Strawberry Yellow (A Mas Arai Mystery)
Watsonville, California, is not only a mecca for strawberry growers, but also the birthplace of Japanese American Mas Arai, who returns in another entry in this quietly entertaining mystery series. The curmudgeonly septuagenarian journeys to Watsonville to attend the funeral of his cousin Shug, part of a group of youths with whom Mas lived when he returned to America after the bombing of Hiroshima. In the ensuing years, cousin Shug had become a renowned strawberry breeder and was poised to introduce a new blight-resistant berry, curiously named after Mas himself. With competition among local breeders running high, could Shug’s death be murder? And why, after all these years apart and all his success, would Shug name his revolutionay fruit after a very “unspectacular” L.A. gardener? Mas, less an amateur detective than a cranky, accidental one, is what makes the story work. His obdurance, his skill as a listener, and even his broken English are charming in a quirky, uncomplicated way that makes up for a perhaps less dramatic tale than the previous series entries. --Stephanie Zvirin