Naomi Hirahara, Snakeskin Shamisen

Snakeskin Shamisen

Naomi Hirahara

Delta, May 2006, $12.00

ISBN: 0385339615

Hiroshima survivor gardener Mas Arai attends a gala honoring his friend attorney George "G.I." Hasuike at Mahalo Hawaiian restaurant in Torrance, California. Meanwhile the party's host Randy Yamashiro informs G.I. that he won $500K on a Spam slot machine during their recent trip to Vegas. Mas meets the fianc e of G.I. Juanita Gushiken and finds her charming; on the other hand he immediately dislikes Randy. When Randy and G.I. almost come to blows, Mas decides to leave.

Not long afterward Juanita asks Mas for help as someone stabbed Randy to death; the prime suspect is G.I. who had plenty of motives, 500,000 of them. Mas hesitantly agrees to investigate, but though he says no to her, Juanita insists on joining him every step of the way. The only clue so far is a five-decade old battered SNAKESKIN SHAMISEN Okinawa musical instrument left near the corpse.

Mas' third wonderful appearance (see SUMMER OF THE BIG BACHI and GASA-GASA GIRL) is a delightful look at a subculture today vs. the 1950's inside of a fine murder mystery with ties back to the happy days of the Eisenhower era. The reluctant hero is at his best as he makes enquiries and reflects back to just after WWII, but is also enhanced, often with humor, by the energetic female fireball Juanita. The whodunit is cleverly devised so that readers will enjoy a strong investigative tale, while also obtaining appreciative insight into a subculture.