It's difficult.to.imagine a friendship between the king of comedy and the reigning genius of science in the world at that time, and yet that's exactly what this book gives you, a glimpse into a friendship many probably never realized existed. And also gave us the knowledge that these two were patriots and heroes, even though Chaplin was banned from returning to America.due to the Red Scare. I also learned that the phrase being bandied about so casually right now that's causing such fear in some and such nationalism in others, America First, isn't new, but started back in WWII! What's old is new again! I was horror I fired reading of the Silver.Shirts,although I knew of homegrown Nazis. I just didn't realize how dangerous it had gotten, or how insidious it all was, involving dirty cops, political figures, and celebrities like Charles Lindbergh. What did.come thru was America's reluctance to believe and so reluctance to get involved in WWII until attacked. The Nazis were even providing the Japanese with weaponry for their part in the global war! So, all-in-all, a very enlightening, disturbing and sad book. Chaplin should be granted a heroes posthumous return! Such a great mind shunned. An excellent read, albeit a bit slow.

I forgot to send this to my kindle and it was archived by the time I got to it. My apologies . It sounded like an interesting book.

In 1937 America is conflicted, the FBI focus on finding Communists whilst American fascists are on the rise. Two men are determined to stop them, film star Charlie Chaplin and world famous physicist Albert Einstein.
This book uses real events as the foundation to the story, well written and very enjoyable, a timely read.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

Thank you to Net Galley and Blank Slate Press for an early copy of Midnight Burning by Paul Levine

"And now we have an innocent young man brutally murdered. We have a plot to slaughter nearly two dozen people. We have Americans in cahoots with a foreign power that is evil to its core. If we don't do something about, who will?"


Facts meet fiction throughout this thoroughly engaging read from author Paul Levine. From the world of early Hollywood and big=name actors and producers to the scientific breakthroughs that lead to the atomic bomb, Levine has created a page-turner that will have the reader on board start to conclusion.

Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein are friends in Hollywood in the 1930s when antisemitism and Nazi idolatry run rampant in the United States. When a plot is discovered to arm a pro Nazi group and a journalist hot on the story tumbles to his death, Chaplin and Epstein work alongside a savvy female sergeant in an ingenious showdown that features a bit of luck and a whole lot of science.

Real-life characters of Hollywood, Washington D.C., the media and Nazi leadership abound in the novel and will remind readers of just how widespread opinions were on the looming war. At the conclusion of Midnight Burning, readers may want to watch Oppenheimer or read The Women of Oak Ridge to get a deeper perspective on this unique time in American history.

A well-crafted plot, appealing characters and an historical context make Midnight Burning a must-read. Hopefully, author Paul Levine will continue the series.

The author concludes the novel with a wrap-up of "what really happened" to each of the main characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amphorae Publishing Group, LLC for this advance ARC in return for an honest review.

I was very much intrigued by the concept, two of the most famous people in America in the mid 30's, Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein, team up to foil an American Fascist / Nazi plot to sow dissension in America to keep the USA out of any possible European Conflict.

This historically based "thriller" includes several events( the Hindenberg Disaster being one ) and people for local color such as the head of the Silver Shirts, American Fascist, William Pelley, Joseph and Magda Goebbels, Hitler, German Consul, Georg Gyssling, Corrupt LA Police Chief Davis, not to mention Charles Lindbergh, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Ted Williams, and every ones favorite US Senator on the Nazi payroll, Ernest Lundeen.

What started off as fun and entertaining, lost steam as the dynamic duo start to investigate and ultimately thwart "Operation Hollywood" a real plot, to kill famous and powerful Jews in Hollywood. The deeper they got into solving the plot and going about trying to thwart it, the more inane the banter amongst our intrepid heroes got. I also was not impressed with Levine's effort to turn Pelley's Silver Shirts and Goebell's SS into slapstick antagonists. Although the real "operation Hollywood" was stopped, I doubt it was because the the Fascists were as inept as depicted in this story as opposed to the tireless efforts of Jewish Attorney Leon Lewis and his daring ring of spies dubbed by the Nazis as "the most dangerous Jew in Los Angeles."

