What is the title of your latest release?
MIDNIGHT BURNING
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
When American Nazis conspire to assassinate twenty celebrities and ignite an insurrection, the world’s two most famous men—Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin—fight back, armed only with ingenuity, raw courage, and the iron resolve of the LAPD’s first Black female officer. Inspired by a true story. It’s the first of a series featuring the Genius and the Tramp.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Los Angeles was a hotbed of fascist groups in the 1930s. The Silver Legion of America, run by William Dudley Pelley who called himself the “American Hitler,” assembled a paramilitary force with the aim of overthrowing the U.S. government. That true story is the underpinning of the novel and reminds us that the struggle between democracy and tyranny never ends.
Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Oh, I’d love to hang out with Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin! What a dinner party it would be.
What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Einstein: Brilliant. Compassionate. Witty.
Chaplin: Timeless. Mischievous. Humanitarian.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
World War Two was so all-encompassing it virtually eliminated our memory of the 1930’s. Fascists marched in American streets, sent their children to summer camps modeled after Hitler Youth camps, and plotted violence. There was great resistance to the USA helping England when attacked by Germany. The isolationists, led by Charles Lindbergh, were vicious in their attacks on FDR, the British, and Jewish executives in the entertainment industry.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I do “rolling edits,” stopping every 40 or 50 pages and going back to perform surgery.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Pizza with pepperoni slathered with honey and chili oil. Indulgent, I’ll say!
Describe your writing space/office!
I have a corner room (windows on two sides) in our house in Santa Barbara. I keep the windows open virtually every day of the year and get an ocean breeze that reminds me: get out of the house once in a while! You’re 300 yards from the beach…why are you working 12 hours a day? There is no correct answer. I’ve likened writing to an incurable virus. A storyteller can never shake the bug.
Who is an author you admire?
Kristin Hannah. “The Nightingale” is historical fiction at its finest.
Is there a book that changed your life?
John D. MacDonald’s THE DEEP BLUE GOOD-BYE, first of the Travis McGee series. McGee was a model for my linebacker-turned-lawyer Jake Lassiter. Rugged with a keen sense of justice and empathy for the underdog.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
It literally was a call to a judge’s chambers in Islamorada, Florida in 1988. I was trying a case, and my agent was trying to reach me. I returned the call on a pay phone (there were no cell phones), and he told me that Bantam made an offer for “To Speak for the Dead,” featuring Jake Lassiter, and a second, as-yet unwritten book. Hardcover and mass market paperback. There were no ebooks.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Crime fiction, but now that I’ve written my first historical thriller (as my 24th book), I’m reading more period pieces.
What’s your favorite movie?
Just one? How about a few? “Lawrence of Arabia.” “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” “Godfather” (1 and 2). “All About Eve.” “When Harry Met Sally.” “Sunset Boulevard.” “Double Indemnity.” “The Verdict.” “Witness for the Prosecution.” If forced to name a more recent movie, I might go with “No Country for Old Men.”
What is your favorite season?
Autumn a/k/a college football season, specifically Penn State football.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
By pretending I’ve gotten a year younger.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I love Mick Herron’s “Slow Horses” series. Both his books and the television show starring Gary Oldman.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Italian.
What do you do when you have free time?
I listen to astronomy podcasts.
What can readers expect from you next?
MIDNIGHT BURNING is the first of a series featuring real-life friends Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin. It takes place in the first week of May 1937, coinciding with the Hindenburg’s crossing from Germany to the USA. Spoiler alert. It’s not a great landing. The second book begins October 31, 1940, the date of the premiere of Chaplin’s classic “The Great Dictator.” Lampooning Adolf Hitler does not come without consequences. The second half of the book takes place on the Santa Fe Super Chief on a trip from Chicago to Los Angeles. Aboard, in addition to our heroes, William Randolph Hearst, Charles Lindbergh, Lena Horne, two FBI agents, mobster Mickey Cohen, and German spymaster Fritz Duquesne.
MIDNIGHT BURNING by Paul Levine
Einstein-Chaplin Thriller
The Genius and the Tramp Fight Fascists in 1930s Hollywood.
“Ingeniously pairs real-life friends Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin on a roller coaster ride to save America from a fascist threat within its borders.” – Jacqueline Winspear, author of the Maisie Dobbs series.
It’s 1937 and clouds of war gather over Europe, and American fascists march at home. While the FBI chases suspected communists, Nazi agents plot an armed insurrection. When the world’s two most famous men—Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin—uncover the scheme, which includes the assassination of Hollywood’s biggest stars, they fight back with nothing but their ingenuity, raw courage, and the fierce resolve of Georgia Ann Robinson, LAPD’s first Black female officer.
A dangerous chase takes our heroes into the heart of darkness, a fascist encampment in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles, where a militia armed with machine guns plans its attack. Batten the hatches: it’s brains versus brawn in an explosive, unforgettable finale.
Praised by The New York Times for his “realistic, gritty, and fun” novels, Paul Levine delivers a wildly inventive thriller laced with humor and a larger-than-life cast, including Charles Lindbergh, Douglas Fairbanks, William Randolph Hearst, and Joseph Goebbels.
“Inspired by historical events and the real-life friendship between Chaplin and Einstein, award-winning mystery writer Levine, author of the Jake Lassiter series, has carefully crafted an intriguing and in many ways timely historical thriller that immerses readers in the world of 1930s Los Angeles.” – Booklist
Thriller Historical | Thriller [Blank Slate Press, On Sale: September 16, 2025, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781943075966 / eISBN: 9781943075973]
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About Paul Levine
The author of twenty-four novels, Paul Levine won the John D. MacDonald Fiction Award and has been nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, International Thriller, Shamus, and James Thurber prizes. In Midnight Burning, his newest novel, real-life friends Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin fight fascists in 1930s Hollywood. A former trial lawyer, Levine also wrote twenty episodes of the CBS military drama JAG and co-created the Supreme Court drama First Monday starring James Garner and Joe Mantegna. The international bestseller, To Speak for the Dead introduced readers to linebacker-turned-lawyer Jake Lassiter and was named one of the top mysteries of the year by the Los Angeles Times. Early Grave, the latest Lassiter novel, was named the third best legal thriller of the 21st Century by BestThrillers.com, just behind novels by Michael Connelly and John Grisham. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Solomon vs. Lord series of legal capers. He is a member of Penn State’s Society of Distinguished Alumni and graduated, with honors, from the University of Miami School of Law. He lives in Santa Barbara, CA.
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