Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Bantam Books
DDC/MDS
| 813.52 |
Description
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.
User reviews
LibraryThing member wmorton38
A weak Charlie Chan. Charlie is on vacation but is asked by an old friend to deliver some expensive jewels to a new buyer. Charlie and the jeweler’s son, Bob Eden, travel into the desert to complete the transaction but mysterious things seem to be happening and Charlie is determined to get to the
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bottom of it before turning over the pearls. In the process, Charlie has to disguise himself as a cook and his dialogue, which is stylized to begin with ("All time big Pacific Ocean suffer sharp pain down below, and toss about to prove it. Maybe from sympathy, I am in same fix."), becomes almost incomprehensible ("Maybe you wantee catch 'um moah fiah, hey, boss?"). Charlie’s part is actually much smaller than that of Bob Eden but it is a pleasant enough story with a little romance thrown in for good measure. Show Less
LibraryThing member vernefan
*Derring-Do in the Desert*
In the dry desert region of Southern California, Bob Eden, the son of a famous San Francisco Jeweler, travels to the dusty town of Eldorado accompanying Earl Derr Biggers famous Chinese sleuth, Charlie Chan. Charlie and Bob are to travel to the desert to hand deliver an
The character of Charlie Chan that Biggers created is one that you just can't help fall in love with. His manner of having the patience of ten saints that most others find frustrating, and his unusual concoction of backward English grammar and Confucius like phrases, will often put a smile on the reader's face.
Written in the simple and melodramatic style of the 1920's, this second Charlie Chan mystery still holds up to today's standards as a very engaging and enjoyable crime novel. With a lighthearted pen, humor, romance, action and adventure to blend with murder and mischief, The Chinese Parrot is a delightful mystery that would be enjoyed by all.
This is the second Charlie Chan mystery in the series, and also the second I've read. The only thing I might warn others about if they know nothing of the character is that Charlie Chan is not the lead in these books. He plays a rather second-fiddle in solving the mystery and is a helping hand in the background to seeking out clues. There are other key players in the books that solve the crime WITH Charlie, and not a case of Charlie Chan investigating solo. Once the reader realizes this is the case and goes with the flow, it becomes unimportant that he is not always the hero of the day. In fact, I think I like this formula a lot because it IS such a different approach for a lead character series and just adds more to the lure and charisma of the books. I am told by the publisher of these great new trade paperbacks that the next two stories will be released in the Spring of 2009 and I for one can't wait!
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In the dry desert region of Southern California, Bob Eden, the son of a famous San Francisco Jeweler, travels to the dusty town of Eldorado accompanying Earl Derr Biggers famous Chinese sleuth, Charlie Chan. Charlie and Bob are to travel to the desert to hand deliver an
Show More
expensive string of pearls to a wealthy millionaire named P.J. Madden. As the author slowly introduces a large host of interesting and shady characters, Bob and Charlie begin to suspect foul play and that something is seriously amiss on Madden's ranch. With those gut feelings they decide to hold off delivering the goods. Charlie goes undercover posing as the ranch Cook, and Bob continually invents many creative ways to stall the millionaire so he doesn't have to give over the necklace until the detective and himself try and uncover more information. This story has many levels of convoluted plots to keep the reader always guessing. The story really kept me going and wondering at every turn just who the culprit could be and why. The very surprising ending upped my four star review to a five! The character of Charlie Chan that Biggers created is one that you just can't help fall in love with. His manner of having the patience of ten saints that most others find frustrating, and his unusual concoction of backward English grammar and Confucius like phrases, will often put a smile on the reader's face.
Written in the simple and melodramatic style of the 1920's, this second Charlie Chan mystery still holds up to today's standards as a very engaging and enjoyable crime novel. With a lighthearted pen, humor, romance, action and adventure to blend with murder and mischief, The Chinese Parrot is a delightful mystery that would be enjoyed by all.
This is the second Charlie Chan mystery in the series, and also the second I've read. The only thing I might warn others about if they know nothing of the character is that Charlie Chan is not the lead in these books. He plays a rather second-fiddle in solving the mystery and is a helping hand in the background to seeking out clues. There are other key players in the books that solve the crime WITH Charlie, and not a case of Charlie Chan investigating solo. Once the reader realizes this is the case and goes with the flow, it becomes unimportant that he is not always the hero of the day. In fact, I think I like this formula a lot because it IS such a different approach for a lead character series and just adds more to the lure and charisma of the books. I am told by the publisher of these great new trade paperbacks that the next two stories will be released in the Spring of 2009 and I for one can't wait!
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LibraryThing member Condorena
The twist at the end salvaged the story for me because the goings on were not making sense although I liked the main good guys. I use that term because there was a Western flavor to the action.
LibraryThing member antiquary
Personally, I prefer the Charlie Chan mysteries set in Hawaii, but this one is set during a visit to California, with Chan investigating a murder on a ranch, where one of the witnesses is a Chinese parrot (which gets killed itself if I recall rightly -I read it years ago.)
LibraryThing member AliceAnna
Solid story and nice piece of zeitgeist. Much less casual racism than I anticipated given the times. Chan bristles at the loss of dignity incurred as a part of his undercover persona as well he should have. The fact that Chan is such a smart, thoughtful and dignified character helps to overcome all
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of that. I probably would have given a higher rating, but I had more or less figured out the ending early on which took away a little bit of the pleasure of reading the book. But overall, an interesting bit of pop culture Americana. Show Less
LibraryThing member alaudacorax
I’ve read one Earl Derr Biggers previously, Seven Keys to Baldpate, and I quite enjoyed it—it was lightweight and frothy, but good fun. Partly on the strength of that I bought The Charlie Chan MEGAPACK ®: The Complete 6-Book Series Plus 16 more. I actually read this by mistake, as it’s the
I have to say I was a little disappointed with it. The plot evolved rather too slowly for a large part of it. It made me a bit impatient. It was only in the last few chapters that it got really gripping—and they did rather cleverly shed light on a lot of earlier stuff. I also felt the characterisation was sometimes weak; I never got a very strong image of some of the main characters.
Seven Keys to Baldpate encourages me to believe that Mr. Biggers got better with passing time, though, so I shall stick with him.
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second novel in the omnibus rather than the first.I have to say I was a little disappointed with it. The plot evolved rather too slowly for a large part of it. It made me a bit impatient. It was only in the last few chapters that it got really gripping—and they did rather cleverly shed light on a lot of earlier stuff. I also felt the characterisation was sometimes weak; I never got a very strong image of some of the main characters.
Seven Keys to Baldpate encourages me to believe that Mr. Biggers got better with passing time, though, so I shall stick with him.
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Subjects
Original publication date
1926