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dmahanty's review against another edition
3.0
A Mass Arai mystery. Mas returns to Watsonvillle, his birth town, for his cousin's funeral. As Mas investigates his cousins death; family rivalries, the Japanese influence on agriculture, and the history of WW11 Hiroshima and the relocation camps in the US reveal themselves. I enjoyed the other books in the series better, but this was still a good one.
chonkeyhong's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jnelly14's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
cubro's review
3.0
Very evocative of the work and life of agriculture workers areas around Watsonville, Monterey, Castroville and the larger Monterey peninsula. The mystery is much less the centerpiece than the story of the Japanese families who lived and worked there. That said the book was too long and dense with characters and motives.
rosseroo's review
3.0
There seems to be a minor boom in recent years of crime series featuring crotchety old men who prefer to be left alone, but find themselves grudgingly (an grumblingly) involved in murder. The interesting twist in this series which I'd not heard of before, is that the crotchety old man is Japanese-American who lives in LA working as a gardener. This appears to be the 5th book in the series, and I picked it up because it takes place further north in and around Watsonville, quite close to where my wife grew up.
The plot has Mas Arai driving up from LA in his rickety ancient pickup to attend the funeral of his cousin Shug, whom he spent formative years with, but hasn't been close to in a long time. Shug was a strawberry breeder who was working on some kind of variety that would resist the (fictional) virus that threatens the entire California strawberry crop in the book. Despite Mas's attempts to leave, various family obligations keep compelling him to stay, and eventually start poking around into the murky world of strawberry breeding and his cousin's death.
The story also delves deeply into the past of the Japanese-Americans who settled in that part of California, and of their imprisonment in World War II internment camps. I guess it's kind of interesting as a glimpse into that history, and it's always nice to have protagonists with more diverse backgrounds. Mas is certainly a colorful character, but his grumpiness is more gimmicky than charming on the whole. More importantly, the plot itself never really grabbed me, and so it's not a series I feel compelled to seek out and read more of.
The plot has Mas Arai driving up from LA in his rickety ancient pickup to attend the funeral of his cousin Shug, whom he spent formative years with, but hasn't been close to in a long time. Shug was a strawberry breeder who was working on some kind of variety that would resist the (fictional) virus that threatens the entire California strawberry crop in the book. Despite Mas's attempts to leave, various family obligations keep compelling him to stay, and eventually start poking around into the murky world of strawberry breeding and his cousin's death.
The story also delves deeply into the past of the Japanese-Americans who settled in that part of California, and of their imprisonment in World War II internment camps. I guess it's kind of interesting as a glimpse into that history, and it's always nice to have protagonists with more diverse backgrounds. Mas is certainly a colorful character, but his grumpiness is more gimmicky than charming on the whole. More importantly, the plot itself never really grabbed me, and so it's not a series I feel compelled to seek out and read more of.
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