World Book Night is April 23, 2022 (Yes, that was no slip of the pen…Book Night!) We are on a mission and YOU may be our last hope! Members of the Charlie Chan Family Home have been searching for either the book or an explanation of the book jacket titled, Romantic Moon. It can be seen in Detective Chan’s hands, while traveling on an airline in the 1939 film classic, Charlie Chan at Treasure Island. (seen at mark 2:13 – 2:39 [Watch].) Here’s the rundown:
BOOK PROFILER: Special Unit – Killer Covers
” Sorry, Lou, but I don’t find anything about ROMANTIC MOON or a crime/mystery writer named Michael Shawn. The cover art looks vaguely familiar, but it may just have been used on a different book in the late ’30s. As you suggest, this was probably the creation of a prop guy. But I shall try to remember where I’ve seen that art before.”
Agent J. Kingston Pierce, The Rap Sheet, May 27, 2021
OTHER CRIMINAL STATISTICS:
Film. Charlie Chan at Treasure Island, is considered one of the best in the series and stars Sidney Toler, Victor Sen Young, and Caesar Romero. Also, the film features aerial footage from the Golden Gate International Exposition World Fair (warning: bit risqué,) held on Treasure Island, San Francisco Bay, February – October 1939 and May – September 1940.
Synopsis. Charlie and son are aboard a China Clipper from Hawaii to San Francisco, when friend and Author Paul Essex apparently commits suicide after receiving a suspicious cable (we know better!) Chan suspects murder and sets off to investigate the mysterious Dr. Zodiac, a psychic expected of being a fraud and blackmailer.
Note: It has been suggested this film may have influenced the real-life Zodiac Killer who terrorized San Francisco Bay, between December 1968 to October 1969!
So be on the Lookout for Romantic Moon by Michael Shawn (or similar cover art.) Check your libraries or bookshelves for suspicious book jacket designs and report any sightings to The Postman on Holiday (you can reply below.) We will follow-up with extreme prejudice. Oh! And find out more about World Book Night, April 23rd, at the site NationalDayCalendar.com.
“The Fates are busy, and man may do much to assist”
The House Without a Key, 1925, Chapter 7
The Postman on Holiday 
Great stuff, Lou! I have looked for the book across the Internet with no luck. Indeed, as mentioned, it was probably a prop made for that movie. Maybe to use a real book could have raised “issues” for 20th Century-Fox, in their opinion! In a similar vein, a few other books either appear visually or through a mention in the Charlie Chan film series through Fox and Monogram. Maybe the subject for a “scavenger hunt”? (Hint: one of those books appeared before it was sent to the publisher.)
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Rush, that’s very interesting. Maybe a great idea “scavenger hunt” as we go through next years films!
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