A diverse author who moves easily between popular non-fiction and fiction, Allan has written five historical mystery novels. Two of the books in his acclaimed Sam Klein Trilogy were published by Random House Germany.
Heartland Associates, 2008 and Skyhorse, 2014
In the sizzling summer of 1871, New Yorkers talk about only two things: a murdered woman cruelly stuffed into a trunk and Tammany Hall’s insidious corruption.
Journalist Charles St. Clair travels from the mansions of Fifth Avenue to the brothels of SoHo on the trail of both stories. But what he uncovers proves to be more shocking than even he ever imagined.
"Winnipeg's own Allan Levine takes his talents for historical mystery to 19th-century New York for this novel...Great research and great fun make this a winner."
—Margaret Cannon, The Globe and Mail.
“Based on real people and events, the mystery is satisfying and the
historical detail fascinating and topical.”
—Kirkus
"One of the finest 'history mysteries' available today. Evil of the Age is an award-winning novel in waiting...Evil of the Age is history revealed in sordid and fascinating detail. It's also a mystery--a chilling and believable tale. It simply doesn't get any better than this."
—Don Graves, The Hamilton Spectator. To read
the entire review,
CLICK HERE.
"Levine has done it again. He has seamlessly crafted an amazing mix
of historical lore, credible views of the seamiest settings of old
New York, an intertwined plot of murderous suspense and political
corruption, and with a population of unique characters, good, bad,
ugly and everything in between. For history/mystery fans it's a book
that leaves its readers begging for the next of the St. Clair
chronicles."
—M. Wayne Cunnigham, Mysterious Reviews. To read the entire review, click HERE.
Mysterious Reviews on Evil of the Age
To Buy Evil of the Age, in print - Click Here
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Great Plains Fiction, 1997
Sam Klein is a streetwise minder at a local brothel who investigates the murder of a Polish girl — a murder blamed on a North End rabbi. His search for the real killer is frustrated by battles with ethnic intolerance and with authorities who insist they've found their man.
The Blood Libel brings the vivid, turbulent times of
turn-of-the-century Winnipeg to life, using the "wickedest city in
the dominion" as a setting for this complex and chilling mystery
thriller. The novel captures the indomitable spirit of immigrant
life in Winnipeg's fabled North End, and creates a detective hero
for the ages in Sam Klein, whose pursuit of justice goes to the
heart of the immigrant experience as "foreigners" in a strange, new
land.
Winner of the Margaret McWilliams Medal for Best Historical Fiction
Short-listed for the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award and the Arthur Ellis First Mystery Novel Award
Published in Germany as Mit falscher Zunge by BTB-Random House Germany.
"Allan Levine delivers something far more substantial than a murder mystery…in this story of politics and prejudice…The fair, balanced perspective distinguishes The Blood Libel and makes it an intelligent book that is —without for a moment detracting from its intensity."
—Books in Canada
"Historians seldom extend their talents to murder mysteries, but Allan Levine has done just that, and The Blood Libel turns out be chilling and believable…"
—Peter C. Newman
"This novel, set in Winnipeg in 1911, has a lot going for it.
First, there's the setting, lovingly evoked by Levine, a historian.
Then there's the premise, the dreadful blood libel accusation
against the Jews, used by successive regimes as an excuse for
murder, massacre and violence. Finally, there's a clever character
named Sam Klein, who makes his living guarding a whorehouse and who
makes a fine amateur detective… much to enjoy and fans of Winnipeg
local history will love this book ."
—The Globe and Mail
"An excellent book, both a stimulating history lesson and an
absorbing adventure tale ."
—Winnipeg Free Press
Great Plains Fiction, 2000
When Sam Klein investigates the murder of Emily Munro, a
suffragette with many sordid secrets,
he enters a world of women's rights in 1914 Winnipeg.
Here he encounters famous activist Nellie McClung as well as the
uneasy tension between
Victorian morality and real life. Like its predecessor, The Blood
Libel, Sins of the
Suffragette transports readers back in time to experience the
streets, sounds,
and smells of "the wickedest city in the Dominion" where immigrants
from the city's
tough North End struggle to find an identity in a world dominated by
white middle-class WASPs.
Short-listed for the Carol Shields City of Winnipeg Book of the Year
Short-listed for the Margaret McWilliams Medal for Best Historical Fiction
Published in Germany as Die Sünden der Suffragetten by
BTB-Random House Germany
Featured at the Berlin International Literature Festival
"Allan Levine's Winnipeg bursts with civic pride, simmers with political and police corruption
and seethes with racial tension. It smells of chicken soup, cigars
and opium. Its residents live out their lusty lives on the
snow clogged streets…History, told through lively characters
and washed down with side dishes of seances, suffragists and sex,
and the suspense of a good whodunnit."
—Winnipeg Free Press
"When we first met Winnipeg investigator Sam Klein, it was 1911 and he had just ferreted out the truth
behind the "Blood Libel"…Now Klein is back in a better book with a tighter plot…"
—Margaret Cannon, The Globe and Mail
"By the first page and half I was hooked!"
—Lethbridge Herald
"(Levine's) account of Winnipeg's early settlement is brilliantly
woven into a tale of nail-biting suspense."
—Canadian Book Review Annual
"This is one of those rare novels that manages to both entertain and instruct. There are several
credible and complex mysteries embedded in the story and their
solutions are embellished and
augmented by a wealth of historical, social, and local detail."
—Quill & Quire
From Germany: "Fortunately, Allan Levine does not write dry
historical novels…but exciting historically
rich and detailed crime stories…The plot is so winding and the
characters intriguing.
That makes Levine absolutely worth reading.”
—Abendzeitung (Nuremberg and Munich)
Ravenstone, 2016
It’s 1922 and business is booming for Saul and Lou Sugarman—thanks to prohibition. But business gets personal when the Sugarmans’ brother-in-law ends up dead. Looking for answers, private detective Sam Klein is called in to investigate.