Edgar Award-winning author Naomi Hirahara has announced that her next mystery, to be released next year, will be titled “Strawberry Yellow.”

An image from the Japanese translation of "Snakeshin Shamisen."

This will be the fifth novel featuring amateur sleuth Mas Arai, a gardener and Hiroshima survivor. The other books in the series are “Summer of the Big Bachi,” “Gasa-gasa Girl,” “Snakeskin Shamisen” and “Blood Hina.”

The story will be set in Watsonville, where Hirahara has family ties. Her late father Isamu — who was the inspiration for the Mas Arai character — was born there, moved to Japan, returned to Watsonville after World War II, and later relocated to Southern California.

Hirahara is also the author of nonfiction books about Japanese American history, including A Taste for Strawberries: The Independent Journey of Nisei Farmer Manabi Hirasaki” and “Green Makers: Japanese American Gardeners in Southern California.”

On the Web: http://naomihirahara.com/ or visit Naomi Hirahara or Mas Arai on Facebook.