Adrian Vogler

Adrian Vogler is a German author with a long-standing fascination for classic detective fiction.

His love for the genre began in his youth with Sherlock Holmes, especially the subtle eeriness of The Hound of the Baskervilles, where rational deduction meets an unsettling atmosphere. That combination of logic and quiet menace has shaped his storytelling ever since.

Later, he discovered another great detective: Charlie Chan. Not through books at first, but on the silver screen. Films such as Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935), starring Warner Oland, left a lasting impression with their unique blend of politeness, sharp reasoning, and hints of the uncanny.

The literary Charlie Chan came much later. The novels by Earl Derr Biggers, published between 1925

Adrian Vogler is a German author with a long-standing fascination for classic detective fiction.

His love for the genre began in his youth with Sherlock Holmes, especially the subtle eeriness of The Hound of the Baskervilles, where rational deduction meets an unsettling atmosphere. That combination of logic and quiet menace has shaped his storytelling ever since.

Later, he discovered another great detective: Charlie Chan. Not through books at first, but on the silver screen. Films such as Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935), starring Warner Oland, left a lasting impression with their unique blend of politeness, sharp reasoning, and hints of the uncanny.

The literary Charlie Chan came much later. The novels by Earl Derr Biggers, published between 1925 and 1932, introduced Vogler to the Golden Age roots of the character. In particular, The Keeper of the Keys—set near Lake Tahoe in a winter landscape—became a key inspiration.

Charlie Chan’s Christmas: Murder at Silver Creek Lodge is Vogler’s tribute to that tradition. Set in December 1938, the novel places Charlie Chan and his family in a snowbound mountain lodge, blending classic deduction with a festive yet ominous atmosphere. The book is conceived as both an homage to Biggers and a nod to Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, infused with a distinctly American holiday spirit.

For Adrian Vogler, writing this novel was more than a literary exercise—it was the fulfillment of a long-held wish to accompany Charlie Chan on a winter journey, surrounded by snow, family, and secrets.