Given the current political climate, and the epitome of Chaplain's "Great Dictator" in the White House, I thought this was a timely effort, but unfortunately it fell flat like a Charlie Chaplin prattfal.

Good concept, bad execution. I'm not a fan of villains always being bumbling idiots that accidently succeed and the hero's win based on coincidence and spectacle.

Midnight Burning is a historical thriller that imagines Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin teaming up to stop a fascist plot in 1930s Hollywood. The premise is undeniably intriguing, and Paul Levine brings a lot of energy to the story, blending real-life figures with fictional suspense.

However, the delivery drags on as it should not take multiple chapters to get through a single conversation. Some characters feel underdeveloped, and the plot is plodding. Overall, it’s a easy read with a unique concept, but it may leave readers wanting more nuance and polish. Worth checking out if you enjoy historical fiction with a twist, but temper expectations.

I love the idea of this book - Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin versus American Nazis!
When they learn about Operation Hollywood, a plot designed to kill famous Jews in the California film industry and spread terror among the less famous, the movie star and the scientist (who were actually friends in real life) decide to take action. With the aid of LAPD Sergeant Georgia Robinson, German Consul Georg Gyssling (a "good Nazi") and a heroic news reporter named Jimmy Mitchell, they learn what they can about the plot and figure out how to deal with a situation that the corrupt local police and Nazi sympathizers refuse to acknowledge officially.
While the events portrayed in this novel are serious, there is a great deal of humor in the behavior of both Einstein and Chaplin. They make a great team. Einstein is, of course, a genius whose knowledge of the German language and the terrible situation in his former homeland help uncover the details. Chaplin's connections in Hollywood and his natural athleticism make him a formidable partner. The descriptions of the American Nazis make it clear that while most of them were buffoons, they were still capable of doing tremendous harm.
While this book is fiction, many of the characters and events, like the fate of the Hindenburg blimp, the dimwitted Amerca First theories of Charles Lindburgh, the anguished involvement of the pacifist Einstein in the invention of nuclear weapons, and the details behind the making of both City Lights and The Great Dictator, are true. There is a very amusing conversation between William Randolph Hearst and a young Orson Welles that probably didn't happen, but I enjoyed thinking it might have.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Blank Slate Press for the opportunity to access a free advance reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a suprise. I didn't know much what to make of it but I was pleasantly suprised. The story was very captivating and the characters were all distinct and well-flushed out. My only critique would be that after the big event there needed to be more. It kind of quickly jumped forward in time and we didn't get to see much of the aftermath for Chaplin and Einstein. I would have like to see more reflection.

In Hollywood, as American fascists gather their supporters, Charlie Chaplin enlists his friend Einstein, visiting from Princeton, in a quest to defeat them.

I like the concept. It's worth remembering these days that there was an America First movement in the 1930s that had fascist leanings, and even a big Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden on the eave of WWII. It can happen here, and almost has.

However, I just couldn't buy into this story - it moved quickly, too quickly for my tastes to offer sufficient character development and I had trouble suspending my disbelief when it came to these historical figures engaged in these adventures.

Others, I'm sure, will enjoy the witty dialogue and the fast pace. It just wasn't for me.

Set in 1930s Hollywood with a cast of legitimately famous personages, it does show a great deal of diligent research as well as a wicked sense of humor and a solid plotline. Some of the real interpretations seem a mite scary in 2025 America.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from Amphorae Publishing Group, LLC | Blank Slate Press via NetGalley. Pub Date Sep 16, 2025 #goodreads #bookbub #librarything
#Midnight Burning by Paul Levine @jake_lassiter_novels @amphoraepublishing ***** #review
#historicalfiction #AlbertEinstein #CharlieChaplin #1930sHollywood #GoldenAgeOfHollywood #AntiFascism #PoliticalThriller #Bookstagram #BookLover #MustRead #Fiction #HollywoodHistory #ReadersOfInstagram #AntiFascism #FightFascism #PoliticalThriller #ThrillerNovel #filmindustry

I love history. Add in two icons of the 20th century and it's difficult to resist.

