The House Without a Key
The novel that introduced Charlie Chan, published in 1925, opens with a proper young Bostonian, John Quincy Winterslip, arriving in Honolulu to fetch an aunt and instead finding his cousin Dan murdered in a beachfront house. The local police send a stout, courteous detective of the Honolulu force, Charlie Chan, whose patience and shrewd eye gradually untangle a killing rooted in old scandals and buried history. Around the mystery Biggers sets Boston reserve against the warmth and pull of the islands, and lets his young hero grow up in the bargain. Chan, based on a real Honolulu policeman, would go on to headline five more novels and a long run of films. Available here as a free PDF and EPUB edition.
About the Author
Earl Derr Biggers (1884-1933) was an American novelist and playwright from Ohio. He created the Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan, inspired by a real Honolulu policeman, in six best-selling mysteries that broke with the era’s stereotypes and launched a long-running film series.
See all books by Earl Derr Biggers →
Listen to The House Without a Key Audiobook Free
Listen to The House Without a Key by Earl Derr Biggers free online. The full audiobook (13 hr 43 min, 23 chapters, read by Retroindiereader) streams free on this page.
The House Without a Key (1925) is a public domain work.
| # | Chapter | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kona Weather | 42:02 | |
| 2 | The High Hat | 16:39 | |
| 3 | Midnight on Russian Hill | 42:08 | |
| 4 | A Friend of Tim's | 30:44 | |
| 5 | The Blood of the Winterslips | 31:53 | |
| 6 | Beyond the Bamboo Curtain | 25:44 | |
| 7 | Enter Charlie Chan | 48:24 | |
| 8 | Steamer Day | 37:32 | |
| 9 | At the Reef and Palm | 39:24 | |
| 10 | A Newspaper Ripped in Anger | 36:42 | |
| 11 | The Tree of Jewels | 49:03 | |
| 12 | Tom Brade the Blackbirder | 32:53 | |
| 13 | The Luggage in Room Nineteen | 32:39 | |
| 14 | What Kaohla Carried | 33:21 | |
| 15 | The Man From India | 46:46 | |
| 16 | The Return of Captain Cope | 37:50 | |
| 17 | Night Life in Honolulu | 26:54 | |
| 18 | A Cable From The Mainland | 36:48 | |
| 19 | "Good-by, Pete!" | 48:41 | |
| 20 | The Story of Lau Ho | 33:27 | |
| 21 | The Stone Walls Crumble | 35:45 | |
| 22 | The Light Streams Through | 41:33 | |
| 23 | Moonlight At The Crossroads | 16:12 |
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