I’ve read this before, so I knew that I would enjoy it this time, but I had forgotten just how good it is. The premise is bonkers: It’s a noir story featuring a detective from an alternate history where the U.S. made part of Alaska available to Jewish refugees in the 1930s. The story picks up in the mid-2000s, when a strange murder unfolds in the months before the “Federal District of Sitka” is returned to Alaska.

The characters are compelling, the writing is beautiful, and the story is amazing through its twists and turns. It makes me want to read some more of Chabon!

• The Yiddish Policemen's Union
• Michael Chabon
• Peter Riegert
• alternate history