Biggers always wrote his mysteries with a romantic eye, knowing that love was usually behind most men's actions, right or wrong. He had the ability to create an atmosphere of nostalgia for a Hawaii and a San Francisco already beginning to change even as he wrote during the 1920's and early 1930's. It is a fun walk through the fog-shrouded San Francisco of another time. A fine book for an evening or two under warm covers when you want to read a light mystery with the glow of innocent romance.

If you enjoy 1920s Saturday Evening Post mystery stories, 50 CANDLES is your cup of tea. Charlie Chan is conspicuous by his absence. It is difficult to defend one's quirks, literary or otherwise, and I won't do so now--except to note that perhaps the season contributes to one's a sense of nostalgia.

The book was everything I expected. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who likes mystery stories.