THE BLACK CAMEL
Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Publishers, 1929. Item #8160
Second Printing. Octavo (19.5cm); light grey cloth, with titling and pictorial elements stamped in red on spine and front cover; dustjacket; [10],11-312,[8]pp. Gilt-stamped armorial red morocco bookplate of John Talbot Gernon mounted to front pastedown. Light wear to spine ends and text edges, mild offsetting to endpapers, with a hint of foxing to rear cover and gentle sunning to spine; Very Good+ or better. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced $2.00), gently spine-sunned, lightly shelfworn and a little dust-soiled, with a few tiny nicks and tears, some foxing, offsetting from the morocco bookplate, and an old cello-tape mend on verso; Very Good+.
The fourth Charlie Chan novel, set in 1920s Honolulu. "When movie queen Shelah Fane rents a house on the beach, she expects a restful sojourn, but complications in the form of an ardent shipboard suitor, a disturbing session with her trusted fortune-teller, and fear of a secret in her past arise to disrupt it. When Shelah is found murdered, Chan is called in. The star has left a letter for the fortune-teller, which could perhaps provide the vital key, but before Chan can read it, the lights in the house go out and it is snatched from him. Without this clue, the detective must sort through the conflicting stories of the murdered woman's suitor, secretary, costar, fortune-teller, tourist guide, butler and beachcomber – all of whom seem to have ulterior motives where the film star was concerned" (Pronzini & Muller, p.58). Basis for Harrison MacFadden's 1931 pre-Code film adaptation, starring Warner Oland, Sally Ellers, and Bela Lugosi.
Price: $375.00