Naomi Hirahara

Being a second generation Japanese American, I was delighted to be introduced to the author, Naomi Hirahara, and her several mystery novels.  Her interpretation of Japanese American life is very down-to-earth as she "tells it like it is" and also gives us an insight of an American-born person who had experienced life in Japan during WWll; namely Hiroshima.  The fact that she is bilingual and has lived in Japan gives her the ability to represent her main character, Mas Arai, well.   I found myself relating to some of the character, and bringing to mind some of the people I had known.  She made me feel like I was right there in the various areas of Los Angeles.  The way she used words and phrases of Japanese in the conversations, one gets the exact meaning of what the character was trying to convey, rather than just English words.
 
Mas Arai, the main character, is a product of America and Japan who spent his younger days in Hiroshima and knew the horrors of that period.  Returning to the Los Angeles area after the war, he established himself as a gardener, as did many other Japanese Americans after they returned from the internment camps.  He was a rather easy going fellow and found himself involved in solving crimes involving his circle of friends and acquaintances.  in his easy gooing ways, he somehow, bit by bit, helps solves the crimes.  The paths he takes to come to the conclusions are intruiging. This man, Mas, a rather unpolished fellow, along with his buddies, makes for great reading, thanks to the imagination of Naomi Hirahara.

   —Review by Meriko Maida, Sacramento California