Naomi Hirahara is an American author and creator of the Edgar Award-winning Mas Arai Mystery Series of books as well as the Officer Ellie Rush Series. Naomi built up a solid reputation as a non-fiction book author before delving into fiction.

Naomi was born in Pasadena, California to Japanese parents. Her father was born in California, but was taken to Japan as a child and lived in Hiroshima. He was only miles away from the blast of the atomic bomb, but managed to survive and move with his wife May back to California. Naomi grew up in California and received her bachelor’s degree in international relations from Stanford University. She also studied at the Inter-University Center for Advanced Japanese Language Studies in Tokyo. She worked as reporter for The Rafu Shimpo and as a professor before focusing on writing.

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Publication Order of Japantown Mystery Books

Publication Order of Leilani Santiago Hawai'i Mystery Books

Iced in Paradise (2019)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
An Eternal Lei (2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Mas Arai Books

Summer of the Big Bachi (2004)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Gasa-Gasa Girl (2005)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Snakeskin Shamisen (2006)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Blood Hina (2010)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Strawberry Yellow (2013)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Sayonara Slam (2016)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Hiroshima Boy (2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Officer Ellie Rush Books

Murder on Bamboo Lane (2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Grave on Grand Avenue (2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Distinguished Asian American Business Leaders (2003)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Life After Manzanar (With: Heather C. Lindquist,Art Hansen) (2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Scent of Flowers (2020)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
We Are Here (With: ILLI Ferandez) (2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Anthologies

The Darker Mask(2008)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder in La-La Land(2009)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Los Angeles Noir 2(2010)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Shaken: Stories for Japan(2011)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Writing Crime Fiction(2012)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Writes of Passage(2014)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Ladies' Night(2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Asian Pulp(2015)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Santa Cruz Noir(2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Gary Phillips' Hollis for Hire(2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Stop the World: Snapshots from a Pandemic(2020)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Silver Waves of Summer(2021)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Crime Hits Home(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
South Central Noir(2022)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Black Cat Weekly #96(2023)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon Anthology 2023(2023)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

If You Like Naomi Hirahara Books, You’ll Love…

The first book in the Mas Arai series is Summer of the Big Bachi. Bachi refers to the spirit of retribution who has come looking for Mas Arai. The Japanese-American gardener who is finding his life of sin catching up with him. A stranger comes asking about his friend from back home in Hiroshima and soon that friend ends up dead. Mas finds his own life in danger as secrets from his past come back to haunt him. This novel ties in war-torn Hiroshima with modern day Pasadena in a mystery of family and loyalty.

Murder on Bamboo Lane is the first book in the Officer Ellie Rush series. This book follows bike cop Ellie Rush who dreams of becoming a homicide detective. Those dreams don’t prepare her for encountering the dead body of a college classmate though. Ellie will find herself deep into this investigation of her former classmate and find out first hand what some will do to keep their secrets.

Order of Books » Authors » Order of Naomi Hirahara Books

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