Audio only
Length2h 37m
About this audiobook
American writer Earl Derr Biggers had always been interested in mystery fiction, but his interest in Hawaii clearly stems from a 1919 vacation in Honolulu. While there, he read a newspaper article on a Chinese detective named Chang Apana. Apana would become the model for Charlie Chan in Biggers' 1925 novel, "House Without a Key", and there quickly followed five more Charlie Chan novels.
"Fifty Candles" - first published just two years after that 1919 vacation - shows how Hawaii, China, and murder had already begun to come together in Biggers' imagination.
The story starts in a courthouse in Honolulu, moves to China, then to fog-shrouded San Francisco. Many of the elements used in the Charlie Chan series are present: Chinese characters (both sinister and sympathetic), the Honolulu legal system, a shrewd detective (in this case, the lawyer Mark Drew rather than a policemen), and a baffling murder complete with red herrings and plenty of suspects. Though "Fifty Candles" is a murder mystery, it is also a romance, with the romantic elements at times in the forefront. Mostly, though, it is a book that will delight Biggers' many fans as they trace the origins of Charlie Chan.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.7 (182)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon
GenreMystery and Thriller, Literary Classics, Young Adult
Length2 hrs 37 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateApr 27, 2021
LanguageEnglish
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