Clark and Division

March 1, 2021

In multi-award-winning Andrews's Murder Most Fowl, Meg Langslow's husband is directing a production of Macbeth even as gung-ho reenactors erect an authentic medieval Scottish military camp nearby, which ends in the murder of the unpleasant filmmaker documenting the reenactment (40,000-copy first printing). A BAFTA and multiple mystery award winner, novelist/filmmaker Claudel limns the current refugee crisis, with the inhabitants of backwater Dog Island refusing to disrupt their age-old way of life when three unidentified bodies wash ashore, deciding instead to bury them. In Edgar Award winner Hirahara's 1944-set Clark and Division, 20-year-old Aki, who has moved with her parents to Chicago after their release from the Manzanar concentration camp in California, refuses to believe that her sister Rose's death is a suicide. Lightning Strike, a prequel to Krueger's "Cork O'Connor" series, features Cork's coming-of age in small-town 1963 Minnesota. In Muller's Ice and Stone, durable PI Sharon McCone is enlisted by the organization Crimes Against Indigenous Sisters when two more Indigenous women are brutally dispatched in what the police refuse to regard as a pattern (25,000-copy first printing). The Madness of Crowds, the next in Penny's sensational "Chief Inspector Gamache" series, sends the chief inspector home to Three Pines, Canada, after a sojourn in Paris. Following Trinchieri's well-received debut, Murder in Chianti, The Bitter Taste of Murder finds former NYPD Nico Doyle comfortably settled in his late wife's Tuscan hometown--until the ruthless wine critic who's just arrived is murdered.

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2021
There are multiple books, fiction and nonfiction, about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII, but stories of what happened to the detainees after being released from the camps are less frequently told. Hirahara changes that with this deeply researched historical mystery about a Japanese family from California who were ""resettled"" in Chicago in 1944 after spending more than two years at the Manzanar internment camp. Twenty-year-old Aki Ito and her mother and father, finally released from Manzanar, are anticipating a reunion with Aki's older sister, Rose, who has been in Chicago for several months, living in a new Japanese neighborhood around Clark and Division streets. Upon arrival, they learn that Rose has died in a subway accident, which the police believe was suicide. Convinced that her sister would not kill herself, Aki sets out to determine what really happened. Hirahara peppers the mystery with a detail-rich portrait of Chicago during the war and of newly arrived Japanese Americans trying to negotiate a largely hostile new world. This works fine as an amateur-sleuth mystery, but it's the vibrant historical background that makes the novel special.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 24, 2021
Set during WWII, this fascinating standalone from Edgar winner Hirahara (the Mas Arai series) focuses on a Japanese American family, the Itos, who in 1942 are sent with what possessions they can carry from L.A. to the Manzanar internment camp in the California desert. In 1943, elder daughter Rose, a bright and confident young woman, is chosen to be among the first internees to be relocated to Chicago, a move that will pave the way for her family to join her. In 1944, Rose’s parents and younger sister, Aki, arrive in the city, only to be informed that Rose has been run over by a subway train at the Clark and Division station, an apparent suicide. Aki refuses to believe this theory and sets out to find her sister’s killer and bring that person to justice. Tantalizing clues emerge in Rose’s diary, in reports gathered for the War Relocation Authority, and in Aki’s tireless interviews with those who shaped Rose’s life in Chicago. Elegant prose matches the meticulous research. This well-crafted tale of injustice isn’t just for mystery fans. Agent: Susan Cohen, PearlCo Literary.

June 15, 2021
When a young Japanese American woman is murdered during World War II, her grieving younger sister turns sleuth to solve the crime. As she tells it, the story of young Aki Ito's family begins in Southern California in the 1920s. Mom emigrates from Japan in 1919 to marry Pop, who, starting as a farm laborer, rises to the post of market manager. Aki looks up to her elder sister, Rose, the star of the family. The bombing of Pearl Harbor changes everything for the family; they are sent to the Manzanar internment camp in 1942. Then, in June 1943, the War Relocation Authority recruits Rose to be one of the "loyal" nisei to move out of the camp and work in Chicago. Her boyfriend, Roy, follows a few months later. When the family is finally allowed to follow, they are greeted with the horrifying news that Rose is dead, killed by a subway train. Aki's decision to uncover the truth about Rose's death comes slowly. Hirahara immerses readers in this ignoble period in American history and in the family's grief, presented from Aki's wary, wide-eyed perspective. Learning that Rose had an abortion accelerates Aki's desire to know the truth. She's unsettled even further when Rose's death is ruled a suicide. Subsequent chapters begin with passages from Rose's diary, providing a chilling backdrop to the truth that is gradually revealed. Getting a job at the Newberry Library puts Aki closer to the heart of the city and exposes her to the casual racism all around her. Roy's failure to offer support and the fear and evasiveness of Rose's roommate, Tomi Kawamura, only harden Aki's determination to find answers. Her investigation becomes her rite of passage into adulthood. An effective whodunit that's also a sensitive coming-of-age story.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from July 1, 2021

The treatment of American citizens of Japanese descent during World War II comes to life in this mystery by Hirahara ("Mas Arai" series). The Ito family are uprooted from their life in California and sent to Manzanar, a concentration camp for Japanese Americans. At Manzanar, Aki, her older sister Rose, and their parents endure privation and suffering. When detainees who are not considered security risks are allowed to leave the camp, Rose is among them. She is relocated to Chicago, but it takes several more months before the rest of the family is allowed to join her. When they arrive in Chicago, they are greeted not by Rose but by news of her death. Everyone is calling it an accident--or worse, suicide. But Aki knows something terrible happened to her sister. Dogged in her pursuit of answers, Aki questions everyone she can find who knew Rose--roommates, friends, coworkers. She's shocked and confused by what she learns, but pushes onward to discover the truth. In the course of the investigation, Aki confronts dangers, makes friends in unexpected places, falls in love, and finally finds the courage to be true to herself. VERDICT Hirahara does a masterly job of incorporating extensive historical research into an emotionally compelling story. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy high-quality historical fiction with well-drawn characters and an engrossing plot.--Julie Ciccarelli, Tacoma P.L., WA

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.