Summary from Booklist:

Author of five mysteries featuring Ecuadorian American Filomena Buscarsela as a New York detective, Wishnia here explores the history of Jewish persecution during the sixteenth-century Inquisition. Set in Prague, the story features famous Rabbi Loew and his not-so-famous shammes (synagogue sexton), Benyamin Ben-Akiva. On Passover, a Christian girl is murdered and left in a Jewish shop, stirring up wild accusations of blood libel and witchcraft against the Jews. Benyamin endeavors to find the culprit, wending his way carefully as clues take him into the Christian community. When the situation degenerates into violence, he calls on Yahweh and his greatly divided children for the power to overcome evil, often using Talmudic analogies to convince Jews to break the letter of the law for the sake of life itself. Readers of Lisa Goldstein’s Alchemist’s Door (2002) and Harry Mulisch’s The Procedure (2001), both about Golem in sixteenth-century Prague, will feel at home here, but Richard Zimler’s The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon (1998), about the massacre of Portuguese Jews in 1506, may come closest to matching Wishnia’s powerful (some may feel too detailed) evocations of Jewish persecution. A densely philosophical yet surprisingly witty historical mystery. –Jen Baker –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

My Review:

I’m really torn on how to review this book.  Because on one hand, I think it was absolutely brilliant although at times I felt as if the author was writing for a specific audience and, while I’m on the fringed edge of that audience, there were parts I just couldn’t grasp, and on the other hand I found that the mystery was more of a distraction then anything else.

I think the best way to review The Fifth Servant is to look at it two ways; first, as a murder mystery and second, as a historical novel dealing with the friction in 16th century Prague between the Christians and the Jews.

As a murder mystery, I found The Fifth Servant to be lacking.  The details of the murder were so lost in all of the politics between religions, the rich descriptions of Prague, the smattering of strange words (although a helpful translation guide is located at the end of the book – something I figured out about 3/4ths of the way through), and the endless debating that the Jews are portrayed to do.  While the murder was, initially, a fantastic hook into the story, it just seemed to slowly grow less and less the main focus of the book, although the characters actions tried to keep it a focus.  There was simply too much going on.

Which leads me to the second thing this book is, a historical novel.  As this, I found the book to be incredible.  I knew so little about this time period and place that I found everything to be fascinating.  I had no idea that the Jews had their special place (and relative protection) and for the reasons stated in this book.  I found the descriptions and language to be completely immersive and, understandably, I felt lost at times because I was not familiar with street names and the Hebrew and Czech languages.

I think for a history buff, and someone interested in the religious and political aspects of this novel, that there are few out there that can compare.  It’s obvious that Kenneth Wishnia has done his research and spent much time and effort in creating a book that would, as accurately as possible, capture 16th century Prague.

About the Author

Kenneth Wishnia was born in Hanover, N.H. to a roving band of traveling academics. He has lived and worked (and been chased by riot police) on three continents, including several years in Scotland, France and Ecuador. The urgent need for a day job forced him to earn a B.A. from Brown University (1982) and a Ph.D. in comparative literature from SUNY Stony Brook (1996). He teaches writing, literature and other deviant forms of thought at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood, Long Island, where he is an Associate Professor of English, and would like you to know that, despite all the crap ya gotta put up with, being a writer is a dream come true.

His first novel, 23 Shades of Black, was nominated for the Edgar and the Anthony Awards and made Booklist’s Best First Mystery list, and was followed by four other novels, including Soft Money, which Library Journal listed as one of the Best Mysteries of the Year, and Red House, which was a Washington Post Book World “Rave” Book of the Year in 2002. His short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Murder in Vegas, Queens Noir, and elsewhere.

He has held many odd jobs over the years (simultaneous translator, carpenter, furniture builder and mover, rehearsal pianist, opera chorus singer, extra in film and TV, etc. You get the idea). He studied mime in Paris, taught English to the Ecuadorian Army, and worked in New York theatre for many years. He is married to a wonderful Catholic woman from Ecuador, and they have two children who are completely insane.

Kenneth Wishnia’s website.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from TLC Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”