Auntie’s presents: Erik Larson, Jess Walter Feb. 27th

Above : Winston Churchill surveys damage during the 1940 Battle of Britain, which author Erik Larson details in his nonfiction book “The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz.” (Photo/Getty Images)

There are some writers whose work intrigues you so much you want to meet them and pick their brain.

Erik Larson is one of those writers. The author of such nonfiction books as “Isaac’s Storm,” “The Devil in the White City” and “In the Garden of Beasts,” Larson tackles historical themes with the eye of a private detective. He makes his readers live history rather than simply read it.

Case in point: his book “The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz,” which captures the plight of England at the beginning of World War II as it faced a Germany that had just run roughshod across continental Europe.

Writing in the New York Times, reviewer Candice Millard wrote , “Through the remarkably skillful use of intimate diaries as well as public documents, some newly released, Larson has transformed the well-known record of 12 turbulent months, stretching from May of 1940 through May of 1941, into a book that is fresh, fast and deeply moving.”

Spokane’s own Jess Walter will get the chance to grill Larson during an Auntie’s Bookstore-sponsored event Feb. 27th at the Lewis and Clark High School auditorium. Tickets to the 2 p.m. event cost $25 (which includes a copy of “The Splendid and the Vile”) and are available now at the store and online at auntiesbooks.com.

Walter, of course, is the author of such nonfiction books as “Every Knee Shall Bow” and works of fiction such as “Citizen Vince,” “Beautiful Ruins” and, most recently, “The Cold Millions.”

If there is a Q&A session, which there likely will be, you may have the opportunity to get them both to reveal their secrets.

Aren’t sure of what to ask? No problem. The event is still a month away, so you’ve got plenty of time to think of something.

Oh, and read the books.