Clark and Division

The Ito family finds tragedy when the reach Chicago after their cross-country trip.

The Itos, a Japanese American family, were detained in a camp at Manzanar, California, in March 1942, shortly after Pearl Harbor. A year later, older daughter Rose is chosen to participate in an early release program and is resettled in Chicago. In 1944, Mr. and Mrs. Ito and their daughter Aki are released from the camp and are allowed to travel to Chicago to join Rose. But when they arrive, Rose is not there to meet them. They are told she has been hit by a train, an apparent suicide. Aki is certain that her much-loved sister would not take her own life and sets out to discover how she really died. The plot of this mystery is interwoven with realistic details about the Itos adjustment to life in a new place as they struggle to find jobs and community. If you enjoy crime fiction blended with history, you’ll find Clark and Division a worthwhile and interesting read.