The Fifth Servant, by Kenneth Wishnia

Can a killer be tracked in only three days?

Benyamin Ben-Akiva, a young Talmudic scholar in Prague, has just arrived from Poland. While conducting his daily duties as a shammes (or servant), he hears the mournful cries of a distressed parent calling for their child throughout the city streets, the sound piercing his heart. A short while later, a young Christian girl is found murdered with her throat slashed in the shop of a Jewish owner.

On this night in 1592, the night before Passover, the Jewish community in Prague is suffering the oppression of religious discrimination. Christian "authorities" arrest the Jewish shopkeeper and hold him for blood libel, without any investigation to the crime scene at all. The laws of might overtake right, and with Ben-Akiva being new to the area, there aren't many friends he can count on right now. But without his help, the shopkeeper will not meet a friendly end. There is no option for Ben-Akiva but to ensure that a fair and thorough investigation is conducted.

With the help of common sense and scholarly insight, Ben-Akiva begins what almost becomes a modern day crime novel, investigating and searching the crime scene, canvassing areas to talk to witnesses, and piecing clues and evidence together to identify suspects. There isn't much flexibility or willingness by the community, though, to help the investigation proceed. Doubt, mistrust, religious stereotyping - the history of another time ultimately becomes the central focus of this novel.

Only at the outset was it slow to keep my attention - while I was enthralled by the imagery Wishnia provided, I was put off by the modernization of the dialogue. And although Wishnia includes an author's note clarifying his reasons for bringing 16th century conversations to a more contemporary approach, I did (only initially) struggle with it. I much prefer historical fiction to be representative (or as closely as it can be, or maybe even how it is imagined it would be) to the actual speech patterns and word usage that are found during that time so it did make it difficult to get into the rhythm of the book.

Once I did, though, it was a highly enjoyable read. I appreciate Jewish fiction and especially historical fiction, so to be able to combine the two and then throw a murder mystery on top of that, added to my overall pleasure. While I do wish the mystery played a more central part throughout the story, I could accept that the primary discussion Wishnia focused on was of the interaction and struggles that the Jewish community experienced during this time. The spiritual and personal challenges of Ben-Akiva and others provided fantastic character development, and I enjoyed the insight into these characters. Wishnia does provide a helpful glossary in the back of the book, however he does a fantastic job of sentence structure to contextualize it so that you may not need to use the glossary.

Richly described and exuding the smells and sounds of what 16th century Prague surely must have been like, Wishnia has clearly researched thoroughly for The Fifth Servant, and it is a strikingly beautiful and gritty look into this time period. Whether it is a group of Jesuits walking on the cobbled streets, or a tough scene of torture and interrogation of a potential "witch," Wishnia has superbly captured scenes so vivid that in several instances, a moment of reflection was needed before proceeding. I look forward to more of his work.

About the Author

Kenneth Wishnia has a Ph.D. in comparative literature. His crime fiction has been nominated for the Edgar and Anthony Awards. He teaches composition, literature, and creative writing at Suffolk Community College on Long Island, where he lives with his wife and children.

Visit the author's website by clicking here.

Happy Reading,

Coffee and a Book Chick

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Many thanks to Trish with TLC Book Tours for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

Please take a look through the upcoming tour schedule to read more reviews!

Tuesday, February 8th: Raging Bibliomania
Wednesday, February 9th: My Two Blessings
Thursday, February 10th: Coffee and a Book Chick
Monday, February 14th: Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books
Thursday, February 17th: Man of La Book
Friday, February 18th: Chaotic Compendiums
Wednesday, February 23rd: The Lost Entwife
Thursday, February 23rd: In the Next Room
Thursday, February 24th: Book Journey
Monday, February 28th: Wordsmithonia
Wednesday, March 2nd: Rundpinne