The Keeper of the Keys

In the final installment of the classic series of mysteries featuring Charlie Chan of the Honolulu Police, we find the diminutive Chinese-American detective in Lake Tahoe. His fame as a brilliant solver of the most perplexing murder cases has spread throughout the world. Having been summoned to investigate the matter of a long-missing child, he again finds himself embroiled in a murder inquiry, this time in the shooting death of Ellen Landini. The glamorous opera singer was shot at a party which Chan himself attended. Four of Landini's ex-husbands are suspects in the case, all with weak alibis.

The clues are sparse and confounding. Inspector Chan is embraced by the young sheriff, Don Holt, who is relieved to have Chan on hand to assist him. Chan reads a galley proof of Landini's soon-to-be-published autobiography and is able to sort through the clues with the assistance of Holt and his aged blind father, Sam, the former sheriff, who offers encouragement and keen insights.

The "Keeper of the Keys" in the story is a houseboy, an elderly Chinese named Ah Sing. Sing is fiercely traditional and refuses to cooperate with Chan, even though the inspector engages him in his native Cantonese. Sing turns out to be an important piece in the puzzle, and Chan uses his inside knowledge of cultural mores and the milieu of Chinese servants to his ultimate advantage. He solves the case in his usual understated and spectacular fashion.