Midnight Burning

 We at Men Reading Books have already reviewed at least seven Paul Levine books, and all have been favorably received. Perhaps, he is best known for his Jake Lassiter series, and the subtitle of Midnight Burning is An Einstein Chaplin Thriller. While being a thriller (no doubt about that), it is also a very clever book of historical fiction. Hopefully, there will be more books about his two protagonists.

In real life 1937, Einstein and Chaplin were probably the two most famous men in the world. Chaplin had produced many short films in the 1910’s, but then he began producing feature films in the 1920’s and 1930’s, including City Lights, Modern Times, and notably for this book, The Great Dictator in 1940. Einstein had already written his General Theory of Relativity. He was widely considered to be the smartest man in the world. These two men were friends and clearly enjoyed each other’s company. The fictional dialogue that Levine created was fantastic, exceedingly crafty.

 

The story takes place in Los Angeles during 1937, and it focuses on Hitler’s rise to power and the inhuman nature of that realm. People were afraid to disagree with the Third Reich as the result of their obvious brutality. There was a large German population in Los Angeles which was not only supportive of Hitler, but there were active plans to overthrow the U.S. government. Levine used a Keystone Cops type of story regarding the group's attempt to steal machine guns from an armory in Long Beach, as well as their failed attempt to train soldiers at the Murphy Ranch in Whittier, California. The police department in L.A. was corrupt and backed the pro-fascist groups. Given the nature of the Third Reich and it’s fascist supporters, Einstein found himself reconsidering his ardent pacifist views. He had been against participating in the research to develop the atom bomb, but he knew that the scientists in Germany were close to developing their own bomb. Although very conflicted about doing so, Einstein was compelled to lobby FDR to provide funds for the research.

 

I loved this story, and it only solidifies my plans to read more Paul Levine. This book definitely gets my strongest recommendation. The information about the German presence and influence in Southern California is consistent with a historical fiction novel by Susan Elia MacNeal entitled Daughter Traitor Spy which I’ve favorably reviewed in the blog.