(2021) Very good story told by a young Nissei who, along with her immediate family, was interned in Manzanar at the start of WWII. They are later allowed to move to Chicago following her sister Rose. She becomes obsessed to learn how her sister had died just before they arrived. She does some clever detective work to discover that a seemingly kindly white police officer had blackmailed Rose when she had obtained an abortion and later killed her. She does bring the culprit to justice with the help of good friends and family. This gives a good feeling of how the Japanese had to cope with being considered the ?enemy? in their home country.When a young Japanese American woman is murdered during World War II, her grieving younger sister turns sleuth to solve the crime.As she tells it, the story of young Aki Ito's family begins in Southern California in the 1920s. Mom emigrates from Japan in 1919 to marry Pop, who, starting as a farm laborer, rises to the post of market manager. Aki looks up to her elder sister, Rose, the star of the family. The bombing of Pearl Harbor changes everything for the family; they are sent to the Manzanar internment camp in 1942. Then, in June 1943, the War Relocation Authority recruits Rose to be one of the "loyal" nisei to move out of the camp and work in Chicago. Her boyfriend, Roy, follows a few months later. When the family is finally allowed to follow, they are greeted with the horrifying news that Rose is dead, killed by a subway train. Aki's decision to uncover the truth about Rose's death comes slowly. Hirahara immerses readers in this ignoble period in American history and in the family's grief, presented from Aki's wary, wide-eyed perspective. Learning that Rose had an abortion accelerates Aki's desire to know the truth. She's unsettled even further when Rose's death is ruled a suicide. Subsequent chapters begin with passages from Rose's diary, providing a chilling backdrop to the truth that is gradually revealed. Getting a job at the Newberry Library puts Aki closer to the heart of the city and exposes her to the casual racism all around her. Roy's failure to offer support and the fear and evasiveness of Rose's roommate, Tomi Kawamura, only harden Aki's determination to find answers. Her investigation becomes her rite of passage into adulthood.An effective whodunit that's also a sensitive coming-of-age story.Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021ISBN: 978-1-641-29249-8Page Count: 312Publisher: Soho Crime

Chicago, 1944: Twenty-year-old Aki Ito and her parents have just been released from Manzanar, where they have been detained by the US government since the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, together with thousands of other Japanese Americans. The life in California the Itos were forced to leave behind is gone; instead, they are being resettled two thousand miles away in Chicago, where Aki's older sister, Rose, was sent months earlier and moved to the new Japanese American neighborhood near Clark and Division streets. But on the eve of the Ito family's reunion, Rose is killed by a subway train.

The author attempts the difficult task of writing a mystery, exposing American racism in 1941, and depicting Japanese American society in 1941. It's a good book, but I have the feeling that it would have made a better book if she had taken on only of those two tasks instead of all three. That is the reason I gave it three stars instead of four. ( )

The year is 1944. The place is Chicago. Aki Ito and her parents have been relocated from their home in California to Chicago, and so have thousands of other Japanese Americans. Rose, Aki’s sister, has gone on before them, and they are excited to be reunited with her. But on the eve of this much-anticipated reunion, they are told that there has been an accident, and Rose is dead of a supposed suicide. Aki cannot believe that her sister, who loved life to the fullest and had plans and dreams, would kill herself. And so, Aki puts her own plan in motion: to find out exactly what her sister had been doing that led someone to murder her. This atmospheric mystery combines real history with fictional crimes, and the result is gripping and intriguing. The historic background is well-researched. The characters are well-defined and true to life. Aki is an amateur detective, and as such, she makes makes mistakes and puts herself, and her few friends, in danger. Some of what she does is a bit far-fetched, but it does add excitement and drama to the story, as does the locality of Chicago—a big city with all its inherent problems. It’s a heartbreaking story, but one that can be appreciated both on a historical level and as an entertaining mystery. ( )

Interesting setting was the best thing for me. ( )