The Black Camel — Earl Derr Biggers

"Death is the black camel that kneels unbidden at every gate." This is what Charlie Chan tells the guests of the unfortunate Shelah Fane, a glamorous Hollywood movie star who has been murdered while on location beachside in Honolulu. In this fourth novel in the series, the detective confronts his most perplexing case of his long and illustrious career.

Chan is aided by a mysterious fortune teller named Tarneverro the Great. It appears that Miss Fane had summoned Tarneverro to Honolulu as she strongly believes in his mystical powers. She need to decide whether or not to marry a certain Alan Jaynes, with whom she has a torrid affair during the shooting of her movie in Tahiti. She is tormented by her past and afraid of the future, and cannot decide what to do. There is the question of another murder that happened in Hollywood three years before. Denny Mayo, a well known actor, was murdered in his house, and there appears to be a connection between Miss Fane and Tarneverro in this unsolved murder.

The movie version of this book came out in 1931, featuring two legendary actors, Warner Orland as Charlie Chan and Bela Lugosi as the enigmatic Tarneverro the Great. This is one of the most ambitious books in the Charlie Chan series, and will have readers clamoring for more.