# The House Without a Key — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for The House Without a Key by Earl Derr Biggers.

- [The House Without a Key](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/the-house-without-a-key.md): John Quincy Winterslip, a young Bostonian, arrives in Honolulu to visit his aunt Minerva and uncle Dan. He is immediately struck by the exotic atmosphere and the family's luxurious beachfront home. The chapter introduces
- [I: Kona Weather](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/i-kona-weather.md): Miss Minerva Winterslip walks along Waikiki Beach with her brother Amos, who has been estranged from their brother Dan for thirty-one years. She crosses the fence dividing their properties to visit Dan at his lavish home
- [II: The High Hat](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/ii-the-high-hat.md): John Quincy Winterslip arrives in San Francisco by ferry, feeling weary from his cross-country train journey. He experiences a strange sense of familiarity with the harbor, which he shares with a young woman he meets on 
- [Midnight on Russian Hill](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/iii-midnight-on-russian-hill.md): John Quincy Winterslip arrives in San Francisco and is met by a Japanese chauffeur sent by his cousin Roger. After settling in at Roger's Nob Hill home, they have lunch at a club where they encounter Captain Arthur Templ
- [IV: A Friend of Tim's](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/iv-a-friend-of-tim-s.md): John Quincy Winterslip boards the President Tyler for Honolulu, saying farewell to Roger and Barbara in San Francisco. He meets fellow passengers including Madame Maynard, Harry Jennison, and two missionaries. The chapte
- [V: The Blood of the Winterslips](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/v-the-blood-of-the-winterslips.md): As the ship approaches Honolulu, John Quincy Winterslip experiences a growing sense of restlessness and alienation from his Boston roots. He observes Barbara's romance with Harry Jennison, hears tales of his uncle Dan Wi
- [Beyond the Bamboo Curtain](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/vi-beyond-the-bamboo-curtain.md): Miss Minerva attends a luau in the Hawaiian quarter, experiencing native food and dance. Returning late to Dan's house, she encounters a mysterious figure in the dark living room, identified only by a luminous watch dial
- [VII: Enter Charlie Chan](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/vii-enter-charlie-chan.md): Miss Minerva discovers Dan Winterslip murdered on his lanai and summons his brother Amos. Captain Hallet arrives to investigate, and Miss Minerva provides key details about the night of the murder, including a phone call
- [VIII: Steamer Day](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/viii-steamer-day.md): John Quincy Winterslip arrives in Honolulu, feeling alien and weary. He observes the harbor and city, then joins Harry Jennison and others for breakfast. After landing, he is met by Miss Minerva and Uncle Amos, but Barba
- [IX: At the Reef and Palm](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/ix-at-the-reef-and-palm.md): Captain Hallet, Charlie Chan, and John Quincy Winterslip drive to the Reef and Palm Hotel to interrogate Jim Egan, who was the last person to see Dan Winterslip alive. Egan is evasive about his meeting with Winterslip an
- [X: A Newspaper Ripped in Anger](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/x-a-newspaper-ripped-in-anger.md): John Quincy returns to find Miss Minerva upset after being questioned by reporters about Dan's murder. He shares his visit to the Reef and Palm Hotel, and they discuss Jim Egan's possible guilt. After lunch, Miss Minerva
- [XI: The Tree of Jewels](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xi-the-tree-of-jewels.md): John Quincy and Miss Minerva discuss the murder investigation on the lanai. Amos reveals Dan's involvement with Arlene Compton and a brooch she wore. Miss Minerva admits to withholding evidence from the police. John Quin
- [XII: Tom Brade the Blackbirder](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xii-tom-brade-the-blackbirder.md): John Quincy and Charlie Chan join Captain Hallet in his office, where he interrogates Mr. Stephen Leatherbee and Mrs. Arlene Compton about the night of Dan Winterslip's murder. Mrs. Compton admits she lied earlier about 
- [XIII: The Luggage in Room Nineteen](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xiii-the-luggage-in-room-nineteen.md): John Quincy wakes late in Honolulu, still adjusting to island life. He comforts Barbara and learns from Miss Minerva about the murder investigation. He meets with Charlie Chan and Captain Hallet at the Reef and Palm Hote
- [XIV: What Kaohla Carried](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xiv-what-kaohla-carried.md): Several days after Dan Winterslip's funeral, John Quincy Winterslip drifts through life in Hawaii, learning to surf and reading about San Francisco. He writes a letter to Agatha Parker suggesting they might live in San F
- [The Man from India](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xv-the-man-from-india.md): John Quincy, Chan, and Hallet open the ohia wood box only to find it empty. Hallet interrogates Kaohla while Chan and John Quincy go to the dock to await the arrival of Thomas Macan Brade from Maui. Brade arrives and mak
- [The Return of Captain Cope](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xvi-the-return-of-captain-cope.md): John Quincy and Miss Minerva discuss Dan Winterslip's theft on the Maid of Shiloh, and John Quincy learns of Brade's return. Later, he swims at Waikiki and meets Carlota Egan, who is disappointed that Brade's return hasn
- [Night Life in Honolulu](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xvii-night-life-in-honolulu.md): John Quincy spends a restless Monday with no new developments in the murder case. He learns that a fleet of warships is arriving, bringing social events. Barbara tells him she will not marry Harry Jennison and asks him t
- [XVIII: A Cable from the Mainland](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xviii-a-cable-from-the-mainland.md): Jim Egan confesses to attempting blackmail of Dan Winterslip, revealing that he recognized Winterslip as a man who had exchanged gold coins at his bank decades earlier. Egan explains he acted out of desperation to fund h
- [IX: “Goodbye, Pete!”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/ix-goodbye-pete.md): John Quincy returns to Waikiki after a tense encounter, receives a magazine from a newsboy, and visits Charlie Chan at his home on Punchbowl Hill. Chan introduces his son Henry, and they discuss the case. Together they g
- [The Story of Lau Ho](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xx-the-story-of-lau-ho.md): John Quincy is awakened by Aunt Minerva, who shows him a newspaper account of his near-shanghaiing. He reveals he received a death threat and was shot at. Despite her urging, he refuses to leave Hawaii. Later, Carlota Eg
- [The Stone Walls Crumble](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xxi-the-stone-walls-crumble.md): John Quincy struggles to solve the murder of Dan Winterslip as Charlie Chan works alone. After a frustrating evening, he meets Barbara at the dock and attends a party at Madame Maynard's, where he encounters Carlota Egan
- [The Light Streams Through](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xxii-the-light-streams-through.md): John Quincy follows the police to the station, where he learns that Mr. Saladine is actually a Treasury agent investigating an opium smuggling ring. Captain Hallet and the prosecutor, Greene, build a case against Harry J
- [XXIII: Moonlight at the Crossroads](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_house_without_a_key_se/chapters/xxiii-moonlight-at-the-crossroads.md): John Quincy and Charlie Chan compare how they each deduced Jennison's guilt. John Quincy explains his leap of logic from a golf professional's big wrists to Jennison's swimming prowess, while Chan reveals his own intuiti

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