Invited to New York by his estranged daughter, Mari, seventy-something Japanese gardener Mas Arai discovers that Mari has taken off, leaving Mas alone with his new son-in-law Lloyd, who is planning to open a Japanese garden, only to find himself caught up in murder when Lloyd's boss is found dead and Mari is arrested for the crime. Reprint.

From the time she was a child, Mas Arai’s daughter, Mari, was completely gasa-gasa–never sitting still, always on the go, getting into everything. And Mas, busy tending lawns, gambling, and struggling to put his Hiroshima past behind him, never had much time for the family he was trying to support. For years now, his resentful daughter has lived a continent away in New York City, and had a life he knew little about. But an anxious phone call from Mari asking for his help plunges the usually obstinate Mas into a series of startling situations from maneuvering in an unfamiliar city to making nice with his tall, blond son-in-law, Lloyd, to taking care of a sickly child…to finding a dead body in the rubble of a former koi pond. The victim was Kazzy Ouchi, a half-Japanese millionaire who also happened to be Mari and Lloyd’s boss. Stumbling onto the scene, Mas sees more amiss than the detectives do, but his instinct is to keep his mouth shut. Only when the case threatens his daughter and her family does Mas take action: patiently, stubbornly tugging at the end of a tangled, dangerous mystery. And as he does, he begins to lay bare a tragic secret on the dark side of an American dream.… Both a riveting mystery and a powerful story of passionate relationships across a cultural divide, Gasa-Gasa Girl is a tale told with heart and wisdom: an unforgettable portrait of fathers, daughters, and other strangers.

Depuis toujours, la fille de Mas Arai, Mari, est gasa-gasa - incapable de rester assise, toujours en mouvement. Et Mas, occupé à entretenir des pelouses et faire table rase de son passé de rescapé de Hiroshima, n'a jamais eu beaucoup de temps à lui consacrer. Mari est donc partie à New York et ne parle plus à son père. Un jour, pourtant, elle l'appelle à l'aide...

This creative memoir tells a coming of age story in a WWII Japanese-American internment camp

"Des années plus tôt, Mas avait vu une quantité de morts à Hiroshima, juste après le bombardement, mais c'était des corps calcinés, pas gelés comme celui-ci. Mas comprit qui était ce mort, avant même que Becca s'approche et murmure : "K-san". " Depuis toujours, la fille de Mas Arai, Mari, est gasa-gasa - toujours en mouvement. Et Mas, occupé à entretenir des pelouses et faire table rase de son passé, n'a jamais eu beaucoup de temps à lui consacrer. Mari est donc partie à New York et ne parle plus à son père. Un jour, pourtant, elle l'appelle à l'aide. Mas est aussitôt entraîné dans une série de situations surprenantes, comme tomber sur un cadavre dans un ancien bassin à carpes. La victime est un millionnaire qui tentait de restaurer le jardin japonais d'une vieille propriété de Brooklyn. Rapidement, Mas repère les indices ignorés par la police, mais son instinct le pousse à se taire. Seulement, l'affaire finit par éclabousser sa famille... obligeant le vieux jardinier à passer à l'action.

From Summer of the Big Bachi to Gasa-Gasa Girl, Naomi Hirahara’s acclaimed novels have featured one of mystery fiction’s most unique heroes: Mas Arai, a curmudgeonly L.A. gardener, Hiroshima survivor, and inveterate gambler. Few things get Mas more excited than gambling, so when he hears about a $500,000 win–from a novelty slot machine!–he’s torn between admiration and derision. But the stakes are quickly raised when the winner, a friend of Mas’s pal G. I. Hasuike, is found stabbed to death just days later. The last thing Mas wants to do is stick his nose in someone else’s business, but at G.I.’s prodding he reluctantly agrees to follow the trail of a battered snakeskin shamisen (a traditional Okinawan musical instrument) left at the scene of the crime…and suddenly finds himself caught up in a dark mystery that reaches from the islands of Okinawa to the streets of L.A.–a world of heartbreaking memories, deception, and murder.

Mas Arai's best friend Haruo is getting married, and he has grudgingly agreed to serve as best man. But when an ancient Japanese doll display of Haruo's fiancée goes missing, the wedding is called off with fingers pointed at Haruo. To solve the mystery to save Haruo's life, Mas must untangle a web of secrecy, heart-breaking memories, and murder.