The house without a key

by Earl Derr Biggers

"The House Without a Key" by Earl Derr Biggers is a novel published in 1925. This first Charlie Chan mystery unfolds in 1920s Hawaiʻi, where a Boston bond trader arrives to retrieve his vacationing aunt but becomes entangled in a murder investigation. The victim, a former Boston society member, has been killed under mysterious circumstances. As the straitlaced young Bostonian assists Detective Charlie Chan, he discovers the islands' enchanting culture, encounters unexpected romance, and finds himself questioning his carefully planned future back East.