Strawberry Yellow

by Naomi Hirahara

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Mas Arai (5)

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Fiction. Literature. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:*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… (more)

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Mas Arai, a Japanese-American gardener who survived Hiroshima, returns to Watsonville, California to attend his cousin Shug's funeral. Then a woman turns up dead, apparently poisoned, and Mas finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation. Some of the plot deals with strawberries and hybridization. I had a difficult time getting into this. I never connected with any of the individuals. Perhaps my difficulty stemmed from not reading earlier installments. Perhaps the choppy English spoken by the Japanese-Americans contributed as well. I almost abandoned this one several times, but I convinced myself the year is too young to abandon one. I'll pass on the rest of the series. (

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thornton37814 | Jan 4, 2018 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

I've read almost all of the Mas Arai mysteries and always enjoyed them. This one is no exception. I don't tend to read them for the mystery but for the examination of the Japanese American (and specifically the kibei) culture. The story itself is pretty leisurely, even though it's a short book, but the details of both the culture as well as the specific subject (in this case strawberries) are rich. Overall an enjoyable read. And if you haven't read the others in the series, I'd highly recommend them. (

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julko | Apr 9, 2013 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

One reason I enjoy the series of Mas Arai mysteries is their contribution to the description of the cultural diversity of California through the mystery genre. Strawberry Yellow also highlights the contrasting attitudes between the different geographical locations of Watsonville and Los Angeles.
The death of a patriarch among a community of Japanese-American strawberry growers exposes loyalties and resentments harbored through the generations since World War II.
Mas Arai explores these personal entanglements and uncovers truths some may have preferred to have left hidden. (

)

margitc | Apr 6, 2013 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

I have read all of the Mas Arai mysteries so I was excited to receive this one. And--full disclosure--I do speak Japanese so the Japanese words were no problem for me.
I think that Strawberry Yellow is my favorite one so far. Hirahara has evolved nicely as a writer and this mystery felt tight, and also read very smoothly. You have to love Mas, who exemplifies all that is good in that first generation of Japanese-Americans. The strawberry-related plot was interesting, educational, and relevant. I had a little trouble keeping all the characters straight at first, but after reading this book I am excited about seeing what Mas gets into next. (

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hrabbit | Apr 4, 2013 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Japanese-American gardener & survivor of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima, Mas Arai, has returned to Watsonville, California for the funeral of his cousin Shug. Almost immediately, he is pulled into the mystery of the death of his cousin's son's girlfriend as well as the suspicion that his cousin's death was not from natural causes.

This book was a little hard for me to get into because of the pigeon English dialect of the main character, as well as the frequent use of untranslated Japanese terms. However, once I got into the rhythm of the story, I found it compelling.

Besides weaving a pretty good mystery, author Naomi Hirahara also has a lot to say about the alienation of "the other" in American society as well as the power of family, jealousy and friendship. After reading this book I want to try the other books in her Mas Arai series. (

)

etxgardener | Apr 2, 2013 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Naomi Hirahara	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Inouye, Amy	Designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Mas Arai (5)

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Fiction. Literature. Mystery. Thriller. HTML: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

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