Charlie Chan Volume 3: Charlie Chan Carries On & Keeper of the Keys

Charlie Chan #5-6 omnibus

by Earl Derr Biggers

This, the third-and final-book of the Leonaur series contains two of the six original Charlie Chan mystery novels by Earl Derr Biggers. In the first tale, we find the inscrutable Chinese-Hawaiian police detective remaking and nearly loosing an acquaintance made in an earlier case-Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Duff. The English policeman has been pursuing his quarry across the globe following hard on the trail of murder after murder. In Honolulu Duff is shot and wounded and feels he must give up the chase-but Charlie Chan is on hand to carry on-giving the case its title-and bring the guilty to justice. In Keeper of the Keys-the final novel, Chan leaves his island home to visit California, where as a house-guest of a famous opera singer he finds himself denied relaxation and embroiled in murder instead. Ex-husbands, servants and a veritable company of suspects all come under Chan's scrutiny together with a dog called Trouble, two scarves and two little boxes. A mystery indeed!

380 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Earl Derr Biggers was born in Warren, Ohio on August 24, 1884. Years later, while attending Harvard University, Biggers showed little passion for the classics, preferring instead writers such as Rudyard Kipling and Richard Harding Davis. Following his graduation from Harvard in 1907, he worked briefly for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and at Bobbs-Merrill publishers. By 1908, Biggers was hired at the Boston Traveler to write a daily humor column. Soon, however, he became that paper's drama critic. It was at this time that he met Elanor Ladd, who would later become his wife and who would have a marked influence in his writing.