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Kenneth Wishnia is the author of The Fifth Servant, and his crime fiction has been nominated for the Edgar and Anthony awards. He has a PhD in comparative literature and teaches composition, literature, and creative writing at Suffolk Community College on Long Island, where he lives with his wife and children.
The Fifth Servant: A Novel
by Dead Shore
eBook
$6.99
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ISBN-13:
9780061966170
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication date: 01/26/2010
- Sold by: HARPERCOLLINS
- Format: eBook
- Pages: 416
- File size: 826 KB
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Whoever saves a single life saves the entire world . . .
In 1592, as the Catholic Church and the Protestants battle for control of the soul of Europe, Prague is a relatively safe harbor in the religious storm. Ruled by Emperor Rudolph II, the city is a refuge for Jews who live within the gated walls of its ghetto. But their lives are jeopardized when a young Christian girl is found with her throat slashed in a Jewish shop on the eve of Passover. Charged with blood libel, the shopkeeper and his family are arrested. All that stands in the way of a rabid Christian mob is a clever Talmudic scholar, newly arrived from Poland, named Benyamin Ben-Akiva. Pleading the shopkeeper's innocence to the city's sheriff, Benyamin is given three days to bring the true killer to justice.
But the search will not be easy. Hampered by rabbinic law, and with no allies or connections, Benyamin has only his wits, knowledge, and faith to guide him on his quest—a trail that weaves from the city's teeming streets to the quiet of a shul, from the forbidden back rooms of a ghetto brothel to the emperor's lavish palace.
The Talmud says many things in life depend on mazl, luck. Fortunately, Benyamin is blessed, for an unlikely group of heroes will risk their own lives to help him discover the truth: Anya, a Christian butcher's daughter; the renowned reformist rabbi Judah Loew; a wise herbal healer known as Kassandra the Bohemian; and even the emperor himself.
Who would most profit from the girl's murder—and from having the entire ghetto sealed off? Is the killer a Christian indebted to the girl's apothecary father? Or a messianic Jew bent on the destruction of his people to precipitate the Messiah's coming? The desperate search for answers is complicated by the arrival of a new Holy Inquisitor determined to root out witchcraft and heresy, and reclaim the fractious Bohemian territory for Rome. With time running out, Benyamin must dare the impossible—and commit the unthinkable—to save the Jews of Prague . . . and his own life.
Infused with history and spiritual insight, rich in atmosphere and color, The Fifth Servant vividly re-creates sixteenth-century Prague—a bustling city where superstition, ignorance, and hatred clash with curiosity, knowledge, and tolerance; a world in which innocent lives are swept away by political and religious struggles, and righteous men and women sacrifice everything in the name of justice and truth.
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Publishers Weekly
Set in 16th-century Prague, Wishnia’s outstanding debut convincingly transforms a Jewish sexton and his rabbinic mentor into a plausible pair of sleuths. Just before the start of Passover, the discovery of the bloody corpse of Gerta Janek, “a blond girl, maybe seven years old,” inside the store of Jacob Federn, a Jewish businessman, triggers the inevitable revival of the blood libel and threat of mass retribution against the entire Jewish community. Benyamin Ben-Akiva, the newly arrived shammes, has three days to prove that someone other than Federn is guilty of Gerta’s brutal murder. He faces opposition from his own people, but manages to win the respect and support of the legendary Rabbi Loew, who helps him gain access to the body so that a rudimentary examination can be done, though many Gentiles are offended by the very notion. Well-developed characters and detailed portrayals of life at the time help make this historical crime thriller a gripping page-turner. (Feb.)Library Journal
Life in central Europe during the 16th century was daunting, especially for the Jews of Prague. Forced by papal decree to live within a walled ghetto, Jews were relatively safe from Christian persecution—but not for long. On the eve of Passover in 1592, a young Christian girl is found murdered in a Jewish shop, causing panic for Christians and Jews alike. The Jews are accused of stealing the girl's blood, a crime that threatens to remove what little security and freedom they have. Recently arrived from Poland, the rabbi's new sexton, Benyamin Ben-Akiva, is given three days by the Jewish authorities to find the real killer, or the entire Jewish population could face annihilation. VERDICT This fast-paced historical from Edgar nominee Wishnia (23 Shades of Black) combines scholarly historical details that bring the 16th century alive with believable characters and a compelling mystery. Highly recommended for mystery lovers and fans of historical fiction. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 10/1/09.]—Marika Zemke, Commerce Twp. Community Lib., MIKirkus Reviews
Christians ferociously persecute Jews during the Easter/Passover season in late-16th-century Prague. Most of this debut novel unfolds in or near the ghetto. Forbidden to leave its confines unless wearing "the Jew badge," the ghetto's denizens are nonetheless reasonably content in Prague, "a city that tolerated us, surrounded by an empire full of people who hated us," explains narrator Benyamin Ben-Akiva, a rabbinical student recently arrived from the provincial town of Slonim. One day, however, a Christian girl's body is discovered drained of blood, and Jews are immediately suspected of a ritual killing. The author has Christian characters voicing every paranoid prejudice handed down through the centuries, including the claim that "Jews kill a Christian every year so they can mix the blood with their filthy Passover bread." In an atmosphere of agitation, uneasiness and panic, even Christians who seem willing to live in uneasy accord with those practicing another religion are suspicious-sometimes secretively, sometimes overtly-of Jewish magic. Jewish authorities, hoping to stave off possible genocide by solving the murder themselves, put Benyamin on the case with Rabbi Loew. Unfamiliar with the culture of the city and far more hot-headed than the meticulous rabbi, Benyamin occasionally gets into trouble with his quick mouth. But his intuitive insights complement the rabbi's more rational, plodding approach, and they make a good team. Wishnia plays interestingly with role-reversal: A young Christian woman converts to Judaism, while a young Jew must disguise himself as a Christian to infiltrate a cadre plotting to destroy the ghetto during a week holy to both Jews and Christians. Worksnicely on at least three levels: as history, mystery and theology.Forward
The Fifth Servant suceeds at its goal: to keep you turning pages, and, when you’re finished, wanting more.Booklist
Powerful . . . A densely philosophical yet surprisingly witty historical mystery.The Jewish Journal
Think Sherlock Holmes with a dash of Woody Allen. Philip Roth and Stephen King. Mystery plus comedy. Detective novel meets Yiddish folk tale. Then add a little history and you have Kenneth Wishnia’s “The Fifth Servant”, a smart funny page turner that I hated to see end.