Strawberry Yellow

by Naomi Hirahara

Overview

A new strawberry varietal has someone seeing red in this “intricate whodunit” featuring the curmudgeonly Japanese American gardener and reluctant sleuth (Kirkus Reviews).
 
Hiroshima survivor Mas Arai first arrived in Watsonville, California in the 1940s. Now a semi-retired gardener living in an LA suburb, he returns for a cousin’s funeral only to get entangled in the mystery of a young woman’s murder. Was his cousin murdered, too? Mas has to figure out what happened, keep himself safe in the face of considerable peril, and uncover the mystery of a new strawberry varietal so important that someone just might be willing to kill for it.
 
A skillfully plotted tale of family intrigue, revenge, and gardening that moves seamlessly between the past and the present, Strawberry Yellow is another outstanding chapter in an Edgar Award–winning series marked by “a shrewd sense of character and a formidable narrative engine” (Chicago Tribune).
 
“Mas, less an amateur detective than a cranky, accidental one, is what makes the story work. His obdurance, his skill as a listener, and even his broken English are charming in a quirky, uncomplicated way.” —Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781938849039
Publisher:	Prospect Park Books
Publication date:	03/05/2013
Series:	Mas Arai Series , #5
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	452 KB

About the Author

Naomi Hirahara is an engaging speaker who's always a hit at bookstore and mystery events. She's very active in the Japanese American community in California and is a past president of the southern California chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. She won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original Mystery for Snakeskin Shamisen, the third in the Mas Arai series.

Editorial Reviews

At the outset of Edgar-winner Hirahara’s engaging fifth whodunit featuring retired Japanese-American gardener Mas Arai (after 2010’s Blood Hina), Arai mourns the loss of second cousin Shug Arai, one of his few relatives in the U.S., who has expired of an apparent heart attack. Shug, a strawberry breeder in Watsonville, Calif., was known as Dr. Strawberry, due to his talent for developing new varieties of the fruit. After the bloody body of Laila Smith, an environmental activist concerned about genetically modified food, is found in Shug’s greenhouse, the dead man’s widow confides to Mas her suspicions that he, too, was murdered. Both deaths may be connected to the development of a new strawberry strain. An earth-shattering discovery made by Laila shortly before she was killed adds to the intrigue. Parts of the story stretch credulity, but Hirahara again wisely makes her unusual lead—and most unlikely sleuth—the focus. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"In author Hirahara’s deft hands (she’s an Edgar winner), the human characters, especially Mas, always make for a compelling read." - Mystery Scene Magazine

"Mas is the kind of character who not only entertains, but also expands the literary landscape." -Stanford Alumni Magazine

"The complex interrelationships of this multigenerational Japanese American community and the fierce competition for control of the California strawberry industry make this a thoughtful and highly entertaining read." - Library Journal (STARRED REVIEW)

"Mas' fifth case has both depth and an intricate whodunit" — Kirkus Reviews

“His obdurance, his skill as a listener, and even his broken English are charming in a quirky, uncomplicated way.” — Booklist

“Hirahara again wisely makes her unusual lead—and most unlikely sleuth—the focus.” — Publishers Weekly

"Mas, less an amateur detective than a cranky, accidental one, is what makes the story work." — Booklist

From the Publisher