Alison Hiroto's light, sweet voice is well suited to Aki Ito, the protagonist in Hirahara's Japantown mysteries, set just after WWII. In this sequel to the award-winning CLARK AND DIVISION, we find Aki and her parents resettled in Los Angeles. Working as a nurse's aide at the Japanese hospital, Aki encounters an elderly Issei man with suspicious injuries. When a murder occurs at the squalid hotel where he'd been staying, Aki investigates, against the advice of her husband and parents. The novel's wealth of fascinating cultural and historical information often dominates the mystery, and Hiroto can sound stilted as she navigates the details. But her clear characterizations and believable emotion during dramatic scenes make for an appealing listen. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Evergreen
Narrated by Allison Hiroto
Naomi HiraharaUnabridged — 8 hours, 32 minutes
Evergreen
Narrated by Allison Hiroto
Naomi HiraharaUnabridged — 8 hours, 32 minutes
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Overview
American community is starting from scratch, with thousands of people living in dismal refugee camps while they struggle to find new houses and jobs in over-crowded Los Angeles.
Aki is working as a nurse's aide at the Japanese Hospital in Boyle Heights when an elderly Issei man is admitted with suspicious injuries. When she seeks out his son, she is shocked to recognize her husband's best friend, Babe Watanabe. Could Babe be guilty of elder abuse?
Only a few days later, Little Tokyo is rocked by a murder at the low-income hotel where the Watanabes have been staying. When the cops start sniffing around Aki's home, she begins to worry that the violence tearing through her community might threaten her family. What secrets have the Watanabes
been hiding, and can Aki protect her husband from getting tangled up in a murder investigation?
Editorial Reviews
05/29/2023
Hirahara’s insightful follow-up to 2021’s Edgar-winning Clark and Division finds newly married Aki Nakasone returning to Los Angeles in 1946, two years after her family was forcibly relocated to the Manzanar internment camp in Illinois. Aki is working as a nurse’s aide at the Japanese Hospital in Boyle Heights when a bruised and battered old man arrives. Suspecting he has been abused, Aki confronts the man’s son—who turns out to be Babe Watanabe, her husband Art’s best friend and the best man at her wedding. She never liked Babe, but resists the idea that he could be responsible for his father’s injuries. When a shooting occurs at the sleazy hotel where the Watanabes are staying, Babe drops out of sight, and Art’s friendship with the missing man brings the police to Aki’s door. Fearing that her family may become further embroiled in a murder investigation, Aki sets out to locate Babe on her own. Drawing on rich historical detail, Hirahara provides a visceral account of the hardships facing Japanese Americans during and just after WWII, and her lucid prose elevates this above standard mystery fare. It’s a memorable outing. Agent: Susan Cohen, PearlCo Literary. (Aug.)
Praise for Evergreen
Winner of the 2024 Lefty Award for Best Historical Mystery Novel
An Amazon Best of the Month - Mystery/Thriller
CrimeReads Best Historical Fiction of 2023 (So Far)
CrimeReads Most Anticipated Crime Fiction of Summer 2023
“Absorbing... Like Walter Mosley in his great Easy Rawlins books, Hirahara shows us a corrupt LA whose most endemic corruptions come steeped in racism. But — and this too recalls Mosley — she doesn't wallow in the self-indulgent cosmic nihilism that defines too much noir.”
—John Powers, NPR's Fresh Air
“Hirahara humanizes the struggles of Japanese Americans rebuilding their lives from scratch. Her evocation of Little Tokyo haunts will bring a flood of memories for some Angelenos while introducing a new generation of readers to a pivotal period in L.A. history.”
—Paula Woods, The Los Angeles Times
“Hirahara’s affinity for sculpting real characters and placing them in historical context while creating palpable suspense shines in Evergreen.”
—South Florida Sun Sentinel
“I have long been a fan of Naomi Hirahara’s writing, but Evergreen may be my favorite of her novels. The mystery is set against the backdrop of Japanese Americans returning to their homes in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo after World War II as they try to rebuild their lives after either having been unfairly held in detention camps or fighting with the 'Go for Broke' battalion, with everyone dealing with different types of discrimination, fear, and trauma. The historical details are accurate, heartrending, and eye-opening.”
—Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author of The Island of Sea Women
“Hirahara’s Clark and Division was one of the more accomplished crime novels in recent memory, and this year she’s following it up with Evergreen... [The novel] dives into the shadows of Boyle Heights and Little Tokyo to tell a story about one of the darker chapters of American history. With these books focused on the Japanese-American experience of post-WWII America, Hirahara has found a pivotal subject and brought her immense talents to bear.”
—Dwyer Murphy, CrimeReads
“Excellent.”
—Sarah Weinman, Alta Journal
"Intriguing and provocative . . . Hirahara cleverly weaves together a riveting mystery with historical details of postwar Little Tokyo, touching on issues of race, postwar trauma and the rebuilding of community. Her extensive research as a non-fiction writer offers a solid base for her insightful reimagining of postwar resettlement."
