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The House Without A Key
Earl Derr Biggers Book Review

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Plot Summary of The House Without A Key
"Charlie Chan is introduced in Chapter VII of this first book of the popular series about an oriental detective from Honolulu. Although playing a minor role in the beginning, Charlie asserts himself by the end of the case.

John Quincy Winterslip, a young lawyer from Boston, is on a trip to Hawaii to visit a wealthy relative, Dan Winterslip. En route he is asked to find and destroy an ohia wood box which is in the attic of Dan's San Francisco house. He fails to get the box and learns on his arrival in Hawaii that Dan has been murdered. The leading suspect is Jim Egan, owner of a ramshackle hotel on the beach. The essential clue is a wrist watch with an illuminated dial which is damaged. Motivated by his growing interest in Egan's daughter Carlotta, John Quincy helps Charlie and the police solve the crime. The real hero, however, is Charlie who manages to stay one step ahead of everybody else."

Peter Kenney, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The House Without A Key
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Tone of story - very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - 1900-1920's
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 50%
Kind of investigator - police procedural, American
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - police/lawman
How much violence does he/she use? - none
Ethnicity/Race - Chinese
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
United States Yes
Asia/Pacific Yes
Island? Yes

Style
How many deaths? - 1
Sex Yes
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to The House Without A Key
The Black Camel by Earl Derr Biggers
Traitor's Gate by Anne Perry
Deadly Caress by Brenda Joyce
The Problem of the Wire Cage by John Dickson Carr
The Benson Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine


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Earl Derr Biggers Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Peter Kenney  

SCHOLARS:


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