The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon

The first tip that this was an alternate history fiction was my knowledge of Northern Exposure. I was pretty sure, based on the TV Show, that there was no Jewish territory in Alaska. Because Joel Fleischman would have mentioned it.

I’m pretty embarrassed that that is what tipped me off, but I’m often gullible because I assume there’s a lot of stuff I just don’t know about.

The second tip was when they offhandedly mentioned dropping an atomic bomb on Berlin.

Michael Chabon is a great storyteller. This is ostensibly a mystery novel, but the best mystery novels are those where you don’t care about the mystery, you just enjoy the ride. This is one of those books.

If he ever dove into a topic that lights my fires like cryptography or science or money, Chabon would rank up there with Neal Stephenson.

But hard-boiled Jewish detectives in a mythical Jewish state in Alaska is pretty okay, too.