The House Without a Key (a Charlie Chan Mystery)

The House Without a Key is a novel that was written in 1925 by Earl Derr Biggers. It is the first of the Charlie Chan mysteries written by Biggers.The novel is remarkable in two respects. First although Chan is ostensibly the detective his role in the book is fairly small. He does figure out the solution to the case but it is at the same time as Winterslip and it is the Bostonian who has the honor of collaring the murderer.Second the novel's portrayal of the Chinese specifically Charlie Chan is forward-looking for its era. The Bostonians find it hard to accept a Chinese detective on the case but the locals know him by reputation and show him respect. While some of the descriptions evince some of the stereotypes of the day Chan is portrayed sympathetically as an equal to the whites that surround him. (Indeed Charlie Chan's superior a white Captain of Detectives puts him on the case and trusts him completely.) (wikipedia.org)