Gasa-Gasa Girl

I tried to like this book. The elements are all there: characters connected to a real place, real history, self-reflection, cranky hero, but somehow it felt mechanical and I failed to engage.

Loved this introduction to a series I know I'll relish. Great characters, delving through lesser known history, family struggles and intrigue... what's not to like?

Mari Arai was always known to her parents as being gaza-gasa, an into everything kind of girl, just the opposite of laid back. Mas Arai, her dad tells her she takes after her mother. Mari retorts that her mother claimed it was a trait taken from her father. This may be the closer to the truth. Mas Arai had dreams of becoming an engineer but he life took another path after he was fortunate enough to survive the Hiroshima bomb.

Mas ended up becoming a gardener in the LA area and spent many decades at this craft. Retirement is a word that he knows will never apply to him. He spent many years living very quietly until he was involved in a case chronicled in THE SUMMER OF THE BIG BACHI the first in this series by Naomi Hirahara. Now he is show more traveling to New York because his daughter has issued a cry for help.

He is just getting his feet accustomed to concrete sidewalks when he discovers the dead body of his son-in law LLoyd's boss in a Koi pond with mysterious markings. This victim was Kazzy Ouchi a magnate in the silk garment industry was the son of a humble gardener at a big New York City estate. Mas becomes enmeshed in the complex affair because one of his strengths is that he is not a quitter. Mari and Lloyd are in the middle of this scenario and Mas investigates so he can extricate them.

This is a lovely book with interesting fascinating characters who have a background as a part of American history. The author touches gently on all the different generations of Japanese-Americans and how East coast and West coast lives of the citizens differ. show less

An enjoyable new addition to my mystery bookshelf.