By Liz Soares
At first, this New Englander wondered at the multiculturalism of 21st century Los Angeles as depicted in this book. Its characters are Americans of Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, and Thai descent—or mixtures of two or three of these ethnicities. Really?
Then I thought of my own upbringing, in the 20th century, in southeastern Massachusetts. My grandparents were immigrants from Portugal and Brazil. My friends grandparents came from Poland, Québec, Ireland, Russia, Italy . . . .
Yes, I could relate after all.
Murder on Bamboo Lane is a solid, entertaining and intriguing mystery, published as a paperback original.
The novel introduces readers to LAPD bicycle detective Ellie Rush. The daughter of a Japanese-American mother and white father, Ellie has graduated from Pan Pacific West College a year early. She’s eager to follow in the footsteps of her accomplished aunt, Cheryl Toma, who is the highest ranking Asian in the police department.
A body has been found on Ellie’s turf, the southern area of the central division. It’s someone she knows slightly from her college days. Jenny Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American, had dropped out of PPWC for a semester, apparently for financial reasons. When she disappeared, Ellie’s friend Rickie, put up signs asking people for information. But he is reluctant to share what he knows about Jenny.
Susana Perez, Jenny’s best friend, doesn’t want to talk to the police because she’s an illegal alien.
Tuan Le, the dead woman’s boyfriend, is an artist and a self-proclaimed Communist. Why did he give Jenny a Smith & Wesson?
Jenny’s mother had returned to Vietnam, and was later murdered there. Could any of the LA officials who had been on a trade mission to that country have been involved? Was Jenny trying to find out what happened to her mom?
As she explores these tangled threads, Ellie questions her aunt’s ethics. What seemed at first like the tragic murder of an innocent college student turns out to have much deeper ramifications.
Ellie is fluent in Spanish, thanks to her college studies, and her paternal grandmother, a flamboyant Spanish teacher who has embraced the culture despite her WASP heritage. Her mother is a breast cancer survivor, and her brother, Noah, is a pothead. Crochety Grandma Toma, who has just turned 88, also lives with the family.
Although she’s a frequent visitor to her parents’ home, Ellie has her own apartment, which she shares with Shippo, “the fattest white chihuahua in the world.” She drives a bright green, 1969 Buick Skylark, which is the “size of a small cargo ship.” Ellie calls it “The Green Mile.”
She’s just broken up with her Korean boyfriend, Ben, so when Detective Cortez Williams, an African-American, catches her eye, she welcomes his attentions. Unfortunately, Ellie learns that work and play don’t always mix. Ellie also double-dates with her best friend, Nay (a Cambodian), with hilarious results.
“Chubby,” says Nay’s date, “I didn’t even want to go out with you. It was all my brother’s doing. He’s into ball crushers like your friend.”
Naomi HIrahara deftly mixes humor with suspense, and a clear-eyed look at the cultural and ethnic mash-up that is Southern California. She has successfully paved the way for Ellie Rush to engage in her next bicycle-cop adventure.
Then I thought of my own upbringing, in the 20th century, in southeastern Massachusetts. My grandparents were immigrants from Portugal and Brazil. My friends grandparents came from Poland, Québec, Ireland, Russia, Italy . . . .
Yes, I could relate after all.
Murder on Bamboo Lane is a solid, entertaining and intriguing mystery, published as a paperback original.
The novel introduces readers to LAPD bicycle detective Ellie Rush. The daughter of a Japanese-American mother and white father, Ellie has graduated from Pan Pacific West College a year early. She’s eager to follow in the footsteps of her accomplished aunt, Cheryl Toma, who is the highest ranking Asian in the police department.
A body has been found on Ellie’s turf, the southern area of the central division. It’s someone she knows slightly from her college days. Jenny Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American, had dropped out of PPWC for a semester, apparently for financial reasons. When she disappeared, Ellie’s friend Rickie, put up signs asking people for information. But he is reluctant to share what he knows about Jenny.
Susana Perez, Jenny’s best friend, doesn’t want to talk to the police because she’s an illegal alien.
Tuan Le, the dead woman’s boyfriend, is an artist and a self-proclaimed Communist. Why did he give Jenny a Smith & Wesson?
Jenny’s mother had returned to Vietnam, and was later murdered there. Could any of the LA officials who had been on a trade mission to that country have been involved? Was Jenny trying to find out what happened to her mom?
As she explores these tangled threads, Ellie questions her aunt’s ethics. What seemed at first like the tragic murder of an innocent college student turns out to have much deeper ramifications.
Ellie is fluent in Spanish, thanks to her college studies, and her paternal grandmother, a flamboyant Spanish teacher who has embraced the culture despite her WASP heritage. Her mother is a breast cancer survivor, and her brother, Noah, is a pothead. Crochety Grandma Toma, who has just turned 88, also lives with the family.
Although she’s a frequent visitor to her parents’ home, Ellie has her own apartment, which she shares with Shippo, “the fattest white chihuahua in the world.” She drives a bright green, 1969 Buick Skylark, which is the “size of a small cargo ship.” Ellie calls it “The Green Mile.”
She’s just broken up with her Korean boyfriend, Ben, so when Detective Cortez Williams, an African-American, catches her eye, she welcomes his attentions. Unfortunately, Ellie learns that work and play don’t always mix. Ellie also double-dates with her best friend, Nay (a Cambodian), with hilarious results.
“Chubby,” says Nay’s date, “I didn’t even want to go out with you. It was all my brother’s doing. He’s into ball crushers like your friend.”
Naomi HIrahara deftly mixes humor with suspense, and a clear-eyed look at the cultural and ethnic mash-up that is Southern California. She has successfully paved the way for Ellie Rush to engage in her next bicycle-cop adventure.
