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Curmudgeonly Japanese American gardener and unwitting detective Mas Arai is back in this fifth in the Edgar Award–winning series. Naomi Hirahara has created a memorable protagonist unlike any other: a Hiroshima survivor, Los Angeles gardener, widower, gambler, grandfather, and solver of crimes. In Strawberry Yellow, he returns to the strawberry farms of his youth and encounters family intrigue, danger, and murder.
The series' most compelling and evocative mystery yet is set in the strawberry fields of Watsonville, California, where young Mas first arrived as a Hiroshima survivor in the 1940s. He returns for the funeral of a cousin and quickly gets entangled in the murder of a young woman. Was his cousin murdered, too? Mas has to figure out what happened, keep himself safe, and uncover the mystery of the Strawberry Yellow blight and a new strawberry varietal so important that it could be inspiring a murderer.
"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