Monday, Aug. 24

Jewish Community Center
3600 Dutchmans Lane
www.jccoflouisville.org
Free; 7:30 p.m.

Who’s up for an Old Testament take on “Da Vinci Code”? Actually, there’s a lot more to Daniel Levin’s new novel than just warmed-over Dan Brown. If you enjoy thrillers with archeological leanings, “The Last Ember” shares the fruit of thorough research while spinning its suspense narrative around one of the world’s perpetual hot potatoes: the Temple Mount. JCC is hosting a reading/signing by author Levin, a Harvard-educated lawyer whose muse was ignited while clerking at the Supreme Court of Israel. His just-released hardcover debut has the real-life legal battles around excavations in Jerusalem and Rome recast with fictional preservationists and terrorists. Some of the modern-professionals-go-swashbuckling might seem stiffly familiar, but those moments give way quickly due to Levin’s undeniable passion for weaving history with adventure. His tale is genuinely intense — a significant improvement over the many recent thrillers that are merely dense with antiquarian detail. —T.E. Lyons