“City Under One Roof” by Iris Yamashita989? ??? ??? ??forthcoming from Berkley, a division of Penguin Books.
A stranded detective tries to solve a murder in a tiny Alaskan town where everyone lives in a single high-rise building, in this gripping debut by an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter.
When a local teenager discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore of the small town of Point Mettier, Alaska, Cara Kennedy is on the case. A detective from Anchorage, she has her own motives for investigating the possible murder in this isolated place, which can be accessed only by a tunnel.
After a blizzard causes the tunnel to close indefinitely, Cara is stuck among the odd and suspicious residents of the town — all 205 of whom live in the same high-rise building and are as icy as the weather. Cara teams up with Point Mettier police officer Joe Barkowski, but before long the investigation is upended by fearsome gang members from a nearby native village.
Haunted by her past, Cara soon discovers that everyone in this town has something to hide. Will she be able to unravel their secrets before she unravels?
Born in Missouri, raised in Hawaii and having lived in Guam, California, and Japan, Yamashita was able to experience a diversity of culture while growing up. She studied engineering at UC San Diego and UC Berkeley and also spent a year at the University of Tokyo studying virtual reality. Her first love, however, has always been fiction writing, which she pursued as a hobby on the side.
Yamashita submitted her first screenplay to a competition where she was discovered by an agent at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) who offered to represent her. Her big break came when she was recruited to write the script “Letters From Iwo Jima” for director Clint Eastwood. It was named “Best Picture” by both the National Board of Review and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, received a Golden Globe award for “Best Foreign Language Film” of 2006 and was nominated for four Oscars, including “Best Picture” and “Best Original Screenplay.”
“City Under One Roof,” which will be released in January but can be pre-ordered now, is her debut mystery novel.
Yamashita continues to work in Hollywood, developing for both film and streaming media, and has also dabbled in writing a musical for a Japanese theme park with Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori. She has taught screenwriting at UCLA and the American Film Institute.
“‘City Under One Roof’ is a gripping, unsettling and oppressive thriller that welcomes a wonderful new talent to the genre. Prepare to be quickly immersed in this dark and moody murder mystery.” — Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of “Local Woman Missing”
“‘Northern Exposure’ meets ‘Dexter’ in this clever thriller in which an isolated community is rocked by a twisted murder, increasingly dark secrets and the terrifying knowledge that the people they always thought they knew are now the ones they should fear the most.” — Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of “One Step Too Far”
“Electric and fast-paced, this debut thriller is a testament to Yamashita’s skills as a storyteller. There’s no escape from the isolated Alaska setting for either the murder investigator or the reader. I fell down the rabbit hole and couldn’t come out until I read the final page.” — Naomi Hirahara, Edgar-winning author of “Clark and Division”
“Iris Yamashita delivers! Compelling characters, clever plot twists, and a story that will chill you to your bones. ‘City Under One Roof’ is a must-read thriller.” – Laura Griffin, New York Times bestselling author of “The Texas Murder Files”
“Iris Yamashita blasts into the world of crime fiction by doing something spectacular: introducing us to a totally unique location and sub-culture. A compulsive page-turner that’s both atmospheric and claustrophobic at the same time.” — C.J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author of “Shadows Reel”
“A well-crafted novel, told through the eyes of three very different women, with a wonderfully claustrophobic and atmospheric background.” — Ann Cleeves, New York Times bestselling author of “The Long Call” and Vera Stanhope novels
Author’s website: https://www.irisyamashita.com/