Author Visit: Naomi Hirahara - Fiction Book Group

Join us online to discuss Crown City, by Naomi Hirahara—and meet the author!
Pasadena, 1903: Eighteen-year-old Ryunosuke 'Ryui' Wada staggers off the boat from Yokohama, Japan, ready to reinvent himself after the untimely deaths of his parents. Though battling loneliness and culture shock, Ryui does his best to settle into his work as an art dealer's apprentice while adjusting to his new home.
In this fish-out-of-water mystery, studded with cameos by real historical figures, Edgar Award-winner Naomi Hirahara brings to life a fascinating slice of California history.
Naomi will stop by to talk to us and answer questions, and after her visit we will discuss Crown City.
About the Author:
Naomi Hirahara is the Mary Higgins Clark Award, Edgar Award, and Lefty Award–winning author of Clark and Division and Evergreen; the Mas Arai mystery series, including Summer of the Big Bachi, which was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year; and the LA-based Ellie Rush mysteries. A former editor of The Rafu Shimpo newspaper, she has co-written nonfiction books like Life after Manzanar and the award-winning Terminal Island: Lost Communities on America’s Edge. She and her husband make their home in Pasadena, California.
Menlo Park’s Fiction Book Group meets virtually on the second Tuesday of each month.
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 | 06:30 PM - 07:45 PM
Zoom webinar (register for link)
www.menlopark.gov/Government/Departments/Library-and-Community-Services/Events/Events-for-adults/20260811-Fiction-Book-Crown-City
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