Snakeskin Shamisen

The other three reviews have done a good job of summarizing the plot in this book. I would just like to add that I have read all three of the Mas Arai mysteries and felt that this by far was the best. The characters were the most realistic, the writing style has evolved and to me flows the best of the three, and the book itself was pretty intriguing. It had me turning the pages to see what would happen next. Having grown up in the area and being a Sansei (third-generation Japanese-American), the book held special interest for me because of the characters, locale, and situations. But even without this, it is a book that is worthwhile reading. I'd recommend it unhesitatingly.

Hirahara just gets better with each book. She gives you so much texture of an entire subculture interwound with the generic American social mix. Think Faulkner's intense rendering of the internal and mutual forces affecting the characters, but using plain, unassuming diction and simple sentences for style. Then, essentially, the mystery piece is a set problem -- like Houdini, someone we can care about is going to (metaphorically)drown tied in handcuffs in a tank of water unless somehow the puzzle can be solved in time. This dynamic -- only solution or tragedy can be the outcome -- creates a real sense of value to all that texture. There is an uncluttered genius to the density Hirahara manages to express in simple language.

This is the third outing for Los Angeles gardener Mas Arai and Hirahara generally maintains her high standards in delineating the characters of both the people of the Japanese-American subculture and their city. One of Mas's friends has won a half-million dollar jackpot on a slot machine -- which Mas, an inveterate horse and card player, ordinarily considers a sucker bet -- and the celebration thrown by another of his friends ends with the murder of the winner. Mas gets sucked into things against his will and soon is trying to figure out how an antique Okinawan musical instrument became involved, and what the crime might have to do with another death fifty years before. And then the Department of Homeland Security gets into the act. The plot doesn't seem quite as well thought out as in the first two books, but I enjoyed the interplay among the characters, . . . especially Mas's interest in a female African-Okinawan detective.

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 immediate 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 1950s 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 inquiries 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. Harriet Klausner