Chaucer’s Book Talk – Local Mystery Author Paul Levine

Sunday, September 21, 2025 at 3:00 PM 

Chaucer’s Books (3321 State Street) hosts local author Paul Levine for a book talk and signing of his newest novel Midnight Burning (An Einstein-Chaplin Thriller).

Description

The Genius and the Tramp Fight Fascists in 1930s Hollywood.

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 a true story. Learn more at paul-levine.com

About the Author

 The author of twenty-three 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. A former trial lawyer, he also wrote twenty episodes of the CBS military drama JAG. The international bestseller, To Speak for the Dead, was his first novel and introduced readers to linebacker-turned lawyer Jake Lassiter. Bum Rap was an Amazon Number One Bestseller. He divides his time between Santa Barbara and Miami.

Praise for Midnight Burning

“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.