The Chinese Parrot

Published in 1926, the second Charlie Chan novel takes the Honolulu detective away from the islands and onto the American mainland. Charged with delivering a valuable string of pearls to a remote ranch in the California desert, Chan goes undercover as a humble house servant to watch the household unseen. When the ranch’s Chinese parrot suddenly dies after screeching a few strange words, he senses murder behind the quiet, and his patient method slowly draws a hidden crime into the light. Biggers pairs a clever, fair-play puzzle with a strong sense of place, from Hawaii to the parched ranchlands near Eldorado. This free PDF and EPUB edition makes an early classic of the series available again for a new set of readers.