Stuff contributed by gasagasagirl

Death of an Origamist

Chapter Six—The Other Woman

Naomi Hirahara

Sachi was always a bit intimidated by beautiful women, especially Asian ones. She herself ranked about a 5 in appearance, maybe a 6 when she was in her late twenties and playing in a volleyball league. She had daikon ashi, white radish-shaped legs that were good for squatting to set …

Death of an Origamist

Chapter Five—Chicken McNuggets Confidential

Naomi Hirahara

Sachi Yamane didn’t know what it was like to be fired. She had snagged her job at Los Angeles County General Hospital after she had finished nursing school. That had been almost forty years ago and she had stayed in its ER ever since.

Death of an Origamist

Chapter Four—The Inner Circle

Naomi Hirahara

T-Rex, also known as Craig Buck, was dead. Sachi Yamane felt like she was going to collapse right there at the banquet table in front of their Star Wars origami centerpiece. How could that be? She had just spent an hour with the master origamist in his exclusive class in …

Death of an Origamist

Chapter Three—Little Black Dress

Naomi Hirahara

“Well, how was T-Rex’s class?” Barbara Lu, Sachi Yamane’s roommate at the convention hotel, asked. Seated at the desk by the window, Barbara was folding one of her trademark origami otters.

Death of an Origamist

Chapter Two—Doctor Death

Naomi Hirahara

“So what we will be folding is…”

Death of an Origamist

Chapter One—Que Sera, Sera

Naomi Hirahara

For the past three days, Sachi Yamane was in heaven. Origami heaven, that is. Not only was she immersed in her most favorite pastime—folding square pieces of paper into three-dimensional sculptures, but she also was away from her everyday life of tending to gunshot wounds, battered women, and sick babies. …

Nikkei Detective

Chapter Twelve—Keep on Shining

Naomi Hirahara

Read Chapter Eleven >>

Nikkei Detective

Chapter Eleven—True Confessions

Naomi Hirahara

Read Chapter Ten >> We’re in my LAPD pal’s black-and-white. Officer Doug Brenner makes me sit in the back seat—it’s protocol—like I’m a common criminal, and unfortunately this isn’t the first time for me. You see, I’ve been under arrest in the past, but now I’m a concerned father. My 14-year-old …

Nikkei Detective

Chapter Ten—Following the Doc Martens

Naomi Hirahara

Read Chapter Nine >> Some people, when faced with a crisis, go ballistic. They run around, their faces red and their voices bellowing. Others get stone cold. I’m in the latter category, which I guess is a good thing because I’m a PI. And right now on one of the …

How West L.A. Became a Haven for Japanese-Americans

Naomi Hirahara

Long Before It Was the Westside’s Ramen Epicenter, Sawtelle Boulevard Bustled with Japanese-Owned Nurseries and ‘Gardeners’ Colleges’

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About

Naomi Hirahara is the Edgar Award-winning author of two mystery series set in Los Angeles. Her Mas Arai series, which features a Hiroshima survivor and gardener, has been translated into Japanese, Korean and French. Her first Mas Arai novel, SUMMER OF THE BIG BACHI, is currently being developed into an independent film. A former editor of The Rafu Shimpo newspaper and curator of historical exhibitions, she has also published noir short stories, middle-grade fiction and nonfiction books, including TERMINAL ISLAND: LOST COMMUNITIES OF LOS ANGELES and two biographies for the Japanese American National Museum, including AN AMERICAN SON: THE STORY OF GEORGE ARATANI, FOUNDER OF MIKASA AND KENWOOD. Co-written with Heather Lindquist, a book on the struggles of Japanese Americans after being released from Manzanar concentration camp (LIFE AFTER MANZANAR) was published by Heyday Books in 2018. Her seventh and final Mas Arai mystery, HIROSHIMA BOY, was released the same year. Set to be released in September 2019, her new mystery, ICED IN PARADISE, will follow the adventures of Leilani Santiago, who operates her family’s shave ice business in Kaua’i. She received her bachelor’s degree in international relations from Stanford University.

Nikkei interests

  • community history
  • family stories
  • festival/matsuri
  • Japanese/Nikkei food
  • Japantowns
  • language

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