AN ETERNAL LEI : A Leilani Santiago Hawai‘i Mystery By Naomi Hirahara (Altadena, Calif.: Prospect Park Books, 2022, 200 pp., $17.99, paperback) When what at first appears to be a giant jellyfish floating off the coast turns out to be a lady, Dani screams out to her sister Sophie for help. They drag the limp […]
Nisei murder mystery enthralls readers
CLARK AND DIVISION By Naomi Hirahara (Westminster, Md.: Soho Press, 2021, 312 pp., $27.95, hard cover) From the first few pages of the new Naomi Hirahara historic mystery “Clark and Division,†I am immediately drawn into the story of the young Nisei woman, Aki Ito. The descriptive narrative with rich historic details and the strong […]
Evolving Force Ellie Rush a new mystery series
GRAVE ON GRAND AVENUE By Naomi Hirahara (New York: Penguin Group USA, 2015, 304 pp., $7.99, paperback) “Grave on Grand Avenue,†the much anticipated second book in the new Ellie Rush Mystery Series by Naomi Hirahara, provides intrigue, international inquiry, and family drama amid a dynamic and eclectic Los Angeles landscape. Determined and earnest LAPD […]
‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ skillfully explores wartime prejudice
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The Japanese American concentration camps of World War II provide a compelling backdrop for the excellent theatrical production of “Snow Falling on Cedars.†Based on David Guterson’s 1994 best-selling novel, the play offers a potent mix of romance and whodunit, as well as an exploration of the issue of prejudice against […]
BOOK REVIEW: Mystery novel unveils the power to change another’s life
The Devil’s Whisper By Miyuki Miyabe, translated by Stuhr Iwabuchi (Kondansha: New York, 2010, 264 pp., $11.95, paperback) Miyabe does it again — the elegantly crafted, more-than-just-mystery novel in “The Devil’s Whisper†keeps you hooked not just on the plot, but on the characters, their guilty consciences, and the moral quandaries and choices that bind […]
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