Sayonara Slam is the highly anticipated sixth book in the award-winning Mas Arai mystery series. Set at Dodger Stadium during the Japan vs. Korea World Baseball Classic, the novel challenges its stoic protagonist—an aging, widowed Japanese American gardener from Altadena—with yet another multi-layered whodunit.

Who is that strange woman throwing knuckleball pitches to warm up the Japanese team? Who sent thugs to threaten Mas and accuse him of treason? What was in the deleted files on the murdered sportswriter’s computer, and did they hold secrets that led to his death? The more mysteries Mas uncovers, the deeper he gets drawn into a situation that soon grows dangerous and even threatens the affection of the woman he might someday admit he loves.

Join author and social historian Naomi Hirahara for a discussion of the backstory behind Sayonara Slam, which includes a little-known Japanese-style garden at Dodger Stadium, as well her journey to bring Japanese American stories to a mainstream audience. A former editor of The Rafu Shimpo, Hirahara has published a number of nonfiction books on the Japanese American experience in addition to her mystery novels and books for younger readers.

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