Tag Archives: mystery

Author Naomi Hirahara has deep roots in both Southern California and Japan. She’s written nonfiction, mysteries, middle grades lit and journalism for locally acclaimed Rafu Shimpo.

In this guerrilla reading, she takes us back to the first book in her Edgar Award-winning Mas Arai mystery series, Summer of the Big Bachi.

In an interview with NPR, Hirahara explained her crime-solving hero this way:

“I’m basically making a character like my father a hero,” Hirahara admits. “I think all the times I complained that my dad was a gardener and we couldn’t afford this trip or that trip, I’m trying to make up for it by creating this heroic, iconic figure that’s underestimated.”

For more, visit Hirahara’s website, or follow her on Twitter @gasagasagirl.