"Midnight Burning" By Paul Levine: Review/Giveaway

Review by J. M. Landon

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”---Albert Einstein

In this thriller, Paul Levine makes the famous characters Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin best friends and partners in fighting crime. In this historic novel, the unlikely friends work to stop the Third Reich from taking root in America prior to WWII. Eistein is a pacifist fighting evil with equations and impeccable problem solving, while Chaplin fights with satire and physical prowess

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Image Source Blank Slate Press

With Operation Hollywood, the Silver Shirts (the American version of the Brown Shirts in Germany) are plotting to kill twenty-three Jewish Hollywood pillars to damage the foundation of America through its entertainment. Society was influenced by the big screen then, even more than now. The Silver Shirts learn through their well-placed spies that Chaplin is working on creating a satirical version of Hitler and the Reich called the Little Dictator. This, of course, is not acceptable, so Chaplin is added to the hit list. Then it comes to their attention that Einstein might join American scientists in the creation of a nuclear bomb with his fission theories. That’s right, add him to the hit list as well. At the same time Chaplin and Einstein discover the goal of Operation Hollowood and do their best to muck it up.

The Silver Shirts try to assassinate Chaplin and Einstein but are foiled because of the inexperience of the killers and the intellect of the targets. There is a flavor of the Keystone Cops in these scenes, but the reader still feels the tension in the attempts on the lives of these two key men in history. When the Silver Shirts’ attempt to steal from an armory results in a large fire with bullets and flares going off, Chaplin and Einstein save the day through some fireworks of their own.

This well-researched historical novel has amazing scenes and clever dialogue. Levine is the author of twenty-four novels, winner of the John D. MacDonald Fiction Award, and has been nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, and International Thriller awards.

Based on Midnight Burning, I believe all his novels would be well worth the time invested in reading them.

To enter to win a copy of Midnight Burning, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "midnight burning,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen September 27, 2025. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like. 

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You can click here to purchase this book.

J.M. Landon is retired and blissfully at work on the ‘great American novel.’ She’s worn many hats through her career including: wife, mother, piano teacher, middle school teacher, university professor, painter, jewelry maker, and dragon tamer. She has eight published short stories.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.