The Genius and the Tramp Battle Fascists in 1930s Hollywood

Inspired by real events,"Midnight Burning" finds Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin fighting for their lives and for democracy itself.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Bestselling author Paul Levine's Midnight Burning, a historical thriller set in the Golden Age of Hollywood, is available today wherever books are sold. Inspired by a true story, the novel takes place against the backdrop of war brewing in Europe and fascists marching on American streets.

The plot: When American Nazis conspire to assassinate twenty celebrities and spark an insurrection, the world's two most famous men—Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin—fight back with brains, courage…and the iron will of the LAPD's first Black female officer.

Rooted in history: Einstein and Chaplin were close friends, and Sgt. Georgia Ann Robinson was the first Black female officer in the LAPD.  Also true, a fascist militia plotted to kill Chaplin and other Hollywood figures and overthrow the U.S. government. Weaving fact and fiction, Midnight Burning imagines the genius, the tramp, and the trailblazing cop leading a desperate fight against the fascist conspiracy.

Hailed by The New York Times for his "realistic, gritty, and fun" novels, Levine delivers a wildly inventive thriller laced with humor, history and a larger-than-life cast including Charles Lindbergh, William Randolph Hearst, Douglas Fairbanks,and Hitler's propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.

Early praise: "Inspired by historical events and the real-life friendship between Chaplin and Einstein, award-winning mystery writer Paul 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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul Levine is the #1 bestselling author of the "Jake Lassiter" and "Solomon vs. Lord" series. Early Grave, the latest Lassiter tale, clocked in at #3 on "Best Thrillers" list of the "Best Legal Thrillers" of the 21st Century—trailing only novels by Michael Connelly and John Grisham.  Solomon vs. Lord and State vs. Lassiter also made the list. Midnight Burning, first of a series, is Levine's 24^th novel and his first work of historical fiction.

Website: https://www.paul-levine.com

Book Specs: Publishing September 16, 2025 - Nittany Valley Productions, Inc./Blank Slate Press/Amphorae Publishing Group - ISBN 978-1943075966, trade paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

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SOURCE Nittany Valley Productions, Inc.