History and Mystery: Author Panel

Register Here!

Join mystery authors Cara Black, Rob Osler, and Naomi Hirahara, in collaboration with the Bay Area Book Festival, for a spine tingling panel, moderated by Gigi Pandian!

From postwar France, to turn of the century Japantown, to progressive-era Chicago, the stories of Black, Osler, and Hirahara infuse gripping mysteries with rich historical context. Learn more about their research and writing process in conversation with Gigi Pandian, author of the historical fiction mystery series Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries.

Join us at 5:30 pm for a murder mystery themed cocktail hour! Panel begins at 6:30 pm.

Engage with Mechanics’ Institute’s ongoing mystery readers and writers’ groups; learn more about the Brown Bag Mystery Readers here.

About the Speakers

Cara Black is the author of twenty-one books in the New York Times bestselling Aimée Leduc series as well as the WWII thrillers Three Hours in Paris and Night Flight to Paris. Her latest book, Huguette, explores post-war France. She has won the Médaille de la Ville de Paris and the Médaille d’Or du Rayonnement Culturel and received multiple nominations for the Anthony and Macavity Awards; her books have been translated into German, Norwegian, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew. She lives in San Francisco.

Rob Osler is the USA Today Bestselling Author of The Harriet Morrow Investigates Series. Book one, The Case of the Missing Maid, won the 2026 Left Coast Crime Award for Best Historical Novel and was a New York Times’ Best Historical Release, a Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choice, an Amazon Editor’s Pick, a Lambda Literary Award finalist for best LGBTQ+ mystery, and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Book two, The Case of the Murdered Muckraker, also received a Publishers Weekly starred review and was an instant USA Today Bestseller. For his other work, Rob has been an Edgar finalist and has won the Anthony, Lefty, and the Mystery Writers of America Robert L. Fish Award. Born and raised in Boise, he lives in San Francisco with his husband and a tall gray cat.

Naomi Hirahara is an Edgar Award-winning author of multiple traditional mystery series and noir short stories. Her Mas Arai mysteries, which have been published in Japanese, Korean and French, feature a Los Angeles gardener and Hiroshima survivor who solves crimes. Her first historical mystery, Clark and Division, which won a Mary Higgins Clark Award, follows a Japanese American family’s move to Chicago in 1944 after being released from a California wartime detention center. A former journalist with The Rafu Shimpo newspaper, Naomi has also written numerous non-fiction history books and curated exhibitions. She has also written a middle-grade novel, 1001 Cranes. Her follow-up to Clark and Division, Evergreen, was on the USA Today bestseller list for two weeks. Her latest book is Crown City.

About the Moderator

Gigi Pandian is a USA Today bestselling mystery author, locked-room mystery enthusiast, and fan of exploring ruined castles in the rain. She’s been awarded Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Derringer awards, and been a finalist for the Edgar. She writes the Accidental Alchemist mysteries (humorous cozy fantasy mysteries), the Secret Staircase mysteries (locked-room mysteries called “wildly entertaining” by the New York Times), and the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt mysteries (lighthearted adventures steeped in history). Gigi lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and a gargoyle who watches over the backyard garden.

Members: $10, Non-Members: $20