I am pleased that you have been enjoying the Earl Derr Biggers Charlie Chan stories. "The Black Camel" is, in my humble opinion, perhaps the best of the stories, and I feel that you will enjoy it, too. If you have not seen the movie of the same name, you may enjoy it even more if you read the book first.
The book that you mention, "Inspector Charlie Chan Of The Honolulu Police," is one of three "Better Little Books" that were produced circa 1940. These small books were produced for a younger audience and consisted of illustrations by Alfred Andriola who produced the Charlie Chan newpaper comics. The stories in these books are not by Earl Derr Biggers, however, they are fun to read.
Thanks so much for answering my question. Now I'm halfway through "The Black Camel" and you are right, having seen the movie gives away the plot of the book. It must be the first time in history they actually followed a books plot when the did the movie version. All that is left for me is "Charlie Chan Carries On". I might read some Mr. Moto after that, but somehow I don't think it would be as good. ;)
I was happy to find the beachcomber artist lives in the book, instead of getting murdered. He asked to be kept in jail overnight, so he wouldn't get drunk and miss the boat back to the mainland. Also, the butler was basically innocent, although I wouldn't have miss Renfield as a butler for anything. :) Pretty good adaptation.
(I wonder where all that "the butler did it" stuff originated?)
