"Charlie Chan's Luxury Cruise" (2023)

By B. Allyn Clayton

Available at Amazon; published by Amazon

Amazon description:

"Jason Fairfax, a very junior reporter for the Honolulu Gazette, is sent by his editor on an assignment that requires him to travel on the luxury liner, the Oahu Paradise, in the company of a disreputable detective who promises him the scoop of his reporting lifetime—maybe. While on board, he meets a cross-section of people from movie stars to ensigns, but none more intriguing than the world-famous Honolulu inspector, Charlie Chan, and his very large family, who are vacationing on board.

"But all is not what it seems. Was a murder committed on board two years ago, or was it an accident? Is there a smuggling ring using the luxury liner to move opium to the continental United States, or is it a spurious rumor? Is it by chance that a known criminal is among the first-class passengers, or is there a more sinister reason?

"Charlie Chan insists he is on vacation and uninterested in wild theories, but events conspire to make this a working vacation for the famous inspector, with Jason Fairfax involved in ways he never could have predicted when he came on board.

"This tribute to Earl Derr Bigger’s famous detective and the old movies in which he appeared should not be missed by fans of the affable but perceptive detective from Hawaii."

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I finally had the time available to finish reading this book after having read roughly the first half earlier.

Of course, when held up to the light of the original stories by Earl Derr Biggers, no new Charlie Chan story will match the standard set by those mysteries. First, any new Charlie Chan story will neither be able, nor ALLOWED, to accurately capture the era of the originals. The present temperament of our present culture is a barrier, I believe, to an accurate presentation of our culture as it was many decades ago.

That said, I expected that "Charlie Chan's Luxury Cruise" would be presented through the lens of where we are in 2023. There were some anachronistic uses of American slang or terminology (I am a stickler regarding things like this). One that comes to mind is the use of the term "road kill," which seemed out of place. Looking it up I found that the term was first used in 1946, and, from information pieced together in the story, "Luxury Cruise" is probably set circa 1931. As you read this book, you will note little details that give pause to historic accuracy and what were, for better or worse, "norms" of the early 1930s.

The author, however, did a very good job of blending the original Charlie Chan stories with the subsequent movies. The whole family is in this one, including Mrs. Chan, which gives something of a nod to "Charlie Chan at the Circus" and "Charlie Chan in Honolulu." Chan's Number One Daughter, Rose (as she was named in the Biggers stories) appears prominently, interacting with the story's main protagonist who, in fact, is the one who narrates this adventure.

As was the case in, say, "Charlie Chan Carries On," Charlie Chan is introduced as the story has already progressed. The detective surfaces and recedes like waves on a calm beach until we reach the climactic moments of the book. I found the author's take on Charlie Chan to be a very pleasing one which fans of Chan will appreciate. The running joke throughout as, to his displeasure, Mr. Chan is called "Pop" by his kids, is another touch that points to the movies.

In the end, I do recommend that fans of Charlie Chan will order a copy of "Charlie Chan's Luxury Cruise" from Amazon, which, as I noted above, is also the book's publisher, producing the copies on demand. In my opinion, this book represents the best attempt at a post-Biggers Charlie Chan story perhaps ever, and I think it is very much worth the read, and it offers a good mystery to boot!

Sincerely,
Rush Glick

Sounds good Rush. I will look forward to reading it

Rush, that was really a great rundown and without a "spoiler alert"...well done! I'm surely gonna order a copy.

I'd like to ask if you would mind me using your review as a "GUEST POST" for my September 1st, blog on thepostmanonholiday.com? So the title of September 1st would be something like:

Book Review: "Charlie Chan's Luxury Cruise." Guest post by Rush Glick

Then It'd follow with a short bio and pic of yourself, like this:
https://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2023/06/an-accidental-experience-leads-to-novel.html

If you'd rather not, no worries. It's just such a good review and I think readers would love to hear about it from a master like yourself.

Dear Lou,

Of course! Remember...we are Charlie Chan FAMILY! :+1:

Sincerely,
Rush

Rush,

Out of sheer curiosity, did you order this books in hardback, paperback or kindle format? I'm thinking ordering it but want to figure out if the quality of printing "rates" a hardcover format and pricing.

Thank you so much,
Henry

Henry, I haven't read the book yet, but I did get my copy of the paperback edition to read.

I must say the book's text is rather "light" and the book cover is rather grainy. That can happen if the author doesn't preorder an actual printed copy to review in hand.

Copies of manuscripts that one views online, or on a computer, may look fine. But it's always best to order a hard copy to see what the end result will look like. I'm guessing the author designed the covers and I don't believe the book was professionally reviewed (i.e. new chapters should never start on a left-hand side page, professionally at least, etc.).

However, with that said reading Rush's review it sounds like a good read and I'm anxious to open it and dig in.