The third novel in the Charlie Chan series. set almost exclusively in California (as opposed to Chan's native Hawaii), and tells the story of the former head of Scotland Yard, a detective who is pursuing the long-cold trail of a murderer. Fifteen years ago, a London solicitor was killed in circumstances in which the only clue was a pair of Chinese slippers, which he apparently donned just before his death. Sir Frederic Bruce has been following the trail of the killer ever since. He has also been interested in what appears to be a series of disappearing women around the world, which has some connection to the disappearance of a woman named Eve Durand in rural India also fifteen years ago. Just when it seems he might finally solve the murder case, at a dinner party to which a number of important and mysterious guests have been invited, Inspector Bruce is killed -- and was last seen wearing a pair of Chinese slippers, which have vanished. It is left to Chan to solve the case and tie up all loose ends.

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Earl Derr Biggers was an American novelist best known for the detective Charlie Chan series and the novel Seven Keys to Baldpate.

Allan, Lord Harrowby, son and heir of James Nelson Harrowby, came to Lloyds of London with a most unusual request for insurance. He knew that Lloyds took out policies on unusual risks. And what he wanted was insurance of a most unusual kind...love insurance. What follows is a comic novel of improbable dimensions, by the world-famous creator of Chinese detective Charlie Chan!

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This novel tells the story of a Hollywood star, shooting a film on location in Hawaii, who is murdered during her stay. The story behind her murder is linked with the three-year-old murder of another Hollywood actor and also connected with an enigmatic psychic named Tarneverro. Chan, in his position as a detective with the Honolulu Police Department, "investigates amid public clamor demanding that the murderer be found and punished immediately. "Death is the black camel that kneels unbidden at every gate," Chan tells the suspects."

Sally Jordan is a Honolulu heiress who is forced to sell a valuable set of pearls. The pearls are sold to Wall Street financier P.J. Madden through a local jeweler named Alexander Eden. The plan is to deliver the pearls to Madden in New York City. Charlie Chan and the jeweler's son Bob are selected to make the delivery. Charlie and Bob learn that there has been a change of plans and the pearls will now be taken to Madden's ranch in the California desert. Charlie is suspicious and decides to send Bob ahead to the ranch without the pearls while he arrives later disguised as a Chinese cook. After arriving at the ranch, Bob and Charlie find a very nervous P.J. Madden, a bilingual parrot and evidence of a possible murder. The only thing lacking is a corpse. Because of the odd circumstances at the ranch, Charlie decides it is wiser to solve the mystery of the suspected killing before handing over the pearls. While Charlie and bob stall for time, Madden's caretaker Louie Wong is murdered and the parrot dies of arsenic poisoning. THE CHINESE PARROT was produced as a silent film by Universal in 1926 with the role of Chan played by Kamiyama Sojin, a Japanese actor. George Kuwa, another Japanese actor, was cast as Louie Wong.

On January 24, 1925, 'The Saturday Evening Post' began its serialization of the book that would make Earl Derr Biggers famous: The House Without a Key, the first of the Charlie Chan series. Chan, the first Chinese detective in literature, was modeled after Chang Apana, a real-life police detective in Honolulu. Earl Derr Biggers ultimately wrote six Charlie Chan mystery novels: The House Without A Key, The Chinese Parrot, Behind That Curtain, The Black Camel, Charlie Chan Carries On, and Keeper of the Keys. Each of these books is wonderfully told, and through the later films, radio shows, comics, and television series, Charlie Chan became an enduring popular figure.

Once again, the setting of the novel is rural California, where Chan has been invited as a houseguest. He meets a world-famous soprano, Ellen Landini, who is murdered not too long after the meeting. Chan does not have far to look for suspects -- the host is her ex-husband, as are three of the other house guests. Her servants, entourage and husbands all come under suspicion. Once again, Chan is expected to solve the murder, which he does by understanding the key clues -- the actions of a little dog named Trouble, two scarves, and two little boxes. When he understands how the murder is committed, he learns the role of elderly house servant Ah Sing -- the keeper of the keys.

On January 24, 1925, 'The Saturday Evening Post' began its serialization of the book that would make Earl Derr Biggers famous: The House Without a Key, the first of the Charlie Chan series. Chan, the first Chinese detective in literature, was modeled after Chang Apana, a real-life police detective in Honolulu. Earl Derr Biggers ultimately wrote six Charlie Chan mystery novels: The House Without A Key, The Chinese Parrot, Behind That Curtain, The Black Camel, Charlie Chan Carries On, and Keeper of the Keys. Each of these books is wonderfully told, and through the later films, radio shows, comics, and television series, Charlie Chan became an enduring popular figure.

A mysterious millionaire with a penchant for strange pets takes a flyer on a string of pearls and finds that death is the broker. Charlie Chan embarks on an incognito journey across the desert to find the answer to a question – a question posed by a dead parrot who spoke in Chinese . . .Chan dons a disguise and goes undercover to solve a complex triple intrigue of fake identity, kidnapping and murder.