Naomi Hirahara Reading Order

121 books (2002–2025)

Akashic Noir is an ongoing mystery anthology series edited by Naomi Hirahara that launched in 2002 with San Francisco Noir and continues through 2025 with over 121 volumes published to date. Each book collects original noir fiction stories set in a different city or region, from Brooklyn and Chicago to Dublin and London, offering readers diverse voices and locales within the noir genre. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with San Francisco Noir, though individual volumes can be enjoyed as standalone anthologies. This collection showcases mystery and thriller writing across multiple geographic settings and author perspectives.

Start with San Francisco Noir, the first of 121 books in the Akashic Noir series.

#	Title
1	San Francisco Noir 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Bronx Noir 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Seattle Noir 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Brooklyn Noir 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Hasidic Noir 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Brooklyn Noir 2 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Chicago Noir 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Dublin Noir 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Baltimore Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	D.C. Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	London Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Manhattan Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Miami Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Twin Cities Noir 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Detroit Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Havana Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Los Angeles Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	New Orleans Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Wall Street Noir 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Brooklyn Noir 3: Nothing But the Truth 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	D.C. Noir 2 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Istanbul Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Las Vegas Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Manhattan Noir 2 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Paris Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Queens Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Toronto Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Trinidad Noir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	Boston Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Delhi Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Phoenix Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Portland Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	Rome Noir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	San Francisco Noir 2 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	Copenhagen Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	Haiti Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	Indian Country Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	Lone Star Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	Los Angeles Noir 2 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	Mexico City Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
41	Moscow Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
42	Orange County Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
43	Philadelphia Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
44	Richmond Noir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
45	Barcelona Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
46	Cape Cod Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
47	New Jersey Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
48	Pittsburgh Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
49	San Diego Noir 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
50	Boston Noir 2 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
51	Kansas City Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
52	Kingston Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
53	Long Island Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
54	Mumbai Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
55	St. Petersburg Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
56	Staten Island Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
57	Venice Noir 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
58	Buffalo Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
59	Dallas Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
60	Haiti Noir 2 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
61	Manila Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
62	USA Noir 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
63	Belfast Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
64	Helsinki Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
65	Prison Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
66	Rio Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
67	Singapore Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
68	Tehran Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
69	Tel Aviv Noir 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
70	Beirut Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
71	Chicago Noir: The Classics 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
72	Marseille Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
73	Memphis Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
74	Providence Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
75	Zagreb Noir 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
76	Brussels Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
77	Mississippi Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
78	New Orleans Noir: The Classics 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
79	Prague Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
80	San Juan Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
81	St. Louis Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
82	Stockholm Noir 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
83	Atlanta Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
84	Buenos Aires Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
85	Montana Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
86	Montreal Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
87	New Haven Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
88	Oakland Noir 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
89	Trinidad Noir: The Classics 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
90	Baghdad Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
91	Berlin Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
92	Hong Kong Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
93	Lagos Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
94	Marrakech Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
95	Santa Cruz Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
96	Sydney Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
97	São Paulo Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
98	Vancouver Noir 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
99	Amsterdam Noir 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
100	Houston Noir 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
101	Milwaukee Noir 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
102	Accra Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
103	Addis Ababa Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
104	Alabama Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
105	Belgrade Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
106	Berkeley Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
107	Columbus Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
108	Miami Noir: The Classics 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
109	Nairobi Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
110	Santa Fe Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
111	Tampa Bay Noir 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
112	Palm Springs Noir 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
113	Denver Noir 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
114	Paris Noir: The Suburbs 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
115	South Central Noir 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
116	Cleveland Noir 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
117	East Jerusalem Noir 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
118	West Jerusalem Noir 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
119	Honolulu Noir 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
120	Hamburg Noir 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
121	Sacramento Noir 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

13 books (2008–2025)

Naomi Hirahara has edited or co-edited this ongoing anthology series spanning from 2008 to 2025, comprising twelve volumes that should be read in publication order. The collections blend mystery, thriller, and non-fiction perspectives, featuring diverse voices and stories. Readers looking to explore the full range should begin with The Darker Mask and continue through the most recent entry, Killin' Time in San Diego: Bouchercon Anthology 2023, with The Twisted Women's Book Club as the latest addition.

Start with The Darker Mask, the first of 12 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	The Darker Mask 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Murder in La-La Land 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Shaken: Stories for Japan 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Writing Crime Fiction 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Writes of Passage 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Asian Pulp 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Ladies' Night 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Gary Phillips' Hollis for Hire 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Stop the World: Snapshots from a Pandemic 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Silver Waves of Summer 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Crime Hits Home 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon Anthology 2023 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Twisted Women's Book Club 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (2021–2026)

The Japantown Mystery series is an ongoing mystery and thriller trilogy by Naomi Hirahara, consisting of three books published between 2021 and 2026. The novels should be read in publication order, beginning with Clark and Division, followed by Evergreen, and then Crown City.

Start with Clark and Division and read in order.

#	Title
1	Clark and Division 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Evergreen 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Crown City 2026Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2019–2022)

This two-book mystery series by Naomi Hirahara follows detective Leilani Santiago in Hawaii. The novels were published between 2019 and 2022 and should be read in publication order, beginning with Iced in Paradise followed by An Eternal Lei. The series appears to be complete.

Start with Iced in Paradise and read in order.

#	Title
1	Iced in Paradise 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	An Eternal Lei 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

7 books (2004–2018)

The Mas Arai mystery series follows a Japanese American protagonist across seven novels published between 2004 and 2018. Written by Naomi Hirahara, the complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with Summer of the Big Bachi and concluding with Hiroshima Boy. The books blend mystery and thriller elements with the author's background in nonfiction, creating a grounded detective series that unfolds chronologically across its seven installments.

Start with Summer of the Big Bachi, the first of 7 books in the Mas Arai series.

#	Title
1	Summer of the Big Bachi 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Gasa-Gasa Girl 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Snakeskin Shamisen 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Blood Hina 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Strawberry Yellow 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Sayonara Slam 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Hiroshima Boy 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (2003–2022)

Naomi Hirahara's four-book non-fiction series spans nearly two decades from 2003 to 2022, exploring themes of Asian American history, identity, and achievement. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Distinguished Asian American Business Leaders and continuing through Life After Manzanar, A Scent of Flowers, and We Are Here. Several titles are collaborative works written with other historians and researchers. The series appears to be complete as no new releases have been announced since 2022.

Start with Distinguished Asian American Business Leaders, the first of 4 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	Distinguished Asian American Business Leaders 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Life After Manzanar(With: Heather C. Lindquist,Art Hansen) 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	A Scent of Flowers 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	We Are Here(With: ILLI Ferandez) 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2014–2015)

Officer Ellie Rush is a two-book mystery series by Naomi Hirahara featuring a Japanese American police officer navigating crime and community in Los Angeles. The complete series consists of Murder on Bamboo Lane and Grave on Grand Avenue, published in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Read the books in publication order to follow the character's development and ongoing investigations.

Start with Murder on Bamboo Lane and read in order.

#	Title
1	Murder on Bamboo Lane 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Grave on Grand Avenue 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2008–2008)

#	Title
1	1001 Cranes 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible