The Yiddish Policemen's Union is an alternate reality novel where, after the WWII, Jews were relocated to Sitka, Alaska. The lead character is Meyer Landsman, a disillusioned but still occasionally brilliant policeman who wants to make a final effort in solving a case before the Sitka district becomes again an official part of The United States.

The alternate history gives the writer an opportunity to set his story into an environment which is familiar from old crime novels but in which almost all of the characters are Jewish. Other than that, though, the history has a limited role in the story; it obviously affects the story and is, in some ways, prominent as a plot device, but with minor tweaks the story could've been set in just about any small town.

Chabon uses the opportunity to fill the dialogue with Yiddish (?) vocabulary. Even though you get used to it, it still makes the novel a bit tedious to read - it may fit the characters but it doesn't really add to the story itself.

Having said that, though, the crime - a junkie Messiah getting shot in the middle of the night - is intriguing, and the plot thickens satisfactorily. Chabon knows how to create suspects, and he knows how to drop hints - but you'll probably notice them only after they get pointed out.