First impression [no spoiler]

[Eric]

I know it's probably the genre but this book does remind me of two other detective stories:
Blade Runner: where the movie uses Chinatown as the background for exotic characters, scenes, and foods. Kind of like what Chabon did with some Jewish culture elements here.
The Last Policeman: also a homicide investigation in a world that is soon to be crushed (in its case, literally).

[Robert]

The (entirely incidental) stuffed marten in the cellar reminded me of the stuffed ferret in Zero History (the last of William Gibson's Blue Ant Trilogy).

Stylistically, the book reminds me of the sf/police-procedural mix that is The City & the City by China Miéville. I agree, that's probably the genre.

There are a lot of science fiction and fantasy/mystery cross-overs with some similarities, including the venerable The Caves of Steel, the amusing The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump, and the wonderfully noir/satire Darkworld Detective. But I think The Yiddish Policemen's Union is likely the best written.

[Eric]

Today's NYT podcast talked about Israel. The first part has a lot of modern Zionist history that is new to me. Serves as a good context for this story
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/po...