Lupica's third Spenser sequel sees the poetic P.I. hired by a man who may be the son of an ultra-popular, ultra-controversial podcaster. Of interest to me as a former fiction editor, the novel's premise seems to have been reworked. Penguin Random House has the revised synopsis referenced above, but the original still appears on the audiobook listing at Amazon for now.
In 1937, targeted by American fascist William Dudley Pelley, Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin scramble to foil Pelley's plot to assassinate twenty celebrities and touch off insurrection. Cover design by Anya Blue Extrapolating from a true meeting of Einstein and Chaplin at a 1931 movie premiere, mingling historical figures and fictional characters, Paul Levine spins a tale both faithful to the past and relevant to the present. A longtime fan of his legal thrillers and screenwriting, I'm glad to see after retiring his best-known hero Jake Lassiter in 2023's Early Grave , Levine is back broaching sensitive subject matter with compelling storytelling and heartening courage. Midnight Burning goes on sale September 16. Thanks again to publicist Wiley Saichek for the review copy.