—Nichi Bei
“Evergreen is an ideal selection for book club groups wishing to learn more about the Japanese American experience during and after WWII. Fans of other great storytellers like Sujata Massey, Julie Otsuka, and Jamie Ford will enjoy this latest novel from Naomi Hirahara.”
—BookTrib
“Brilliant . . . A sharply plotted mystery and a historically rich story.”
—Historical Novel Society
“Highly recommend.”
—Dear White Women
“Evergreen is a wonderful example of historical crime fiction. It is a crime story that reflects the social injustice that happened to Japanese Americans.”
—Crime Fiction Lover
“Hirahara expertly folds this crime story into her insightful and fully realized portrait of postwar America and the struggles of Japanese Americans to come to terms with the American society that had imprisoned them during the war... A thought-provoking noir with a searing period flavor.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“Once again, Hirahara illuminates the experiences of Japanese Americans during World War II by embodying them in the lives of the Ito family. The author weaves a compelling tale, which is all the more poignant as it reminds readers of the shameful treatment of Japanese Americans, along with the racial prejudice still at work. A must-read.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review
“Hirahara provides a visceral account of the hardships facing Japanese Americans during and just after WWII, and her lucid prose elevates this above standard mystery fare. It’s a memorable outing.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Hirahara, who has a background in journalism, sets the stage for suspense with a carefully researched social history of Japanese Americans after WWII.”
—Booklist
Praise for Clark and Division
Winner of the Mary Higgins Clark Award
Winner of The Lefty Award for Best Historical Novel
A New York Times Best Mystery Novel of the Year
A Parade Magazine 101 Best Mystery Books of All Time
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
A Washington Post Best Mystery and Thriller of the Year
“Searing . . . This is as much a crime novel as it is a family and societal tragedy, filtering one of the cruelest examples of American prejudice through the prism of one young woman determined to assert her independence, whatever the cost.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Naomi Hirahara was destined to write Clark and Division . . . The vibrant characters, the history and the aura of determined optimism that permeate the novel make it feel like the beginning of a saga not unlike Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs mysteries.”
—Los Angeles Times
“A rich and vibrant portrayal of Nisei life.”
—Los Angeles Review of Books
Hirahara humanizes the struggles of Japanese Americans rebuilding their lives from scratch. Her evocation of Little Tokyo haunts will bring a flood of memories for some Angelenos while introducing a new generation of readers to a pivotal period in LA history."
The historical details are accurate, heartrending, and eye-opening.”
★ 05/01/2023
Hirahara's series about the Ito family's experiences as detainees at the concentration camp Manzanar continues (after Clark and Division) as the family is finally allowed to return to their home in California. Aki Ito Nakasone has taken up work as a nurse's aide at the Japanese Hospital in Los Angeles while she waits for her new husband Art to be discharged from the all-Nisei 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team. When she examines an elderly man who comes in for treatment of an infection, she notices his body is covered in bruises. Her shock magnifies when she recognizes his son—Babe Watanabe, Art's best man at their wedding. Soon Aki and her family are embroiled in the mess Babe has made, adding to the tension between the reunited newlyweds. Art's inability to share his war experiences and his PTSD drive them further apart. VERDICT Once again, Hirahara illuminates the experiences of Japanese Americans during World War II by embodying them in the lives of the Ito family. The author weaves a compelling tale, which is all the more poignant as it reminds readers of the shameful treatment of Japanese Americans, along with the racial prejudice still at work. A must-read.—Julie Ciccarelli
★ 2023-05-24
A compassionate caregiver risks all to solve a brutal crime.
Hirahara’s beautifully crafted novel opens with a poem that poignantly describes the loss and devastation inflicted on Japanese Americans forced into internment camps. In 1946, two years after she was released from Manzanar, Aki Ito works as a nurse’s aide in the newly reopened Japanese Hospital in East Los Angeles, her home before the war. Noticing signs of abuse on newly admitted patient Haruki Watanabe, she asks to speak to the son who brought him to the hospital. This, surprisingly, turns out to be Shinji, aka Babe, the best friend of Aki’s husband, Art, and the best man at their wedding in Chicago a year and a half earlier. Babe served in the Army with Art, who’s days away from discharge himself. Flashbacks filled with family and friends describe the couple’s efforts to rebuild a life after detention and move the story from Aki’s stint in Chicago to her current life in LA. When Mr. Watanabe is shot, Aki tries to contact Babe, but he’s no longer at the hotel where he and his father had been living. A sense of duty and her affection for the avuncular Watanabe compel her to dig deeper, and Art’s homecoming provides further impetus and support. Hirahara expertly folds this crime story into her insightful and fully realized portrait of postwar America and the struggles of Japanese Americans to come to terms with the American society that had imprisoned them during the war. Aki and Art’s sleuthing takes them all over the city, most significantly through the criminal underworld, on the way to a complex solution. The mystery adds urgency to this historical snapshot but never overpowers it.
A thought-provoking noir with a searing period flavor.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940160076300 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Recorded Books, LLC |
| Publication date: | 08/01/2023 |
| Series: | Japantown Mysteries , #2 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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