Good story and characters, though it took a chapter or two before I was hooked.

If you enjoy historical fiction with a quirky twist yet compelling characters, you might like this book.

Thank you Netgalley and the author.

ARC received from NetGalley

I enjoy Hollywood-centric fiction, especially historicals. Midnight Burning expands upon the friendship of Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin as they tangle with the threat of Nazism in their personal and professional spaces. As written, the story progresses somewhat like a Chaplin film in which the villains bumble around in preparation for their evil-doing, while the Tramp comes away unscathed.

What's wild about reading a book about two well known figures foiling facist plotting is that a story like this should stay fiction. As a supplement to this book, I watched "The Great Dictator", a film from 1940, and am stunned by it relevancy.

There are scary moments that come off scarier if you put this historical fiction into modern context. Overall, it is entertaining.

How could you not want to read a book with the unlikely pairing of Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein. This thriller from Paul Levine hooks you from the first page. While at times straining credulity the reader is more than happy to go on a wild ride with the two most famous men in the world, surely the oddest of odd couples. Chaplin the Little Tramp and Einstein the genius scientist and an avowed pacifist stumble on a plot hatched by the egotistic leader of an American Fascist cult, the Silver Shirts, to assassinate Hollywood's biggest moguls of the late 30's. Allowing the German Nazi regime to replace them with men sympathetic to Hitler and spread their Fascist propaganda across the 1000's of movie screens in America. And no, this is not made up. Much of Midnight Burning is based on real events of that dark period in American history. A deft blend of suspense, black humor and historical insight Midnight Burning is a perfect book for our times.

I was absolutely in love with this novel. The duo of Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin is ingenious as a Nazi fighting combo. I loved all the famous side character, but my favorite character is our first female detective. She has gumption, and grit and I love every scene she was a part of. This was a creative, well-written novel and I will be reading more by this author soon.

My thanks to NetGalley, publisher, and the author for allowing me an early read of this book. It was an enjoyable, fast paced caper through historical events of 1937, as two celebrities, Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein, take on American-Nazi fascists. There are enough real events, such as the Hindenburg explosion, the Charles Lindbergh “America First” group, and the famous Einstein-Szilard letter, to keep things “real.” And then there’s also the Chaplin-Einstein espionage, as they join a soirée at the German legate to acquire any information they can on “Operation Hollywood.” There’s enough near-misses and explosions to keep the reader on the seat of their pants, and the pacing moves swiftly to a satisfactory conclusion. Overall, I was entertained, and you can’t beat that with a Charlie Chaplin cane!

Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein are not only friends, but partners in solving crimes! What a concept in an enjoyable ARC provided by #NetGalley. #MidnightBurning was the perfect mix of historical fiction and mystery.

Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein - join forces to save Hollywood from fascist extremists. It made no sense to me, and I didn’t enjoy it. I can’t recommend it.
My thanks to Net Galley and the author for an ARC.

Hollywood, 1930's. This novel set in the time of Hollywood's golden years is filled with suspense and holds you page after page. More to my surprise about this event was that both Charlies Chaplin and Albert Einstein were friends for years. Not only that but they were able to capture the Nazi conspiracy to kill prominent Hollywood people, Indeed, two such different people that were friends for years. The book was well written, (distinct and intense) enjoyable and one that I would highly recommend.

This was a fascinating and VERY enjoyable read. Love the obvious research that Levine did as well as the license he took to tell us a story of friendship.
Although a period piece, it seems tragically and importantly relevant today with the rise of antisemitism, hate, and groups that purport to love the USA but do harm to it. Love that Levine is able to inform us, give us something to reflect on while all the time entertain us.

A page turner that's a lot of fun. The end note which explains how much of this story is based on fact adds a terrific historical perspective. There's serious matters being discussed here amongst the laughs, high jinks and adventures of the Little Tramp and the Twentieth Century's most famous mathematician.