Crown City, Naomi Hirahara
Crown City, Naomi Hirahara
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Crown City

Author: Naomi Hirahara

Narrator: Brian Nishii

Unabridged: 9 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 02/24/2026

Synopsis

Two Japanese American men hired to investigate an art theft discover something much more sinister in turn-of-the-century California—from the Mary Higgins Clark Award–winning author of Clark and Division. 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. From his enigmatic photographer roommate, Jack, to the beautiful seamstress living downstairs, Ryui finds himself surrounded by colorful characters and unbelievable opportunities and is soon utterly swept up in all “Crown City” has to offer. But tensions are seething under Pasadena’s bustling prosperity. Ryui is the victim of an anti-Japanese attack, and a painting is stolen from the studio of Toshio Aoki, Pasadena’s most successful Japanese artist, who then hires Ryui and Jack to investigate. It’s not long before their sleuthing leads them into real danger. Ryui is a naive young man in a foreign country—has he bitten off more than he can chew? In this fish-out-of-water mystery, studded with cameos by real historical figures, Edgar Award winner Naomi Hirahara brings to life a little-known slice of California history. “Poignant, marvellously well imagined, and deeply moving, this latest from Hirahara is sure to engage fans of historical fiction.”—First Clue Reviews

About Naomi Hirahara

Naomi Hirahara is the Edgar Award-winning author of the Mas Arai Mysteries and the first Ellie Rush Mystery, Murder on Bamboo Lane. Her historical Japantown Mystery, Clark and Division, which won the Mary Higgins Clark Award, is followed by Evergreen. She has also written a mystery series set in Kauai and a middle-grade novel, 1001 Cranes.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Miranda on January 19, 2026

I’m on the record as both a person who firmly believes that genre is fake, and also that genre is important and you ignore it at your peril. I think this position is logically consistent, and this book is a great illustration of why. This author often ends up grouped with mystery authors, but I thin......more

Goodreads review by Ray on February 28, 2026

Edgar-Award winning author Naomi Hirahara has gained quite a reputation detailing historical crime/mystery stories that deeply detail the Japanese experience in America. Her latest effort, CROWN CITY, is set in Pasadena, California, circa 1903 with the eighteen-year-old Japanese orphan named Ryunosu......more

Goodreads review by Amanda on March 02, 2026

4 STARS Crown City is a thoughtful and atmospheric mystery that blends crime, history, and community with Naomi Hirahara’s trademark care. The setting of Pasadena feels vivid and grounded, and the story unfolds at a steady, absorbing pace. Hirahara excels at layering social context into the mystery w......more

Goodreads review by Robert on March 02, 2026

Crown City is marketed as crime fiction and while there is plenty of crime in Naomi Hirara’s book, those looking for classic crime tropes are likely to be disappointed. Instead, Hirahara delivers a fascinating look at the ex-patriate Japanese population in Southern California around the turn of the......more

Goodreads review by Robin on March 23, 2026

I’ve enjoyed all the books in this series, but I would say Hirahara is more of an historian than a mystery writer. There is indeed a mystery in this book, but it’s the time period and setting that are the stars of the show, as is the main character, Ryui Wada, an accomplished carpenter. He’s come to......more

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